Larry Oliver Film Reviews

Pictured : Make-up artist Badou ( Gwendal Marimoutou ) and stunt double Mike ( Ben Aldridge ) share a restive moment in a scene from co-writer-director Marjane Satrapi 's ensemble comedy, ' Paradis Paris ' (' Dear Paris '). Still courtesy of Studio Canal . There is a mantra: ‘make every film as if it was your last’. I think Iranian émigré cartoonist turned director Marjane Satrapi took this to heart with her sixth feature film, Paradis Paris , a listless comedy set in Paris that captures a short period in the lives of mostly creative Parisians as well as that of a teenage girl who is a victim of social media. Focussing on death – or near-death – as a recurring theme, it plays like the work of someone creatively tired. ‘You want me to make a film. Sure. Now leave me alone.’ Satrapi appears briefly in the film as a director, exuding a ‘don’t bother me’ vibe. I think potential investors should take note. The film it most reminded me of is To Rome with Love , Woody Al...

Pictured : Anu ( Divya Prabha ) inspects a rice cooker that her roommate Prabha ( Kani Kusruti ) has received in the post in a scene from the mostly Mumbai-set drama, ' All We Imagine as Light ', written and directed by Payal Kapadia . Still courtesy of LuxBox Winner of the Grand Prix (runner-up prize) at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, All We Imagine as Light , written and directed by Payal Kapadia and photographed by Ranabir Das, is every bit as good as advance reports suggest. It is an angry film but also a compassionate one, a Mumbai and Ratnagiri-set drama about three women of different generations brought together by the medical profession whose circumstances prevent them from living their best lives, even as they try to make do with the ones they have. They protest when they can but respond to adversity with kindness and pragmatism. The heart of the film is Prabha, played by Kani Kusruti, previously seen in a less sympathetic role in Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls ...

Pictured : An extended family (from left to right, Peter Kurth, Max Riemelt, Lotte Shirin Keiling, Sandra  Hüller,  Anselm Haderer and  Ursula Werner )  are faced with the proceeds of their crime in a scene from the 1990-set German reunification comedy, ' Zwei zu Eins ' (' Two into One ') written and directed by Natja Brunckhorst . Still courtesy of X-Filme Verleih / Warner Bros . (Germany). Natja Brunckhorst has had an unusual, mould-breaking career in cinema, from child actress playing a teenage heroin-addict in Uli Edel’s 1981 international hit, Christiane F , to roles as an adult in film and television to screenwriting and from 2021, feature film directing with Alles in bester Ordnung . On the face of it, she is Germany’s answer to Jodie Foster. There is nothing new about actresses retreating behind the camera as the roles dry up, but Brunckhorst initially chose screenwriting above directing, perhaps as way of an easier way of achieving career transition. Her s...

  Pictured : Doug ( Aristotle Athari , seated centre) tells the story about how he and Valerie ( Catherine Cohen ) were forced to flee their rent stabilised Upper West Side apartment in the New York City-set comedy, ' The French Italian ', written and directed by Rachel Wolther . Still courtesy of Mirmade Films . The French Italian is one of those quirky New York City comedies that you start to watch on a streaming service then decide fifteen minutes in that it is really time to send out those funeral invites. It focuses on the righteous indignation (read: narcissistic entitlement) of an Upper West Side career indifferent couple (read: how did they ever meet?) who decide to avenge their forced retreat from a rent stabilized apartment. This being a modest budget New York comedy (no mobile phones were used for the capturing of performance), they decide to take their revenge when they find out that their torturer, Mary Dancyger (Chloe Cherry) is an aspiring actress who is on Inst...

  Pictured : You scratch my face, I - get the heck out. Asta Kamma August and Emil Thomsen in a scene from  the Greenland set abuse drama, ' Kalak' , directed by Isabella Eklöf and adapted from Kim Leine 's 2007 memoir. Still courtesy of Totem Films . Some directors struggle with that ‘difficult’ second movie. However, Swedish-born co-writer-director Isabella Eklöf puts ‘difficulty’ front and centre. The bulk of Kalak , the follow-up to her 2018 debut, Holiday , and adapted from Kim Leine’s 2007 confessional memoir, takes place in the challenging sub-polar environment of Greenland in the late 1990s, where its protagonist Jan (Emil Johnsen) works as a nurse. Jan was abused as a child by his father and as an adult exploits the loneliness of the local population. He confesses his infidelity to his wife (Asta Kamma August), who for reasons not explained chooses to stay with him raising their two children. Jan shares a meal with the family of one woman with whom he has sex. Th...

  Pictured : Anabel ( Anna Maguire , centre) on her morning commute in a scene from the romantic comedy, ' With Love and a Major Organ ', adapted from her own play by Julia Lederer and directed by Kim Albright . Still courtesy of Filmoption International .  Some terrific comedians have hailed from Canada, so why are there no great Canadian comedy films? I have some theories. First, unspoken accommodation. English speaking Canadians can’t ignore their French speaking counterparts and vice versa, but in their storytelling, they can’t acknowledge the other. Rather, they keep to their side of the fence. Second, there is no Canadian dream. Who wakes up wanting to be moderate? Third, Catholic guilt. Canadians can’t aspire to greatness in their own country, because that would be wrong. Their flag, featuring a Maple Leaf, struggles to be inoffensive. Though taking the side of a leaf for a moment, you separated me from my tree; how could you? Fourth, they choose national sports suited...