The Host (2006)

The Host

Bong Joon-ho 
South Korea

With a few exceptions like Frankenstein, Jaws, Alien and the original King Kong, monster movies are a genre of film that is rarely discussed when talking about the best films of a year. Most horror films are looked down upon for different reasons, mainly because there are so many terrible ones, and many are unwilling to give them a chance due to their preconceived notions about what horror films are all about. On this blog, we feel it is important to not have bias against any one genre of film so all are on equal footing as we analyze them. Ignoring a genre would make the world of film lose some of its luster for us as well. The Host, by Bong Joon-ho, is so interesting and worth noting in this series of articles because while it can be taken as just another big monster movie in the vein of Godzilla or King Kong, it also has an entire political subtext based on U.S.-Korean relations.

The opening scene is taken from reality, where, in 2000, a U.S. Military employee ordered the dumping of toxic chemicals into a the sewer system that led to the Han River despite the protests of a South Korean subordinate. The government of South Korea attempted to prosecute the employee but the U.S. Military refused to hand him over and the Korean public was furious that their government could not enforce their laws on someone hurting their their environment within their borders. The Host's main characters are a normal, slightly dysfunctional family, that are powerless as a monster kidnaps one of their members, a little girl named Hyun-seo. They cannot get their government officials to listen to their pleas for help and the U.S. Military does not listen to them and is even openly hostile towards them. Confusion and misinformation among the military and its scientists lead them to believe the creature is the host of a virus so the family are held in quarantine. There, the father of the young girl, Gang-du, finds out there is no virus and the government officials are perpetuating the misinformation to cover up their mistake. This all happens while they are prepping him for brain surgery to “locate the viral infection.” In an strange turn-of-events, his lobotomy somehow cures his slow-wittedness and he is much more proactive for the rest of the film. They are completely at the mercy of the government and military which makes you wonder how you might be treated in a local disaster like a hurricane or viral outbreak. Can your rights be indiscriminately taken away as well?

While being a great monster movie first and foremost, The Host is filled with scenes of humor, drama and suspense as well as political commentary and the film becomes greater than the sum of its parts because all are presented equally well with little disconnect. In one great scene, a group funeral is taking place for the victims of the creature's attacks. The whole family gets together to mourn for the little girl thought dead and slowly becomes a slapstick fight between siblings as photographers from news outlets snap pictures. After the family gets a cell phone call from the young girl, they escape quarantine and go after the monster on their own. The escape and subsequent fight against the creature are full of edge-of-your-seat moments and you will be rooting for their success and hopeful for their reunion. The creature's introduction is deftly handled as, only ten minutes into the film it appears in broad daylight as opposed to sneaking around in the shadows for half of the running time (Peter Jackson's recent remake of King Kong had the monster not appear until 70 minutes in.)

Compared to an American film of this type, The Host was made on a shoestring budget of only 11 million dollars but that is actually a huge amount for a Korean movie. An American remake is in the works and will probably require a minimum of 100 million dollars if other big budget Hollywood movies are any indication. The remake will most likely remove the anti-colonial subtext and become just another big monster movie in the process. The CGI is surprisingly good for such a low budget and the monster looks like it has weight to it that is missing from some Hollywood monsters.

The Host is a highly imaginative mixture of genres and comes with highest recommendation. The look at this family coming together in a disaster is exciting, heartfelt, frightening and fun. Those that avoid horror because of gory violence will be happy that they are kept to a bare minimum. Horror is a staple of film and there are many greats to be found if one looks closely enough and keeps an open mind. 


Rating: 9/10 

-Ryan Sallows

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Flags of Our Fathers

Clint Eastwood

USA

Quite possibly the most significant image of the 20^th century, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima embodies the pride of a nation and the collapse its enemy. The image symbolizes the fall of the Japanese empire, and the rise of the American super power. The photograph is so powerful; the list of symbols it exemplifies is endless. Taken atop Mount Suribachi, Joe Rosenthal’s photo captured the second flag raising on the morning of February 23, 1945; just after the 546-foot mountaintop was captured by the Americans. The significance of the victory at Iwo Jima and the popularity of the photo would resonate throughout the rest of the war and beyond.

Released two weeks apart, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima tell the story both sides of the epic battle of Iwo Jima, and the end of the beginning of the war in the Pacific. With their backs against the wall, the Japanese took a stand on the tiny island, 500 miles off the coast of mainland Japan.  Heavily fortified, the Japanese entrenched themselves on the island to protect its three major airfields. For the American’s, Iwo Jima was the success they needed to set the stage for victory in the Pacific, and eventually the Second World War. Iwo Jima marked the first time the Americans invaded the Japanese on their own homeland, and it proved to be a costly battle for both proud countries.

In Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood focuses his camera on three of the flag raisers; Unites States Marine Corp servicemen John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach). These three surviving members of the photograph are taken from the battlefield and brought back to the mainland to lead the campaign for the hearts and minds of the American public. As they travel together across the Unites States in an effort to sell war bonds and fund the last leg of the war, the three servicemen reflect on the battle of Iwo Jima and all the friends they lost during the bloodiest campaign of World War II.

The film tells much of the story through the flashbacks and memories of each of the soldiers, which is generally an effective technique in war films; and Eastwood’s film is no different. Rather than adopting the handheld camera shake of most modern World War II films, Eastwood builds the story of camaraderie and brotherhood among soldiers through the recollections of the survivors. While Eastwood’s film begins with an attempt to search for the truth behind the famous photograph, it ultimately shows a side of war that no picture can capture. The film attempts to portray the bond that develops between soldiers who depend on each other for survival, and the undying pain from the loss of their friends who did not make it out alive.

As a director, Clint Eastwood has never shied away from grand projects and epic storytelling, and Flags of Our Fathers, along with its companion piece Letters From Iwo Jima, certainly falls into such categories. But, where Letter From Iwo Jima succeeds and Flags of Our Fathers fails, is the depth of the characters we as an audience are meant to feel for emotionally. Each of the three servicemen display different methods of dealing with the horrors of combat, but the performances and the story fall short of the films ultimate goal; to demonstrate how the Second World War was not about propaganda, but real human beings fighting for their lives and for their friends.

Rating: 6/10

- Joshua Albrent

Offside (2006)

Offside

Jafar Panahi

Iran

Over this last summer, Iran's Olympic Women's Soccer Team was disqualified from a qualifying match for the 2012 London Olympics due the hijabs (Islamic headscarves) they wear while playing. Football's rules also prohibit religious statements in team uniforms. This is just one aspect of the problems women in Iran are having to deal with as displayed in the film, Offside. Only men are allowed in the Football Stadium in Tehran, and if women want to attend they must disguise themselves as men and try to sneak in at the risk of being arrested. This is precisely what a group of young girls decide to do and are all caught by the military that are policing the event. They spend the rest of the game in a holding tank outside the stadium arguing with a few soldiers their age. Jafar Panahi said the idea behind creating this film came because his 10-year old daughter wanted to go with him to a match at the stadium but was not allowed to attend. He tried to bring her but they were refused so she told him to go in and wait and then she snuck in and met him inside. The film won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Panahi is also known for his other critically acclaimed films, The Circle and Crimson Gold.

Offside is a study of gender roles in a country where men and women are separated and treated differently in every facet of society down to the way they can dress. While trying to sneak in, the young girls' apparel is looked at as odd and young men leer at them like they have never seen a female before but to an American, their clothes seem extremely conservative, even while in drag. All of them still cover their heads with scarves or hats. It is mentioned in the film that women are not allowed to attend film screenings either, and because this is my passion, I fully sympathize with these young girls wanting to pursue theirs. It is hard to imagine having to live with such divisive laws. It would be sad if I couldn't share my enthusiasm over something I love with my female friends and family, especially if I had a daughter. I would want all the same opportunities I was afforded to be shared by her as well. Film has been something of an education in my life, as it opens windows to other cultures and ways of life, and if that couldn't be experienced by just anyone, then it would be a shame. 

The production values are extremely low budget but not terrible looking which is surprising considering this movie was made for an estimated $2500. The biggest influences on Offside's style appear to be from Italian Neorealism. The director told the young girls to show up in a disguise of their own making which lends a personal style to each girls appearance. Their personalities are all given screen-time and with nothing to lose they give the young soldiers assigned to imprison them hell. A favorite moment is when one of the young women convinces a soldier to take her to the men's room inside the stadium to use the bathroom. Some men rush the lone soldier to get to the stalls, letting her escape into the crowd. The interaction between the soldiers and their young prisoners is an interesting dynamic because, while they have to uphold their duty and imprison the girls, it is apparent they might not believe the law is so vital anyway. Their attraction towards each other slips through the arguing and yelling and sometimes the soldiers even begin to loosen up around their counterparts. The leader of the young soldiers seems to have much respect towards women, and is very protective towards them when a man who knows one of the girls shows up angry and wants to strike her. He feels they should be treated as if they were his mother or sisters.

