Under The Skin of Pedro Almodóvar

by Anne-Lise Perioche

With his new dark story Almodóvar creates a new gem of emotions.

Once again, the acclaimed Spanish filmmaker cut the human soul with a scalpel in a scenario finely chopped, perfectly balancing suspense, drama and emotion.

For “The Skin I Live In” (La Piel Que Habito) Almodóvar took his inspiration from the novel of the French writer Thierry Jonquet “Mygale”. Even though the beautiful Penelope Cruz isn’t the shinning star of his latest film, Almodóvar chose as usual a great team of actors. In this first collaboration Antonio Banderas, is perfect in his role as Robert Ledgard, a cosmetic surgeon, who since the death of his wife, burned to death in a car accident, spent his energy on trying to create the perfect skin that could have saved his charred wife. Destroyed by this death and the rape of his daughter, the surgeon will throughout the film overstep several moral issues including that of transgenesis. With the help of his devoted housekeeper Marilia (Marisa Paredes, perfect Almodovarian muse), they will keep Vera Cruz, played by Elena Anaya, sublime in the second collaboration under the camera of director of “High Heels”. Through cameras placed in the room, he monitors her every moves. Everything goes perfect for Robert until the night Marilia let Zeca, her son who is trying to escape the police after a crime, in the house. All the sudden all his plans crumble, and the audience gets ready to suspend disbelief. Violence, loss of control, sex and anxiety, previously contained inside the disturbed actors, will take over.

Two years after “Broken Embraces”, in which we could easily guess it was a self-portrait of the producer, Pedro Almodóvar depicts these twisted characters that he loves so much. Gender identity and his peculiar perception of women, two of his favorite topics running through his work, are once again mentioned in his new film. He also took the opportunity to make a new tribute to one of his favorite filmmakers, Hitchcock when it comes to the suspense and detective story.

There are two stories in one in Almodóvar’s 18th film. First sort of a farce, to my point of view rather unsuccessful, when we witness the rape of a patient by a runaway dressed as a tiger. Then, there is the other part of the story, the medical thriller dealing with identity. And this is the side of story, which makes me say that “The skin I live in” is another masterpiece by Almodóvar.

Just like me, you may get out of this movie questioning the perceptions of yourself and how the skin you live in appears to define you. And in the end, this is not a film, this is an Almodóvar film. Here is where all the difference lies…

Alicia Vikander: the new rising star from Sweden

by Anne-Lise Perioche

When eurocinema first introduced you to Alicia Vikander, the intriguing young Swedish actress new on the international film scene three months ago, she was nearly unknown to North American film audiences.

Born in 1988, Alicia Vikander trained at the Royal Ballet School in Stockholm, but after several injuries, she followed her mother’s career path step and turned to acting.

Last January, she was named Best Actress at the Swedish Oscar-equivalent Guldbagge Awards for her performance in Lisa Langseth’s psychodrama Pure, in which she played Katarina, a symphony receptionist who, with an alcoholic and nonexistent mother, seeks comfort in her proximity to Mozart and Massenet, in the arms of a married orchestra’s conductor. Pure debuted on eurocinema in July 2011 as part of the first ever Scandinavian On Demand Film Festival.

Since then, the young actress has been a rapidly rising star, creating a buzz throughout Europe. She now is setting her sites on conquering the U.S film industry. In 2011, she was named as one of European films’ Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion. Vikander just completed filming A Royal Affair, the new drama from Danish director Nikolaj Arcel-Nordisk. She will also play a supporting role alongside Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges in The Seven Son, a film by Sergey Bodrov’s adapted from Joseph Delaney’ s The Wardstone Chronicles.

Vikander never sticks to only one project. She recently joined the cast of the adaptation of Leo Tolstoy‘s novel Anna Karenina. In the romantic drama, the Swedish actress will star alongside Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice), Jude Law, two-time Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson, Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy) and Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). Set in late 19th-century Russia, Anna Karenina explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children.

On-Demand Scandinavian Film Festival

Want to expand your knowledge of world cinema? Just looking for a good film to get absorbed in for a few hours? Either way, experiencing new films from across the globe is an incredibly rewarding experience, and film festivals are a great way to get exposed to up and coming pictures. Over the years, film festivals have become springboards for countless movies, from shorts to features, documentaries, animations, and more. Whether the award winners are veteran filmmakers with years of experience, or newcomers premiering their work for the first time, movie-going audiences have come to equate the festival logos affixed to their DVD cases with notions of quality and prestige. However, many people don’t pay much more attention to these festivals past the sticker on the box, which is really a shame. Apart from the fact that the festival circuit provides a sneak peek at the soon to be hit films of the year, festivals also provide viewers with an incredible opportunity to experience films from across a wide spectrum of different cultures and artistic styles. Taking the time to view these films is not only entertaining, but also helps to develop a greater understanding about the differences, as well as the striking similarities, between cultures.

