Thursday Movie Picks: Non-English Language Movies - Middle Eastern Language

Welcome to Thursday Movie Picks, a weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where each Thursday you have to pick three films to match the week's topic.

As you can see from the title, this week we have to pick middle eastern language movies. Another easy week for me! Sure, I haven't seen a lot of these films so I don't have much of a choice, but those few films I've seen were all amazing and they all did a great job portraying life in the country the story takes place. That being said, here they are:

A Separation (2011)

With a plot involving divorce, an Alzheimer-suffering man and the struggles of a maid in Iran, this excellent and compelling domestic drama focuses on the separation of a couple and how that affects their daughter. At the same time director Asghar Farhadi shows the difficulty of a woman to be part of a male-dominated society.

Omar (2013)

With the fictional story of Omar, involving friendship and love, this emotional masterpiece shows the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from the Palestinian point of view and provides an insight into how it is to live there. And it does it flawlessly with a great performance from its lead, and a naive Romeo and Juliet type of romance that makes the film even more engaging.

Theeb (2014)

Following the story of a young Bedouin boy that embarks on a desert journey to guide a British officer, this is a thoughtful and touching coming-of-age, definitely different than other films of the genre. The film's greatest strengths? The fascinating photography and the amazing "performance" of non-actor Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat. 

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Original Title

Un long dimanche de fiançailles

Genre

Drama | Romance | War

Director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Country

France

Cast

Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Clovis Cornillac, Jerome Kircher, Chantal Neuwirth, Albert Dupontel, Denis Lavant, Jean-Pierre Becker, Dominique Bettenfeld, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Marion Cotillard, André Dussollier, Ticky Holgado, Jean-Paul Rouve, Jodie Foster, Julie Depardieu, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Claude Dreyfus

Storyline

The story of a woman's (Audrey Tautou) relentless search for her fiancé (Gaspard Ulliel), who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.

Opinion

Being a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film starring Audrey Tautou I was somewhat expecting something similar to "Amélie". I couldn't be more wrong. In fact, while it still is a beautiful, well-crafted film, "A Very Long Engagement" couldn't be more different from "Amélie". And it's also a little overrated in my opinion.

What's so different? The story. A part of it is about the life of five soldiers arrested for cowardice condemned to to be fodder for the German line during World War I. This part is told with such sensitivity and realism it keeps you hoping for them to survive.

Why overrated? The other part of the story that follows Mathilde, a young, naive French girl searching for years for her probably dead fiancé. While on paper it does have all the numbers to be a great, touching romance, and it is quite heart-wrenching as well, it isn't romantic at all, and I wasn't able to connect with it.

And there's another problem too. The storyline is complex, so complex with all its characters and plot elements it's easy to feel lost. And at times to get bored.

Other than that everything is just great. The film is visually stunning with a superb cinematography and sets and costumes that really bring the viewer back to the era the film is set. And Audrey Tautou, charming as usual, is able to carry the film on her back and delivers another delicate performance of hers. The supporting cast is also excellent.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Scott Derrickson

Country

USA

Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Chris Hemsworth, Stan Lee

Storyline

After a tragic car accident, Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) embarks on a journey of healing that eventually draws him into the world of the mystic arts.

Opinion

So far 2016 has been quite a disappointment on the superhero genre - mediocre DC Comics films, awful X-Men but good Captain America - so I was worried. The source material wasn't easy to work with either. But then I thought about a few years ago when Marvel brought to the screen something odd, "Guardians of the Galaxy", which turned out to be the best Marvel film ever.

What about "Doctor Strange"? Well, while it certainly isn't the best superhero flick ever made, it is an incredible, impressive, witty and fun film.

The thing I was worried the most was the story. I wasn't sure how they would have presented the character, and I was worried they were going to rush on the origins of Strange. But that didn't happen. Actually, the origin story of Doctor Strange is told in a quite glamorous way and it's easily the best part of the film. Plot speaking. Overall, the story is quite solid.

And now the characters. I believe he is one of the most interesting and fascinating characters from the Marvel Universe, and I was thrilled to see him on screen. And I really liked what they did with him. First of all the cast of an actor such as Benedict Cumberbatch was the best thing that could have happened to the character. He indeed gives a great, humour performance. Second, I liked how they balanced the humour and seriousness in the character.

The supporting characters aren't as good as I hoped - even though I loved Wong, both the character and the actor -, but the problem is another one. Unfortunately the film suffers from a problem that affects most of the Marvel films, the lack of a strong villain. Delivered with a great performance by the amazing Mads Mikkelsen, Caecilius is underdeveloped, lacks character and dialogue. And just like most of Marvel's villains, he lacks a motivation.

To make up for that big flaw there are a beautiful, mind-blowing cinematography, great visual effects - I watched it in 2D - and a great score.

Under the Skin (2013)

Genre

Drama | Sci-Fi

Director

Jonathan Glazer

Country

UK | USA | Switzerland

Cast

Scarlett Johansson, Paul Brannigan, Jessica Mance, Joe Szula, Krystof Hadek, Scott Dymond

Storyline

A mysterious woman (Scarlett Johansson) drives a van through the road and streets of Scotland seducing lonely men.

Opinion

I guess "Under the Skin" is one of those films one either loves or hates. I fall into the second group as I found the film dreadfully slow,  repetitive and so boring I almost felt asleep.

Based Michel Faber's novel of the same name, the story isn't a real story, it's just a bunch of aliens abducting people in the most weird way ever. And even though a film doesn't necessarily need to have a plot to be interesting - see Linklater's "Before Sunrise" -, the extremely long silences, and the non-existent dialogue have you waiting for some significant plot turns that never happen. Another problem is the lack of mystery, in fact it's obvious from the very beginning what Scarlett Johansson's character is.

Maybe I was let down because I was expecting a different film which is normal when Glazer's work has been compared to the works of Stanley Kubrick. I don't like all of his films, but Kubrick is arguably on a whole other level.

I didn't see Glazer's great direction, all I saw was a lot of darkness - probably to keep down the cost of special effects - since the very beginning when the film opens with a black screen and a dazzling light. If anything, I felt trapped into a "cinematographic work" that never seemed to finish.

Now I really see why, while they opted for non-actors for the supporting roles, they needed a star like Scarlett Johansson in the lead, they needed to trick people into watching this. But I still don't understand why she took the role. And frankly I don't think her performance was spectacular. Unless you consider getting naked for most of the time and having the same expression throughout the whole film spectacular.