Firas Reviews

The Adventures of Felix (2000)

Another road movie about a young man who leaves his town in North France to search for his father in the South. It's about all the people he met on his way.

[19 February 2001]

Like many French film this one shows you the inter human relations between Felix and the people he met during his hitch hiking trip to south France. He is supposed to look for his father whom he never knew. On his way to his final aim he gets to know many nice persons and he considers them as family members. In this manner he meets a brother, a sister, a grandmother and a cousin (with whom he had a more intimate relation than that of cousins). These people have different lives and Felix shares with them for some hours or days. All characters are opened and willing to have a human contact with others. Felix is also half Algerian and thus encounters some problems. The film shows a bit the problem of racism and the mistreatment of North African Arabs by some people in France. It showed also the fear of Felix of the police although he didn't do anything wrong. This signalises a possible mistreatment by the police as well! It's also worth mentioning that there is homosexuality in this film. Felix is a homosexual and there are some intimate homosexual scenes in it, so I have told! This movie was somehow interesting for to watch but it was principally nothing special or new! Also as often in French films there are no special effects or great soundtrack. It is worth watching for people who like this genre.

Brother (I) (2000)

A new brutal film in the Kitano way!

[19 February 2001]

As the film `Hana Bi ` was shown on the screens everybody said it were too brutal. It was brutal but I did not find it that brutal and it had a special human touch of Kitano. `Brother' has also the both sides but brutality was exaggerated this time and the human touch was less than the former film. I would have omitted some of the brutal details but perhaps the director would like to say something with them. It has also it's kind of humor that is sometimes very black!! Since I didn't know so many Japanese I can't say if this kind of humor is characteristic for Kitano or it's the Japanese humor? You can also watch in this film a characteristical behavior of Japanese in some situations and especially that of the Yakusa (the Japanese Mafia) with their very hard disciplinary rules. They prefer to die as to lose. Gangsters of many minorities in the USA are also present in this movie and they show you how each group deals with things in its own way. There is also a characteristical Kitano touch that made endure all this brutality since I don't like violence at all. This differentiated it a bit from other action films. If you are a Kitano fan I think that you should watch this film. Personally I liked `Kikujiro (1999)' and `Hana Bi (1997)' far more than this one!

Same Old Song (1997)

a funny singing film!

[13 February 2001]

it's a simple funny film that talks about few people who know each other or get to know each other afterward. The aspect that makes it differ from other movies is that the protagonists sing often their feelings or ideas! The used songs are popular French songs that are well known by everybody in France. I liked it in general but it is not a plot that interests me that much since the most of these relations were not that interesting for me. The most important human aspect that was shown in this movie is that many things are not as they seem to be! Some people show that they are strong and have great achievements and they have everything under control but they are not that achieving! They have to accept that they are only normal people and show their true selves to the others.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

An action film in the Chinese way with many typical Hollywood elements

[4/10 · 6 February 2001]

As I expected after seeing the trailer and reading about the movie I did not like it!! It is worth mentioning that I was persuaded by friends to watch it with them but I regretted it at the end. There is too much action in it and many incredible scenes where fighters fly in the air. It wouldn't have annoyed me if the plot itself were interesting. Even that was not interesting for me since the movie was concentrating on these fight scenes and irrelevant love stories in a Chinese background. The most of the plot is typically from Hollywood. Nevertheless it did not have a happy end which made it deviate from the ‘normal' plots. Anyhow I was not really able to understand this end! I was disappointed this time from the director since I saw other brilliant of his works like `Eat drink, man woman'. The photography was good especially showing the beauty of the nature in China. The sound track was also interesting for me. It was made mainly with far eastern style but it was also mixed with many other styles and a big variety of instruments. In brief if you like action films with love stories and you want to see one in an exotic atmosphere I can recommend this movie to you.

Bread and Tulips (2000)

A very joyful film that show you how life could be so joyful and simple!