However, not everyone can make it to a film festival, whether because of financial constraints, the time constraints of traveling to the festival location, etc. That’s where Eurocinema comes in. With the Eurocinema On-Demand Scandinavian Film Festival, viewers can tune in from all over the country and watch some of the best new Scandinavian films on demand. The best part? You don’t need to buy a plane ticket and fly across the globe. You don’t even need to get dressed! For just a few dollars, you can watch any of these amazing new titles from the comfort of your own couch (or loveseat… or armchair… or chaise lounge… or, well, you get the idea.) So, why not try a Scandinavian film tonight? You will be able to view groundbreaking new cinema half a world away, expand your knowledge of other cultures, and reach the eighth level of enlightenment! Well, maybe not that last bit, but I guarantee that you will be entertained, and will treasure the experience for some time to come. Just pick a film, turn down the lights, open up a jar of pickled herring (Ok, maybe that’s taking things a bit too far, let’s just stick with popcorn) and enjoy the show!

Look Back at 2010

Looking back at foreign films in the theaters for 2010 you just have to think of one word SWEDISH…this was a big year for the Swedish film industry and most of it thanks to one person, the late Steig Larsson and his Millennium trilogy.

The year really started with a holdover from ’09 Let The Right One In, a vampire movie that will make you forget the Twilight pics. This movie was nominated and won over 60 film awards around the world and was remade in the U.S. as Let Me In, but unfortunately that did not live up to the original.

Then in early ’10 the first of the trilogy came ashore The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, seen by many critics as the strongest of the three. That followed in mid-year by The Girl Who Played With Fire and then almost immediately by The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest. Fans of the books and movies have some hope there is talk of a fourth and fifth installment, we shall see. The U.S. version of the first movie will star Daniel Craig (007), Rooney Mara (Lisbeth) and Robin Wright in the Erika role, comes out mid ’11. We shall see if this film lives up to its European role model. Then from Denmark a very adventurous movie taking on two big subjects; Brotherhood is about returning a veteran getting caught up in the neo-nazi movement and it’s a gay love story.

France had a good year as well with movies like A Prophete, the two Mesrine movies starring Vincent Cassel. It will be interesting to see him move from a hoodlum to a ballet impresario in Black Swan, but I guess that is why they call it acting. Also from France, The Girl On The Train won much critical acclaim especially for its stars Emilie Dequenne and Catherine Deneuve. The film takes a look at anti-semetic bigotry that still haunts many today. Also from France Leaving with Kristin Scott-Thomas, Yvan Attal and Sergi Lopez. Thomas is always amazing acting in French, English and on Eurocinema we have even seen her act in Romanian.

All in all it was a good year. If we missed a favorite of yours please let us know… we would love to hear what movies you enjoyed this year.

The Sunshine State Welcomes Eurocinema

By Anne-Lise Perioche

The Sunshine State welcomes Eurocinema On Demand.

Television’s home for international award-winning is now available all over Florida on Comcast On Demand.
Eurocinema will offer up to 15 award-winning titles from Western and Eastern Europe with four to five new titles each month. Each feature film is accompanied by a short film, and is priced at $4.95. Eurocinema features a combination of movies, with works by legendary directors and the best of world film titles, most never before seen in the U.S. and Canada.
” We are thrilled to bring the best of foreign cinema to Florida,” said Chairman & CEO Sebastien Perioche.
Eurocinema’s carefully programmed selection of quality international theatrical films and award winning short films. Titles include contemporary films and classics, as well as award winners direct from the festival circuit, and feature the works of acclaimed directors and globally-recognized actors.

To access Eurocinema, go to your On Demand menu > movies > foreign & indies … and watch a film from anywhere in Europe directly from your home.

It seems all the really good movies come out in the fall. This is the time of year when movies hit the screens that make us think and are just plain serious movies and that is the same for European releases as well. There seems to be a good lineup of movies coming our way even while movies like Mesrine and The Girl who Played with Fire are still in theaters. So here we go:

September:
THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY. From Estonia. All the buzz at the Sundance Film Festival. A mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being “good” finds himself confronting the mysteries of middle-age and morality as he loses grasp of what was once his quiet life.

