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Reviews
The Holiday (2006)
Warm-hearted if somewhat fanciful
If only there were villages in Surrey, England that looked this pretty in snow - come that, if only there were snow in Surrey, which there hasn't been in any quantity for years. Still, the good folks of Shere will have enjoyed some of Universal's finest white stuff when this was filmed, apparently in high summer. Kate Winslett carries the film, ably assisted by Jude Law. For me, both Cameron Diaz and Jack Black were miscast, though I too enjoyed the Dustin Hoffman cameo. I was pretty fidgety during the first 30 minutes, thinking it was all going to be too hammy for words, but then the characters kicked in and, in true make-believe fashion, I just let it all wash over me like warm chocolate. Not many laughs - in fact only one - and not much emotion-grabbing either, but just before Christmas with a full brain, it was great relaxation
Lundi matin (2002)
So typically French!
This just popped up on BBC 4, a digital station in the UK and the review tempted me. Had no really idea what it was all about but was fascinated throughout. The French know how to let a movie take its course without heavy editing and cutting. Very little dialogue yet you sink straight into the rut and routine of life in a tiny French village; and then the contrast of the romance of Venice. The characters are well defined, and I loved the way the family children looked after the grandparents, while the husband - the central character - seemed to live just for his cigarettes. The realisation that working life is much the same anywhere sent him home where he's received as if he'd never been gone! Anyone who's seen "Etre & Avoir" will feel right at home with this.