HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT [2015]

A Letter to Elia director Kent Jones pieces together this audio/visual companion piece to what is probably the most essential book for film-lovers everywhere, Hitchcock/Truffaut.
Director François Truffaut interviewed Alfred Hitchcock over a period of 8 days on the subject of his impact on cinema and then published it as a book in 1966.  This film explores some of the more interesting bits of conversation and the influence it had on many of the modern visually-driven directors of today.  Jones manages to turn the subject matter into something tantalizing to the well-educated film connoisseur as well as clearly giving informative insight into the craft for those who are new to film as a finely tuned art.  Pair this one with De Palma and you have a wonderful evening of master suspense film-makers talking about what they do best.

4 lite entertainers or masterful storytellers out of 5

Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

(Eng: To Each His Own Cinema)

An anthology that contains over thirty short films by as many different directors, commissioned to celebrate six decades of the Cannes Film Festival. Each work is approximately three minutes in length and was supposed to represent the director's "state of mind [...] as inspired by the motion picture theatre." As usual with this kind of thing, I'll put the full list in comments.
My 'Admit One' was for Kitano and Cronenberg, neither of which were essential. The ones that moved me most were Alejandro Iñárritu's 'Anna' and Abbas Kiarostami's 'Where Is My Romeo?', both of which had more emotion than the others combined. Also, I really liked Chen Kaige's 'Zhanxiou Village'.
A lot of them take place inside a theatre with crucial scenes from actual films being projected onscreen, so expect some spoilers.

3 light shows out of 5

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA [2014]

Irma Vep director Oliver Assayas brings us Clouds of Sils Maria, a deceivingly complex French character drama that astounds with it's leading performances.
An aging actress (meticulously played by Juliette Binoche) accepts a role in a play that launched her career many years ago, only now she's playing the older woman opposite the younger role she once portrayed.
Watching Binoche and Kristen Stewart, as her PA, is an absolute delight as the two clash, bond and observe the world with different eyes with such clever nuance, playfulness and sincerity.  Toss Chloë Grace Moretz into the mix as a reckless, yet talented, actress and you have some of the best quiet character driven scenes composed in a long long time.  It's life imitates art story is a familiar one but rarely is it graced with these sort of performances and moments of tantalizing dialogues.
It might seem like it's moving at a snail's pace but find it's underlying lessons & questions and you'll discover a thoughtful cinematic gem.

4 brain snakes out of 5

Irma Vep (1996)

Despite being partly in English and having a Chinese lead, Vep couldn't be more French. It’s a film about the making of a film, namely a remake of Louis Feuillade's silent era serial Les Vampires (1915-16), shot in a vérité style. The production hits some bumps, leaving Maggie Cheung, playing a version of herself that's unable to speak the language, with only the Irma character to offer any kind of solace when she's alone.
As a commentary on French cinema it's successful in opening debate, but people who've never heard the names Truffaut or Godard might get a little lost trying to find something to hang onto.

3 inspirations out of 5

Clean (2004)

The almost unbearable handheld in-your-face close-ups give way eventually to a character study of a woman struggling to get her life back after a crippling drug habit leaves her broken and alone.
Emily (Maggie Cheung) is the only constant in a sea of people giving other people the run-around. Her emotions do the same to her, but her motivations, which are purposefully kept semi-hidden, are bedrock for her to fall back on. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to believe in you.
It’s as happy as it sounds, but it was good to see Maggie keep her feet on the ground and get an opportunity to really act. She does it well, and in three different languages. Plus, Nick Nolte is superb.

3½ liner notes out of 5

Boarding Gate (2007)

There’s no chemistry between anyone in this sterile story structured around a woman with complex feelings toward two of her lovers. The lack of passion means the relationships are functional to the plot but empty and lifeless beneath the surface. That same coldness is echoed in the awful silver/blue lighting that we see all too often in films about corporate businesses. I hate that shit. There’s no warmth to any of it, meaning it sits at odds with the slutty allure that is Asia Argento’s usual currency.
It’s not until half the film has come and gone that anything remotely interesting happens. I wouldn't want to watch it a second time.

2 departures out of 5