On Eurocinema video on demand you will find great films like Diamond 13 with Gerard Depardieu and Per Sempre with Giancarlo Giannini.

October
INSPECTOR BELLAMY (BELLAMY) From France. Two of the greats of French cinema come together Gerard Depardieu in the role of Detective Paul Bellamy and Director Claude Chabrol who died shortly after making this movie. As every year, chief inspector Paul Bellamy spends a few days with his wife Françoise in the family house in Nîmes. Jacques, Paul’s stepbrother, turns up, which is bad news since the fellow is an alcoholic good for nothing. Also annoying is this stranger at bay who asks Bellamy for protection. Farewell peaceful holiday!

IT’S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE. From UK. A comedy centered on an Indian mother who takes her obsession with marriage into the world of serial murder. Directed by Gurinder Chadha who directed BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.

LETTERS TO FATHER JAAKOB. From Finland. With few options, newly pardoned convict Leila agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor. Father Jacob spends his days answering the letters of the needy, which Leila finds pointless. But when the letters stop, the pastor is devastated and Leila finds herself cast in a new role.

TAMARA DREWE. From UK. Based on Far From The Maddening Crowd. A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale. Directed by Stephen Frears and stars Gemma Atherton.

VISION. From Germany The life story of the multi-talented German nun Hildegard von Bingen. The film portrays an original woman – best known as a composer and religious visionary – whose grand claims often run counter to the patriarchal world around her.

CARLOS. From France. The story of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as The Jackel, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the OPEC headquarters in 1975 before being caught by the French police. This comes in 2 versions a 5 part TV miniseries and in theatres a 21/2 hour movie starring Edgar Ramirez (Domino, Bourne Ultimatum) in the title role.

THE GIRL THAT KICKED THE HORNETS NEST. From Sweden. The last of the three films based on The Millennium Trilogy, a series of three bestselling novels written by the late Stieg Larsson. This story finds Lisbeth, the main character, recovering in the hospital and planning her revenge.

THE PORTUGESE NUN. From Portugal. A young French actress in Lisbon to shoot a movie is intrigued by a nun she sees kneeling in the in the chapel where she is filming.

COME UNDONE. From Italy. A woman living a comfortable life gives it all up when a new man enters her life (Perfrancesco Favino (Angels & Demons, Unknown Woman)

AMER. From France/Belgium. Winner of 6 international film awards. Three key moments, all of them sensual, define Ana’s life. Her carnal search sways between reality and colored fantasies becoming more and more oppressive. A black-laced hand prevents her from screaming. The wind lifts her dress and caresses her thighs. A razor blade brushes her skin, where will this chaotic and carnivorous journey leave her?

On Eurocinema in October look for films like 24 Mesures directed by Jalil Lespert and the work place drama Rien De Personnel starring Melanie Douty and Jean-Pierre Darrousin and a Greek film that is part drama, comedy and musical Dying in Athens.

November
WILD TARGET, UK, Bill Nighy stars as Victor Maynard is a middle-aged, solitary assassin, who lives to please his formidable mother, despite his own reputation for lethal efficiency. His professional routine is interrupted when he finds himself drawn to one of his intended victims, Rose. He spares her life, unexpectedly acquiring in the process a young apprentice, Tony.

MADE IN DAGENHAM, UK, a dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination. Stars Sally Hawkins (HAPPY GO LUCKY) BOB HOSKINS and MIRANDA RICHARDSON.

NOTHING PERSONAL, IRELAND Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin (Stephen Rea).

KAWASAKI’S ROSE, Czech Republic, winner of 2 awards at the Berlin Film Festival, Renowned psychiatrist Pavel Josek is singled out to receive a “Memory of the Nation” medal, however, it transpires that this reputedly morally irreproachable dissident once collaborated with state security agencies, informing on a former friend of his wife, Borek, and ultimately being responsible for the latter’s forced emigration.

In November a good lineup continues on Eurocinema video on demand including the German movie French for Beginners and from Belgium the acclaimed and winner at Cannes Moscow, Belgium.

December
MIRAL. From France. Directed by Julian Schnabel, A drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict. Starring Willem Dafoe, Vanessa Redgrave and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire).

BIUTIFUL. From Spain. This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who’s sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever. Directed by Alexander Gonzales Iñárritu (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros) and stars Javier Bardem.

Have a great fall with Eurocinema…..

