MONSIEUR LAZHAR
sweet, sad, good sweet sad movie. why do francophones get at life so much better than english speakers? i mean they get the meat of it without guns, effects, rodeos, gimmicks-- just put some humans together and make them talk.
i watched shanghai noon earlier today while sorting paperwork and while jacky chan is definitely a great clown and his gringo sidekick is hilarious, the movie itself is pointless and hollow fireworks with stupid "wisdom" like 'this is the west, this is not the east," oh duh du duh. yes, unfair comparison, but i think it illustrates something essential. it's not just a hollywood thing, even indies do this. im not sure i can put my finger on what it is, but i'm thinking outloud on the internet anyway.