[7/10 · 30 January 2001]

It's a series of coincidences that bring a woman to meet many eccentric people in Venice who live life in their particular way. She herself came also by accident to Venice and through a spontaneous decision. This spontaneous temporary life will replace her monotonous boring life as a mother and a wife in a very `normal' family.

It gave me a pleasant feeling of warmth and joy about life. It made forget the bad feelings I had that day because of the continuously falling rain and the deep gray sky in the last two days. Everybody left the cinema smiling. The actors did their job very well. Among them is one of my favorites (Bruno Ganz) who was as always splendid in his role.

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Another marvelous movie of Wong Kar-Wai talking about loneliness and feelings of a man and a woman in Hong Kong of the sixties

[8/10 · 4 December 2000]

Two hours ago I was watching this brilliant movie which overwhelmed me with its imprisoning photography. It is quite understandable how it won the prize of Best Camera in Cannes 2000. Close ups predominated it. Close ups of walls, humans and of many other things. The warm colored lighting (which is also usually by the director) gave the movie a warm atmosphere. Only two persons are principally to be seen in most of it. An interesting music and especially three songs or themes accompanied the movie nearly all the time. Each one of these themes represented a certain atmosphere during the whole movie. Silence and slow movements characterize the movie. Some scenes were extended moments or a serious of close-ups. Not only Tony Leung deserves a prize for his superb acting since Maggie Cheung was also so brilliant. I wonder how many dresses she was wearing in the different scenes. The story was also connected somehow with the history of Hong Kong and the region the 1960s. This prevented me from understanding some details of the it especially at the end. In short I would recommend the fans of artistic movies to watch it in the cinema.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

A very hard movie that should be also a musical

[6/10 · 27 November 2000]

This is the third movie that I see of the work of Lars von Trier. I must say that I am bit disappointed. The movie was not able to reach me as "Breaking the waves" did. The musical scenes blocked any emotional interaction with the movie in my case. They seamed to me as though they have been made to show Björks musical capabilities (although I know that it was not the intention to do so). Presumably these scenes were made in order to show a happy contrast to the very sad main story which is emotionally very violent. Björk as well as many other actors played their roles very well. Only I felt that Catherine Deneuve was not really suitable in this role. Anyhow one should be prepared to leave the cinema in a very very low mood after watching this movie(this happened to my girlfriend). The music could be interesting for the people who like the music of Björk. Unfortunately I did not like it. The photography should be also mentioned. Even though the movie was meant to be made as simple as possible I do not agree with the unstable and the unsharp photography. It doesn't make feel that the movie is more realistic or more true. It gives me only a slight dizziness. Anyway I recommend watching this movie to the ones who like to see cultural or artistic movies.

The Emperor and the Assassin (1998)

An interesting historical Chinese movie in hollywoodish dimensions

[7/10 · 27 November 2000]

Principally the movie is interesting to see. Nevertheless it was a bit too long (163 minutes). Although it was sometimes important to show the historical, psychological and personal backgrounds of the protagonists it might have been better if it were shorter. The acting of all actors was very good convincing. Like many other Chinese movies huge palaces and plains covered with Hundreds of soldiers have been shown. It is as well a quite interesting photography as usual in the movies of Chen Kaige. Anyhow I must say that I was a bit disappointed. As I read in an article they said that frequently Chinese directors make films of the past trying to criticize the present without irritating the censors in their country. In this movie I could not find any relation to the present of China. Perhaps because I am not Chinese! That is why the movie was simply a historical one telling the story of a brutal king who united China to the first time under his flag. It might be good for the common knowledge but it is not that quite interesting for the fantasy! Therefore I can see it was not big artistic pleasure for me.

Taxi 2 (2000)

a funny movie

[7/10 · 21 November 2000]

I spent a nice time watching this movie. I was laughing nearly all the time. Although I can speak French but it was not enough to understand many of the wordplays which are also surely not appropriately translatable in the subtitles. As usual in the French comedy they have to mock of the authorities like the government, the police or the army. Even the French president and prime minister did not escape this fate. Generally it's a movie to have fun in it . Since the movie takes place in south France the Arab immigrants has to show up in it with their accent. Many of the dialogues were in fact a critic against things that happen in France like among others the maltreatment of some foreigners by the police.