A French Quarrel

By Anne-Lise Perioche

A week ago, newspapers announced that Gerard Depardieu criticized Oscar winner French actress Juliette Binoche, by revealing Austrian magazine Profil, “I would really like to know why she has been so esteemed for so many years. She has nothing. Absolutely nothing! She is nothing.” The staggered actress responded to his hurtful comment during a radio interview, stating, “I don’t know him and I don’t know what I did to him.”

Now, it is the turn of actress Vanessa Paradis (aka Mrs. Johnny Depp) to get involved. She is playing the peacekeeper in the quarrel, insisting the actor admires Binoche no matter what he says about her. Not sure she will be of a big help. She should rather focus on the promotion of her upcoming film, Heartbreaker, starring Romain Duris.

Since then, I have been struggling with a particular question: Why haven’t Binoche and Depardieu made a movie together? This dispute could be a good scenario for the French cinema. Would it have a happy ending?

Even though we may all be disappointed by his behavior in this affair, we have to admit that Gerard Depardieu is one of France’s most brilliant actor. Currently standing out as the crime boss Guido in Mesrine: Public Enemy No 1, he is scheduled to star in eight films in the next two years.

Born as one of six children in Château roux, France, Depardieu had a terrible childhood. His mother tried to abort by force with knitting needles when she was pregnant with him. His relationship with both of his parents has always been at odds. At the age of 16, he left Chateau roux for Paris where he became a dance student. He then decided to study acting. He became known with the film Jean de Florette (1986), in which he played a miserable, hunchbacked farmer.

Gerard Depardieu firmly established himself as France’s leading actor in the late 80’s. In 1990, he earned a Cannes Film Festival acting award and an Oscar nomination for Cyrano de Bergerac. He has won twice France’s César Award for Best Actor (The Last Metro, Cyrano de Bergerac). He has appeared in more than 180 films, including the acclaimed La Vie en rose, The Man in the Iron Mask and Asterix the barbarian.

This month on Eurocinema , you will be able to admire Depardieu’s acting talent in Diamond 13, in which he plays Mat, an embittered police officer fighting crooked politicians and cops to clear his friend and former partner’s name.

We will try our best to bring you one of Juliette Binoche’s movies in the coming months, so you will be able to decide who of Depardieu or Binoche has anything!

Enjoy your film on Eurocinema……….

So Much More than Foreign Films

By Anne Lise Perioche

Leave to it to the French to bring you the best wine and cheese, leave it to Italians to create the best shoes, leave it to the Russians to import the vodka that will make you laugh. However French, Portuguese, Italians, Spanish, Greeks, and the rest of the European community all have something in common: they bring you the BEST of foreign cinema! All of these movies end up on Eurocinema sooner or later.

A few years ago I was in Boston, watching TV and feeling kind of homesick (yes, it happens!) What I needed was a movie from home. I thought an hilarious French comedy would put a smile on my face. So, I walked to the closest movie store., but unfortunately, couldn’t find what I was looking for. All the films there were so old and dusty and I had already seen them hundreds of times. I ended buying a pack of Sour Patch Kids and going home to watch reruns. I wish Eurocinema could have kept me company back then.

You are probably wondering why is Eurocinema so different from the other channels? Well, let me try to explain it to you briefly. There are many reasons why, but the main one is that it only offers the very best of foreign cinema. While most channels present movies, many are not worth the time to watch. Eurocinema is solely dedicated to bringing its viewers award winning films, never seen before in the U.S. Who else, other than Eurocinema brings you foreign films that you will not actually considered boring, slow or dark? Eurocinema will rock your viewing experience. Trust me!

People usually tend to refer to French, Spanish and Italian when talking about foreign cinema. Eurocinema expands on that, bringing you Swedish, Greek, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, African, Armenian movies and films from many other countries. Now, do you start getting why Eurocinema is unique? Tell us what you want, we can probably bring it to you!

Well, let ‘s continue….it’s Monday night and you are in the mood for a foreign movie, but it is already 10 pm and it is pouring rain outside. Will you really run to the only small, smelly far away theatre that actually shows foreign films in your city? No way! We know that, and that’s the reason why me made Eurocinema available to you 24/7, directly into your living room.

Now put on some comfortable clothes, call your best friend and invite him to come watch this fabulous French comedy with you. Well, just a suggestion, though you may prefer to call a more “special “person to watch the beautiful Eastern European love story. We’ll leave that choice up to you…. Whatever movie you are in the mood to seefor, Eurocinema will satisfy you.