Offside is a criticism on Iran's policies while still believing in the country and it's people to do the right thing. There is a great patriotic message in the film even if the message is at odd with a law set by the government. The message is never hateful or condescending but hopeful that social change can occur. It could be called respectful, or maybe it is just fearful, dissent. In countries outside the U.S., soccer is a big deal and the love of the game is shared by so many people because the team represents them to the outside world. When one country's soccer team goes up against another's and wins, the citizens of the winning country surge with national pride. The film is showing that women feel this way as much as men do and want to share that sense of victory together and show pride in their national identity. While watching this film you will root for these young girls to overcome their obstacles from finding this joy which is currently a male-only privilege in Iran. Offside was banned in it's home-country but hopefully won't have to be one day.

And here's the sad postscript: Jafar Panahi, one of Iran's leading filmmakers, has recently been arrested after making this film for “assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” He was then given a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on filmmaking, leaving the country or giving interviews. During his house arrest, he made a new film with a small handheld camera about his fears and thoughts on his arrest. He then had the film smuggled out of the country on a flash-drive hidden inside a birthday cake to France, where it premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival. I strongly urge anyone opposed to censorship to check Offside out and see this wonderful film that exposes a human aspect of inequality in Iran.

Rating: 8/10

-Ryan Sallows

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

A Prairie Home Companion

Robert Altman

USA

Except for a short seven-year break, A Prairie Home Companion has been on the radio every week since 1974 and has an enormous fan base across the country. The show, created and hosted by Garrison Keillor, is a live variety show featuring American folk music and comedy with segments dedicated to monologues and radio dramas. Broadcast from Saint Paul, Minnesota, it is a show with very Midwestern sensibilities and a witty and warm sense of humor. The film, A Prairie Home Companion, is based on a fictional version of this show during it's last night on the air as a large corporation buys out the radio station and the theatre it is performed in and decides to shut it down. The film is written by Keillor and is the legendary director, Robert Altman's, last film as he died five months after its release. Altman is best known for his large ensemble cast films such as Nashville, MASH, Short Cuts, The Player and Gosford Park. He is also known for his films McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye and 3 Women. Because of his age and his health, Paul Thomas Anderson was hired to watch the shooting and step in if Altman could not finish the job which, thankfully, never happened. A few years later, Anderson ended up dedicating his amazing film, There Will Be Blood, to Altman.

The film opens with Guy Noir, one of the real APHC show's most popular fictional characters and star of a weekly old-time radio drama portion of the show, narrating the feature and introducing the characters to us. Played by Kevin Kline, he is an out of work private detective, forced to take work as “Vice President of Security and, uh, Data Acquisition” at the theatre the show appears in. In other words he's a glorified doorman with delusions of grandeur but he is very funny as he chases Virginia Madsen playing a “Dangerous Woman” who might be the Angel of Death through the premises of the theatre throughout the film. Also present is Garrison Keillor himself as the host of the program, Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson, the last two members of a family singing act, Yolanda's daughter Lola played by Lindsay Lohan, and Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly as Dusty and Lefty, the singing cowboys. The singing cowboys are two more fictional characters from the radio show brought to life on film and it looks like the two stars had a lot of fun with these roles, making bad jokes with genuine chemistry on stage. Tommy Lee Jones plays the “Axeman,” a character representing the corporation who is here to cancel the show. The cast is rounded out by many musicians and actors brought over from the real radio program.

One would think Lindsay Lohan might bring the rest of the film down considering her current reputation but she does well in her role and even gets her own stand out moment at the end of the show. My favorite moment was the song an old cowboy, played by L.Q. Jones, sings and the events directly following with the Angel of Death coming for him. It is a sad moment but it also very heartfelt with his lover finding his body and embracing him one final time. Garrison Keillor is very good as the host of the program who always manages to drive his pregnant assistant crazy by telling endless stories and moseying up to the stage at the last possible second. Meryl Streep also plays a great character as as singer and former lover of G.K.'s and has a kind of scatter-brained demeanor which causes her to not be able to finish a thought. She does some great singing in the film as the lead of the two sisters (Lily Tomlin's voice is not that great, unfortunately) and she won the Best Supporting Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics for her role.

