DVD Releases for the Week of May 26, 2009
Some intriguing Québecois/Canadian films of interest. One of these is Luc Bourdon’s La mémoire des anges. For this production, director Bourdon compiled footage from over one hundred NFB films. This footage is all of Montréal from the 50s through to the 70s, and shows a different city to the one we live in today. While I didn’t care much for it (my review), it has been garnering some positive press elsewhere.
Babine
Sort of like the Québecois equivalent last year to Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Babine received the most nominations at the Jutras but only went on to win mostly production/art design awards. This shouldn’t at all detract from it being one of the most well received films last year in Québec. Based on famed storytelling Fred Pellerin’s shows, this fantasy tale is about a simpleton born to a witch who is blamed for a village’s problems. Directed by Luc Picard (L’Audition) and written by Pellerin, the charm here is in the magic and play on words he is known for during his shows.
* * *
Addicted to Plastic
Canadian documentary filmmaker Ian Connacher received fair praise for this film from festival crowds and environmentalists. Another addition to a long line of ecological docs, this one deals with plastic in particular (as evidenced by the production shot below of director Connacher atop a mountain of plastic bottles). Connacher spent three years filming this across five continents, and even traveled as far as the middle of the Pacific Ocean in order to show viewers where adrift plastic accumulates. Considering everything we consume is wrapped in some form of it, this school-focused production should probably be viewed beyond its target audience.
* * *
Other Releases
All the Days Before Tomorrow
Beyond Rangoon
Caos Calmo
Devil’s Tomb, The
Falling Down
Forever Strong
Killshot
Legend of Fong Sai Yuk, The
M Butterfly
New In Town
Ramen Girl, The
Sky Crawlers, The
Where God Left His Shoes
Zabriskie Point
andrescanella 