There is nothing special concerning the scenario or the direction. Anyway one cannot expect to see a movie with a totally coherent scenario. It's rather a light movie for having fun not in a totally stupid manner as is the case in many comedies. The actors played there roles in an appropriate manner also without any special or outstanding acting.

The Idiots (1998)

A long exhausting movie

[16 October 2000]

It is my second Dogma movie and I did not like it like the first one (Festen). After having watched both movies I can say some words first on the principle of Dogma. I did not find genius at all that the camera was shaking more or less along the two movies not mentioning losing the focus sometimes. Shooting a movie with a low budget and not using costumes is not a bad idea at all but I don't find it really necessary to be able to see the sound technicians sometimes! A friend got so sick after the movie (because of the shaking camera) that she needed 3 hours to get rid of her dizziness. Concerning the movie "The idiots' itself I found it too hard and not attaching (I looked two or three times to the watch during the movie). The idea itself of playing the idiots in order to get freed from the strict social rules was also bothering. Although the most of the people in the group suited each other one of them did not. This one should had a key connection between the real life and the idiotic role they were playing during their long 'holiday'. Although social criticism was presumably the objective of the movie I find that it was failed since the most of the movie was discovering the inner but synthetic idiots of the protagonists. I would prefer therefore another kind of social criticism or let us say with other means. As a summary I can say that this movie did not move anything inside me quite on the contrary of 'Breaking the waves' the first movie I watched of Lars von Trier.

The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)

It is a very nice movie that puts the question : Who is mad?

[22 September 2000]

I read only negative critics about this movie and I don't confirm that. I found it very interesting. I was even often laughing where everybody in the cinema around me were silent!! I have to admit that I had big questions after watching it but this is usual for the most movies of Wim Wenders. Anyway he is the director from whom I watched the biggest number of movies. Some crazy people (in a way or another) live in the Million Dollar Hotel where everything took place. At the end I was asking myself whether they were crazy at all. I even felt that inhabitants of this hotel are an allegory on the whole crazy world! Or maybe they were sane and the others were insane!! There was certainly a critic about many aspects of the life in USA. It is for instance certainly not a coincidence that a personality in this happens to be a big Jewish media boss who manipulates the FBI and the Media in the way he wants!! Why was the FBI agent a half cripple? The were many other questions. One thing is sure, and that is that I was not bored at all. The photography was great as expected from W. Wenders. The music is also very nice and U2 (or Bono) put a lot of their (his) talent inside it. I surely should not forget the actors. They acted all very good and in a persuasive manner. Anyhow I expect that many people wouldn't like. It doesn't have the typical kind of stories that are generally common and beloved by the most of the public but it is right variety for me.

Romance (1999)

A very interesting story about a woman and her physical desires.

[7 August 2000]

I found this movie very interesting although. It deals very openly with sexual desires of a girl that have been deprived from sex for a relatively long time by her boyfriend and what she does to change this situation. It was a non stopping dialogue of this girl with herself. It showed also clearly the conflicts inside of her during her search or let us say sexual and emotional research. Despite many very open scenes of sexual intercourse I would not classify this movie as a porno movie in any way. It was simply about a girl that wanted to understand her desires. It had also a very strong French touch in its dialogues that help us to interact in a better manner with her. I would recommend this movie for opened minded people who want to better understand humans and their desires without being embarrassed of watching overt

Luna Papa (1999)

Full of crazy coincidences that make it in some way realistic

[7 August 2000]

This movie reminds strongly of some movies of the director Emir Kusturica. It takes places in an ex-soviet republic in Central Asia. It shows to which extent it became chaotic there after the fall of the soviet union. It is full of contradictories and bizarre happenings. A family is looking for a wandering actor who made its daughter pregnant. During this search many crazy things occur and the end is even crazier. Nevertheless it is very interesting. Sometimes it is very funny and some other times it is sad. It shows also the conditions in which people in this zone of the world are living. It reminds strongly of the movies of Emir Kusturica about Yugoslavia or it's former republics.

