Thursday Movie Picks - Middle Eastern Language Movies
Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through The Shelves. Come join the motley crew of regulars by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and writing a little bit about them!
This week on Thursday Movie Picks, we're off on a journey to the Middle East!
I'll be honest. I haven't seen that many movies from this area of the world. HOWEVER! I have seen enough to make all three picks this week!
...and there was much rejoicing.
Late Marriage (Dover Kosashvili, 2001) Not quite as light-hearted as the trailer would have you believe, Late Marriage is about a Georgian Jew (Lior Ashkenazi, in a stunning performance) whose very traditional parents want him to just marry already! To the point where they're trying to arrange a marriage for him. But he's secretly dating a divorcée, which would be a big no-no. Late Marriage was Israel's submission for the Academy Awards that year, and I can't believe it wasn't nominated. It's really great.
Eyes Wide Open (Haim Tabakman, 2009) Short and sweet, Eyes Wide Open is as important as it is beautiful. The story takes place in the Orthodox world of rabbinical students, where two men find they share a mutual attraction. Unfortunately, homosexuality is forbidden. The film is as humble as the buildings in which most of its scenes take place, and the simplicity (and borderline austerity) works very much in the film's favor, especially as the relationship between the leads deepens. An underseen gem.
A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) I almost never do this, but if you haven't seen A Separation yet, stop reading this and go watch it RIGHT NOW. No, seriously. RIGHT NOW. I'll wait. Asghar Farhadi's crystalline, prismatic portrait of present-day Iran is a flat-out, no-holds-barred masterpiece that couldn't possibly be better on any level - performance, editing, scoring, framing, it's all absolutely perfect. As a woman tries to get a divorce from her husband so that she can take their daughter and make a better life for themselves elsewhere, he hires a very religious woman to help care for his ailing father. There is an argument one day when the old man is left unattended, and from there things spiral outward. It's very nearly chaos, but Farhadi has the control of a master storyteller, detailing each scene and character in such a way that we can see all sides at once. It's a perfect scenario, one that plays out with the inexorable pull of classic Greek tragedy - the end was writ from the beginning, we just didn't know it.
I also chose A Separation. I still think the scene where the father asks the housekeeper to swear on the Quran is one of the most powerful moments I've ever seen in film. I haven't seen the first two, but I'm going to save them in my Netflix queue.
OH GOD that scene. The scene where he meets her family is super powerful, too. Definitely watch the other two! Eyes Wide Open is, like, not even 90 minutes, so you can watch it any time and it's SO GOOD.
Here I thought I'd seen only enough to make up my three picks but I have seen Late Marriage! Lior was awesome, don't know if you noticed over on Drew's blog he was one of my best actor noms. An excellent piece of work. He's most of what I remember from the film.
I've heard of both of your others but haven't seen them...I know, I know I should have by now but there are only so many hours in the day!
I'm in the same boat as you in number of films I've seen in this particular theme but I have enough for three, although to be honest I only really enjoyed the first. The last two are decent films but grim, grim, grim.
Dostana (2008)-Sameer “Sam” and Kunal are two handsome, single womanizers and casual acquaintances happily living in Miami. While apartment hunting they both want the same sublet but the landlord Neha wants only female roommates. What to do? They decide to pretend to be a couple to get around the problem which goes well until both fall for their roommate while still trying to maintain the façade that they’re gay. Fun romantic comedy which seems to go out of its way to objectify John Abraham who plays Kunal.
New York (2009)-New York cabbie Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is set up by the FBI in a ploy to force him to spy on his friend, Samir (John Abraham), a suspected terrorist. As Omar recounts his relationship with Samir he also reflects on his friendship with Maya (Katrina Kaif), now Samir's wife, and how their lives changed after 9/11. Agreeing to become an FBI spy Omar learns that this isn't the first time Samir has been targeted by the government.
Jail (2009)-Honest citizen Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is falsely accused in a drug case though his friend is actually to blame and imprisoned. Due to evidence against him and an overburdened organization he is denied bail suffering extensively at the hands of a callous, corrupt system. A strong indictment of Indian prisons.