Don’t wait anymore! Turn your TV on and look for Eurocinema on your On Demand menu. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that each movie comes with a short film on a related theme. So if it is late, and you had a long day at work, take few minutes to watch the short film and leave the movie untill tomorrow, because every movie you rent, gives you a full 24 hours of viewing time. You can also find interviews from respected European directors and actors on our website. It is worth taking a look! www.eurocinema .com.

Enjoy your experience on Eurocinema…..

SUMMER FOREIGN FILMS

Summer is always the time for big movies, blockbusters, summer comedies and this summer foreign films. At least 20 foreign films will be opening this summer, starting in May.
ELDORADO, from Belgium, a comedy and Oscar submission directed by Bouli Lammers. A man finds a burglar in his house and decides to drive him home. THE LIMITS OF CONTROL from Spain, directed by Jim Jarmusch starring Isaach De Bonkele as a mysterious loner. The film also stars Gael Garcia Bernal who will also be seen in RUDO Y CURSI where he is reunited with Diego Luna, this time in a comedy playing brothers trying to get a better life in Mexico. From Germany comes JERICHOW directed by Christian Petzold who reunites with Nina Hoss both from YELLA on Eurocinema in June in this movie inspired by THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. Then O’HORTEN from Norway directed by Bent Hamer (FACTOTUM) about life changing when Odd Horten tries to retire from the railroad job in this odd comedy. Rounding out May is SUMMER HOURS starring Juliet Binoche in a family drama directed by Olivier Assayas.

June will see a movie from Estonia SUGISBALL, winner of 6 film awards including Venice about life in the projects of Lasnamae. From France Director Martin Provost brings SERAPHINE about the life of painter Seraphine de Senlis with Yolande Moreau in the title role. DEAD SNOW is another odd movie from Norway, medical students on a ski holiday run into Nazi Zombies! QUIET CHAOS from Italy is the winner of 5 film awards directed by Antonella Grimaldi starring Valeria Golina a romantic drama dealing with loss.

In July we find from France THE GIRL FROM MONACO directed by Anne Fontaine starring Fabrice Luchin as an attorney, Roschdy Zem as his bodyguard and Louise Bourgoin as a beautiful TV weather girl, it is sort of love triangle. Nina Hoss stars again in a movie from Germany, A WOMAN IN BERLIN directed by Max Farberbod. A woman survives WWII Berlin during the Soviet invasion. From Turkey we get 11film award winner BLISS about a man trying to escape his fake life, directed by Abdullah Ogry. A comedy about humanity comes from Sweden, YOU THE LIVING directed by Roy Andersson. LORNA’S SILENCE from Belgium directed by Jean Pierre Dardannes stars Jeremier Renier about Albanian immigrants trying to leave their boring jobs to start their own business.

In August from South Africa DISTRICT 9 Neill Blomkamp directs William Allen Young and Robert Hobbs as extraterrestrials forced to live in slum-like conditions. MY FUHRER finds director Dani Levy, we remember from GO FOR ZUCKER seen on Eurocinema, with Ulrich Muhe as an educated concentration camp prisoner forced to write a speech for Hitler. THE HEADLESS WOMAN from Argentina directed by Lucretia Martel a psychological drama about a woman who thinks she hit someone with her car. From France the long awaited two part movie MESRINE starring Vincent Cassel as the 70’s gangster and folk hero Jacques Mesrine, directed by Cedric Klapisch co-starring Cecile De France. Also, from France another movie starring Juliette Binoche, PARIS, as the sister of Pierre. She comes to care for him during his illness. He sits on his balcony and watches his beloved Paris.

This is going to be a good summer at the theatre and also on Eurocinema where you will find YELLA from Germany, with Nina Hoss, INNOCENCE from France with Marion Cotillard and many more. Great award winning European films whenever you want on Eurocinema video on demand.

Well if you are on the look out for some great foreign films there are a number of them out right now. A couple of gritty films still in some theatres around the country SIN NOMBRE and GOMORRAH, one about gangs in Mexico and the other about the grip of the Gomorrah on towns in Italy. If you want something lighter there is the French romantic comedy SHALL WE KISS. But say you’re at home this weekend you can catch some great foreign films on Eurocinema Video on Demand from your local cable system. Look for titles like ALICE’S HOUSE a Portugues language film, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD from Italy, 48 HEURES PAR JOUR from France with Aure Atika and Victoria Abril. How about UNDER THE MOONLIGHT from Iran or MALA UVA a dark comedy from Spain or if you like Joaquim De Almeida UM TIRO NO ESCURO from Portugal.

Enjoy!