The War Zone (1999)

It was a pretty hard movie with a lot of violent feelings

[7 August 2000]

It was a pretty hard movie with a lot of violent feelings In fact it is not my favorite movie genre but I admit that it was very good in many aspects. The actors were very convincing. The movie itself was made in a manner that we feel it is very real. Everything in it like photography and music strengthened the impressions of reality. My big problem was that I don't like such a kind of family tragedies!

Being John Malkovich (1999)

A fantastic movie inside the head of JM

[7 August 2000]

As I left the cinema I felt as if were drunk although I did not drink anything!! In this confusing movie fantasy is strongly mixed with reality in a manner that you don't know who was actually playing. At the end of it my friends and I were unable to convince ourselves that John Malkovich himself was playing! I liked especially the scenes of the subconscious of JM. Not only him but all main actors played their roles in an excellent manner. The hand held camera and 'realistic' photography contributed strongly to the confusion. It is as well a funny movie as good made. I recommend watching this movie especially in the cinema because it helps you slide inside this fascinating bizarre atmosphere.

La fille sur le pont (1999)

It's a nice movie with some original features

[10 May 2000]

There are some special things in this movies. In general it has many elements that make French movies my favorites. The black and white of photography gave a different touch. Daniel Auteuil was as always great. Vanessa Paradis was OK but she doesn't compare to he great partner. The thing that I really liked in this movie was its cut and the sudden shift from a scene to another accompanied with a similar shift in the music. The soundtrack is very interesting and it contains a collection of songs in many different languages and music styles. The plot itself was not that interesting for me. I expected more surprises in the French way. I would recommend the film but without making big promises.

eXistenZ (1999)

A science fiction movie that confounds reality with several layers of electronic fantasy

[7/10 · 9 April 2000]

It is not a bad movie at all but it was not what I wanted to see. It warns us nevertheless of the electronic age in which we are living. In this movie Fiction is mingled strongly with reality and one can have some fear that things would develop in our life in this manner. I must only say that the movie had some scenes that were not especially appetizing!! After having seen this movie I hope that people in the future would still be able to play have fun without being connected to some machine!

American Beauty (1999)

It is a surprisingly good movie about our social masks, loneliness and inability to see the beauty in the world

[8/10 · 21 March 2000]

Usually the more a movie gets Oscar nomination or prizes the more I don't want to see it. Generally it was one of my rules in the pre-evaluation of movies and it is based upon many bad experiences. In the case of "American Beauty" this rule was not applicable at all. I got encouraged to watch the movie after I heard so many contradictory opinions about it Usually when a lot of debates are aroused about something it is worth seeing. It is in fact a movie among a serious of excellent low budget socially critical American movies that are made in the last three years like "Happiness (1998)" and "Sue (1997)". At the beginning it has the amazing ability if making you laugh on things that are principally very sad. The main characters are 'usual' people but after taking a deep look along the movie you find out that they are not usual at all! Everybody is behaving normally in way the society wants it but they are deeply ruining their lives. It is a critic about their loneliness and inability to communicate with each other. It is also about the image that one should have in the surrounding society ignoring ones real feelings and running after the material world leaving his 'human' self behind. A middle aged man is fed up with his stupid work and the his boring life and falls in love in the friend of his teenager daughter. His wife is running after her own career forgetting the many things that make people happy in their lives without thinking about money. His daughter is feeling neglected by her parents. Her best girl friend personifies the 'American beauty' with her long blond hair and excessive make up and keeps on telling about her big sexual adventures and how a great model she will be. She is surely also of course totally dumb! A neighbor, who is an ex-officer in the Marines, runs his home with military order. His son makes his money illegally in order to afford buying expensive video equipment in order to document everything around him. The impact of this film comes from the similarity between this people and all of us. Are we also so unhappy? Unlike the end of "Happiness (1998)" and although it is principally sad, it's very optimist! The photography is simple but effective. Using the video camera in some scenes helps contemplating these scenes with other eyes. I am still astonished of the great success of this movie. Usually such critical movies don't encounter the enthusiasm of the spectators especially the North Americans. Is it a new tendency in Hollywood to make movies with a deep meaning? Or at least with some meaning?!