Oh, I saw! And I commented that I couldn't believe I forgot him in my own lineup!
UGH JOHN ABRAHAM. SO gorgeous! Does India count as middle eastern? That said, I quite enjoyed Dostana (certainly MUCH more than the odious I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which inspired it), but I haven't seen your other two picks.
I have seen none-nadda but so want to see A Separation. It looked powerful from the moment I saw excerpts from it when it first came out. The other 2 films also look great although the one reminds me of My big fat Greek Wedding a little and the 2nd of Brokeback mountain
Yeah. I am in the same boat, struggled to think of more than three films I had seen. I assumed the same happened to everyone else considering the low turn out.
I also picked A Separation. I haven't seen it since it's release so perhaps its worth a revisit.
I also chose A Separation. I still think the scene where the father asks the housekeeper to swear on the Quran is one of the most powerful moments I've ever seen in film. I haven't seen the first two, but I'm going to save them in my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteOH GOD that scene. The scene where he meets her family is super powerful, too. Definitely watch the other two! Eyes Wide Open is, like, not even 90 minutes, so you can watch it any time and it's SO GOOD.
DeleteHere I thought I'd seen only enough to make up my three picks but I have seen Late Marriage! Lior was awesome, don't know if you noticed over on Drew's blog he was one of my best actor noms. An excellent piece of work. He's most of what I remember from the film.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of both of your others but haven't seen them...I know, I know I should have by now but there are only so many hours in the day!
I'm in the same boat as you in number of films I've seen in this particular theme but I have enough for three, although to be honest I only really enjoyed the first. The last two are decent films but grim, grim, grim.
Dostana (2008)-Sameer “Sam” and Kunal are two handsome, single womanizers and casual acquaintances happily living in Miami. While apartment hunting they both want the same sublet but the landlord Neha wants only female roommates. What to do? They decide to pretend to be a couple to get around the problem which goes well until both fall for their roommate while still trying to maintain the façade that they’re gay. Fun romantic comedy which seems to go out of its way to objectify John Abraham who plays Kunal.
New York (2009)-New York cabbie Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is set up by the FBI in a ploy to force him to spy on his friend, Samir (John Abraham), a suspected terrorist. As Omar recounts his relationship with Samir he also reflects on his friendship with Maya (Katrina Kaif), now Samir's wife, and how their lives changed after 9/11. Agreeing to become an FBI spy Omar learns that this isn't the first time Samir has been targeted by the government.
Jail (2009)-Honest citizen Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is falsely accused in a drug case though his friend is actually to blame and imprisoned. Due to evidence against him and an overburdened organization he is denied bail suffering extensively at the hands of a callous, corrupt system. A strong indictment of Indian prisons.
Oh, I saw! And I commented that I couldn't believe I forgot him in my own lineup!
DeleteUGH JOHN ABRAHAM. SO gorgeous! Does India count as middle eastern? That said, I quite enjoyed Dostana (certainly MUCH more than the odious I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which inspired it), but I haven't seen your other two picks.
I have seen none-nadda but so want to see A Separation. It looked powerful from the moment I saw excerpts from it when it first came out. The other 2 films also look great although the one reminds me of My big fat Greek Wedding a little and the 2nd of Brokeback mountain
ReplyDeleteA Separation is really, really incredible. Totally lived up the hype I thought.
DeleteLate Marriage is MILES beyond My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Love A Separation. What a fantastic movie. Haven't heard of the others. Saying that a lot this week.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Fantastic is the least of it lol.
DeleteYeah. I am in the same boat, struggled to think of more than three films I had seen. I assumed the same happened to everyone else considering the low turn out.
ReplyDeleteI also picked A Separation. I haven't seen it since it's release so perhaps its worth a revisit.
Not heard of the first film and A Separation seems be one I missed. I really wanted to Eyes Wide Open. Missed that too.
ReplyDeleteEyes Wide Open is on Netflix Instant (in the US anyway)!
DeleteI also picked A Separation, what a spectacular film!
ReplyDelete