Incendies

I rented this film by French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve on Lovefilm. It is the story of a middle eastern woman who has died in Canada and in her will has left instructions to her twin children to find the father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew they had. The girl twin sets off to what I assume is Lebanon, to try and piece together her mother's life, which was filled with tragedy and drama to say the least. As the viewer you are left guessing at several junctures, and I found it a powerful and engaging tale, with quite a twist at the end. Supposedly it was nominated for a best oreign film Oscar.

Running the Sahara

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is a documentary about two americans and a taiwanese guy who ran across the Sahara, from West Africa to Egypt, taking around 100 days.  Needless to say there was a strong sense of madness behind their endeavour, given that it was very hot, there was lots of sand and sandstorms, and it was difficult to navigate.  More importantly was the question I kept asking myself:  why bother?  What will come next?  It is certainly not something that I will be putting top of my to do list for the future!

Into the abyss

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is a documentary by the masterful Werner Herzog, about a murderer on death row in Texas, who had killed someone for the sake of a car (and not even a Citroen DS!).  The documentary profiles both the murderer and the victim, and their respective friends and family, in a slow but methodical and enthralling way, as is Herzog's style.  It has been said many times, but it is still powerful to see how people's upbringings affect the paths they take in life.

Undertow

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is the story of a remote Peruvian fishing community, where one of the married locals, Miguel, falls in love with a visiting artist.  Said artist drowns in an accident, but comes back as a ghost, visible only to Miguel.  In order to allow the ghost to pass to the other side (?) successfully, Miguel must find his body and lay it to rest, openly admitting his love for the man in front of his deeply religious community and his pregnant wife.  Thought provoking stuff, and some nice conversation for those learning Spanish!

Indian doctor

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It was a six part TV series about an Indian doctor, Dr Sharma (played by Sanjeev Bhaskar) who moves with his wife to a sleepy Welsh village as the GP.  It is set in the 1950s, and I really like period pieces, and portraits of small communities, so it went down well with me.  The story telling is not super sophisticated, but there are some appealing local characters portrayed in it.

A love to hide

I rented this film from Lovefilm.  It is set in occupied Paris during the second world war, and tells the tale of a gay couple who take in a young jewish woman and protect her from Nazi persecution.  I found it a gentle film portraying some of the agonising decisions that had to be taken at the time, and the unforeseen consequences of actions.  The family of one of the men runs a successful local laundry, and there are various members of his family who are involved in the story, the main one being his brother.

Project Nim

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is the tale of an experiment run by a Columbia University professor in the 1970s to effectively humanise a chimpanzee - have him live with a family, teach him sign language, etc. I can't say I am drawn to the world of chimps but it was pretty interesting to see how many words he could master. Somewhat strangely few of the participants in the experiment seemed to have thought what Nim might be like when he had the strength of five adults and side teeth which one person described as fangs. I am no zoology professor but even I can tell you that! Look out for the slightly freaky scenes where Nim is cuddling a nice pussy cat and where he gives one of his teachers a friendly bite - think of it as a small nip in the ankle a la Sheba!

The skin I live in

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is directed by Alomodovar, whose films I have really enjoyed in the past. I found this one interesting but not captivating. It tells the story of a plastic surgeon, played by Antonio Banderas, whose wife was horrifically burned in a car crash. His dream is to develop a skin that is much tougher than human skin, and sets off on a mission to test his new invention on a human guinea pig - suffice to say that I think he broke all the medical rules re experimenting with new medical inventions. Elena Anaya, one of Almodovar's regular actors, plays the surgeon's housekeeper.

Autumn sun

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is set in Buenos Aires and is the story of two middle aged single people who find each other via the classified ads. I found it gentle and heartwarming.

Patiala house

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It is set in current day Southall and tells the story of an extended Sikh family, and mainly the oldest son. He was a successful cricketer at 18 but his father forbade him to play for England, because of the way Sikhs were treated by the British in the 1970s. He therefore abandoned his dream and settled down to be a shopkeeper. He gets a second chance to play cricket aged 34. Not the most deep and meaningful film, but enjoyed it's colour, fun and music.

Frontier blues

I rented this from Lovefilm. It is a rather bizarre film set around the Turkmenistan / Iran border and is anchored around half a dozen key characters and a donkey. Although not a great deal happens in the film, and it can be quite slow, I did find it quite strangely absorbing.

Sarah's key

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It is a story set in 1942 and the present day, in Paris. It tells the story of a young Jewish girl Sarah, who is rounded up along with her family by the French authorities, to ultimately be sent to the death camps. Before leaving their apartment in Paris Sarah locks her little brother in a cupboard, to hide him. Kristin Scott Thomas stars as an investigative journalist whose family is renovating the self same apartment. I found it a moving and thought provoking story about a shameful part of French history.