Life Is to Whistle (1998)

it is a nice Cuban movie about the search for liberty and happiness

[7/10 · 14 March 2000]

I liked this movie in general. The things I could not understand made it difficult for me to give a precise judgement at the end. It is, like many Cuban movies, full of life. It shows how people there take life so simple and how they are open to each other. It is a movie about the search for happiness and maybe liberty in Cuba. The society was also criticized. It showed that some people cannot hear the word liberty or honesty! In some parts the borders between reality and fantasy vanish which makes it more interesting like a mysterious taxi driver who knows about the destiny of all the people. He is perhaps the destiny itself personified in a nice person. Each one of the three protagonists live in his or her way and tries to find happiness in his (her) way. I am still asking myself about the meaning of the whistle in this movie! Probably it is a symbol of freedom. This movie is nice and worth seeing but is not one of my big favorites in the Latin American cinema.

Faraway, So Close! (1993)

It is a wonderful movie about time , angels and how wonderful is it to be a human being

[10/10 · 8 March 2000]

I can say this movie is one of the best movies I have ever watched (and I watched a lot of them). The roles were very well interpreted by good actors. Even when they are no actors at all, as Mikhail Gorbachyov who appears in a scene. Many things make this movie special. In it five languages are being spoken. Nevertheless it doesn't really matter. The protagonists can understand what is being said as though language difference is not that relevant for humans to understand each other. The pictures are the usual great Wim Wenders pictures. Black and white pictures indicate the coolness of the world of angels while colors indicate how colorful the world could be for humans (if they can see it!). It is an analysis of the relationship of man with the world around. Humans think that they are controlling the world, but the world is controlling their lives in fact. It shows how blind we can be in contemplating the beauty of the world around us. In this matter one could mention the movie called "The awakenings" (1990) although the two movies are in most aspects different. It is a movie about an angel who wants to become human in order to be able to understand humans, and how he gets into a complicated life. It helps a lot to see "The wings of desire" where the story between angels and humans started. Some things are hard to understand when you don't know the first movie. This movie is also an analysis of time. Emit Flesti (read backward Time itself) is a very interesting character that can communicate with both angels and humans, and who speaks about almost always about time and its meaning. For me he was also a mix of Lucifer and the death angel as well. The background of the whole story is Berlin after the fall of the wall, whereas "The wings of desire" took place before the end of the cold war.

This movie makes a genius use of fantasy to analyze our lives. Its main message is : "We (the angels) are not the message. We are the messengers and the message is love".

Three Kings (1999)

I was positively surprised in this movie. It showed many aspects about the gulf war that are not usually shown. It was in many ways fair.

[8/10 · 1 March 2000]

