No 211 - Moulin Rouge! Director - Baz Luhrmann I remember very vividly when I first saw this film. I was in sixth form when it came out, and was a student of 'Theatre Studies', so there was naturally a lot of talk about this overtly theatrical piece. However, I was not convinced that I would enjoy it, it looked overtly soppy, a chicks film. Finally I was convinced to go and see it (Tom Done, who was in the year above and who was utterly terrifying, though who is now a good friend, won me over by stating the line I have used as a title. Surely a film MUST be good if it features unconscious Argentinians and cross dressing dwarfs!). So one evening I went to the Regent cinema in Wantage ( now shut down ) with my best friends Hanna and Richard . The film completely blew me away, and is the only film that has managed to firmly grab my attention in the first second, as the curtains open and the conductor arrives to play the 20th Century Fox theme. It uses the production company's
January 27, 2010. Went to see Gainsbourg: Une Vie héroïque (Joann Sfar, 2010). I'm a huge Gainsbourg fan (a fan of the whole Gainsbourg / Birkin family, really), so I waited and waited, couldn't make up my mind to go see it. With biopics you never know. They can be so painful for diehard fans. If only because the casting is so often dreadfully misguided. My verdict is: if you manage as I did to see that this is actually an inspired poetic tribute, rather than a filmed biography with a tremendous sountrack, then you can thoroughly enjoy it. Some bits are truly original. Acting by Eric Elmosnino excellent. Plus I went thinking I was going to hate Laetitia Casta as Bardot, bracing myself, and found her amazingly good.