I wanted to watch this movie because very few movies were made about this war. Very little was known about it and many things were masked by the media. It was one of the few movies that shows that not only the US army is right and the 'enemies' or the opponents are simply a bunch bad and clumsy soldiers. This is the usual trend regardless of whether the enemies are Germans , Russians, Arabs or Vietnamese. In this movie there was an encounter between four American soldiers and Iraqis that belong to several groups. It was clearly shown in which bad conditions the people are living under suppression and in a destroyed country. It was also the first encounter of these American soldiers with war at all since they were sitting in their camps waiting that the air raids and the other allied forces finish the job. Many mistakes of this war were shortly mentioned in smart short commentaries like mentioning burying the Iraqi soldiers alive in their barricades with bulldozers. In fact many dialogs and statements met some sensible issues of this war like bombarding civilians. It demonstrated as well what a bullet can do to the human body and that it is not only a game! It showed the Americans, the Iraqi soldiers and the population of south Iraq as human beings with their strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless one can not expect a Hollywood movie to be completely non-hollywoodic. For instance the end of the movie was rather "traditional". Also the American soldiers can shoot better than the Iraqis although the latter ones are members of the elite troops. The movie had even humor in some scenes although sometimes one doesn't know whether one should laugh or cry! The photography was very good and it served its purpose efficiently. Special photographic effects were used like altering the contrasts , the brightness and the graininess of the pictures scenes to enhance their beauty. The music was also generally well chosen and fitted good. In my opinion there was nothing special about the acting performance of the main characters. In general the roles of the Arabs were more convincing or let us say more natural. I am still asking myself why does this movie have this name? Although they were four soldiers only three are mentioned. Is this a similar case like the 'Three musketeers'? Does it have anything to do with the three kings of the new testament? It is maybe like this since they gave a big gift to a group of poor refugees at the end of the movie. Some other comments suggested nominating this movie for the academy award. Well I think it is too good to win an academy award!

Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989)

An interesting movie about two creative people and their work

[6/10 · 29 February 2000]

I can't say much about the movie. It is principally interesting because it shows the similarity of the creativity of two artists (a fashion designer and a film director) with the emphasis on the first one. It is in fact a creative documentary about the two of them. There was also an attempt to define fashion and identity in our modern world. It is a typical Wim Wenders movie. The photography is marked by his style. This movie or documentary becomes sometimes boring. The emphasis on the differences between the movie camera and the video camera was interesting but it was often tiring

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

simply a Bond movie! Anyway it is not my favorit type of movies

[15 February 2000]

In fact I don't watch this kind of movies. I avoid principally movies with violence, smart men with guns and beautiful women who fall in love at once and sleep with them, and especially when they such an aggressive enemy! This could be the main plot of many movies. Anyhow I watched it because I wanted to have some change and watch a movie in English since most of the movies here in Germany are dubbed. I also wanted to watch the beautiful Sophie Marceau. Well there is not much to tell about. The main idea that crossed my mind was that James Bond parody movies like "Austin Powers" are not really necessary since James Bond makes fun of himself in his movies! Another thing is that I never can understand why could be some people so wicked, at least in movies? Adding to that a bunch of scientific mistakes were unsurvivable situations like for example holding a Plutonium rod without being fatally radiated (the consequences should manifest later). The music was good and in fact I passed a nice time mocking of Bond and friends. It is also always a delight to watch Sophie, although I prefer to watch her in better movies.

The Ninth Gate (1999)

Although I could not understand many things I recommend watching this movie

[8/10 · 9 February 2000]

I watched this movie a few days ago but I postponed my comment hoping that I would be able to understand more through reading more about it. Principally I really liked it and I recommend watching it. Concerning photography and music it was very well made. I can say one thing about its rhythm. During the movie I was attracted to the events but at the end I felt that the movie lasted longer that it really does (2 hours). Most of the actors fitted in their roles as I can personally see. I am only a little bit skeptical about the role of 'the girl'. Generally she played ok but there was something missing. I could not identify whether it is because of her mysterious role or because of misinterpreting it.

I did not read the book, consequently I cannot compare the movie with the book but I think that I have to read it in order to understand more what happened. Either I have to watch this movie once more or I have to read the book in order to be able to answer some questions!

Some of the scenes reminded me of 'Eyes Wide Shut' although the plot is quite different. >

Propaganda (1999)

It is a funny movie that show interesting aspects of a different society and the negative role of bureaucracy in our lives sometimes! It is worth seeing

[7/10 · 25 January 2000]

I liked this movie in general. It is funny and it mocked of bureaucracy in particular. Anyhow some things were not really realistic. I can't imagine that in a such rural society in west Asia a pregnant girl before marriage would have been so tolerated as in this movie! It shows also some interesting aspects like the arid nature of this region and the nature of its people. I spent a nice time in this movie. I encourage that more movies from that relatively unknown region of the world (middle east- west Asia) should be made