The film is full of gentle beauty and heart with a joyful sense of humor that never insults. The laughs are based on witty repartee and corny old jokes. To fully appreciate the film you may have to listen to an episode of the program, which are archived on the shows website, or check out clips on Youtube to get an idea of what it's like. Even if you haven’t heard of the radio show before, you can still find something to enjoy whether its the great music, the funny dialogue or maybe even just the Midwestern ambiance and beautiful theatre setting. This is actually the real Fitzgerald Theatre in Saint Paul where the A Prairie Home Companion show is taped live every week, unless the company is on the road. St. Paul is also the hometown of Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, which I think shares a kinship with the radio program, being based on small-town living where life seems to go by a little slower. This film is recommendable as one of the warmest good films in recent memory.

Rating: 8/10

-Ryan Sallows

Next time: A review of Clint Eastwood's World War II film, Flags of Our Fathers, his companion-piece to, Letters from Iwo Jima, a film reviewed earlier by this blog.

Tell No One (2006)

Tell No One

Guillaume Canet 
France

Before we get started I wanted to say we put up the trailer to this film, and view it if you must, but I would actually advise not watching it if you haven't seen the film before.  Because of the many twists in this movie, it is better to go in knowing as little as possible.  However, feel free to read the review as I kept the plot points to a minimum.  

In the spirit of the dark romantic thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock, like Vertigo and North by Northwest, comes Tell No One by Guillaume Canet, a French actor turned director with his second feature. He also co-wrote the script based on an American suspense novel by Harlan Coben and has a very small but integral part as a depraved senator's son. Without having read the book it appears to be the kind of disposable trashy thriller novel overcrowding bookshelves at Barnes & Noble, which isn't necessarily bad source material, but it's not what you think of when it comes to intellectual stimulation. I have a theory that people are often disappointed with films based on great books because they are constantly comparing the two, but if you can take a book that isn't so highly regarded you can often make a great film out of it. A few examples would be The Godfather and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A similar case to this film would be the crime novel, Rum Punch, by Elmore Leonard, which was made into the movie, Jackie Brown. Both are translated to the screen from genre books that could be considered insubstantial.
 

A love story foremost, and a thriller second, Tell No One follows a doctor, Alexandre Beck, still grieving over the murder of his wife eight years ago. All of his friends want him to move on with his life but he can't seem to be able to. Because he was present when she disappeared, the events of his wife's abduction play out in his head over and over. He tries to pick the memories apart to make himself understand what had happened. The murder was accredited to a serial killer active at the time but the police reopen the murder case after new evidence is uncovered with Beck as their top suspect. At around the same time Beck begins to receive mysterious emails with strange clues that come with the warning, “Tell no one. We're being watched.” Pretty soon he finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy and on the run from the law, trying to figure out what is happening before he is caught by the authorities. Revealing anything further would be a crime and the plot, with its many twists and turns, would be spoiled for the new viewer. It's best to go into this film knowing very little so everything is a surprise.
 

For a French production, this film has very American sensibilities with its familiar story of a man alone fighting for everything that's important to him while pursued at every turn. There is even a very real stunt scene while Beck is running from the cops across an expressway. The cinematography is gorgeous with locales in Paris as well as the country. The score is supposedly improvised on guitar, but sounds too good to be true with added great pop songs by American artists like Otis Redding, U2 and Jeff Buckley. François Cluzet plays the lead character, Alexandre Beck, as respectable but desperate. He's still an emotional wreck from his wife's death but people look up to him because he is a physician. He won the César Award (French equivalent of Oscar) for Best Actor for his portrayal. The film also won three more Césars for Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Music Written for a Film. 

Tell No One comes with our highest recommendation and will keep you on the edge of your seat with its labyrinthine plot. The touching love subplot is able to tap into raw human emotion and grabs onto your heart and doesn't let go. It's romantic and beautiful and suspenseful and everything that excites people about movies. New hints and clues reveal themselves on multiple viewings. The film is so satisfying on the whole that I struggled with not revealing more to you in this review because there is so much I want to talk about. So just see it. See it because it's moving, exciting, unpredictable, complex and captivating. See it because it's one of the best films of 2006. See it, then tell all your friends to see it and then see it again. Just talking about it is making me want to watch it again now. 

 

Rating: 10/10
 

-Ryan Sallows

Next time: A review for Clint Eastwood's World War II film, Flags of Our Fathers, his companion piece to an earlier reviewed film, Letters from Iwo Jima.
A review for Robert Altman's final film, A Prairie Home Companion, a big ensemble cast musical-comedy with a lot of heart.

Woman on the Beach (2006)

 Woman on the Beach

Hong Sang-soo

South Korea

(I know this trailer doesn't have English subtitles.  I will try to see if I can upload one at a later date.)

Woman on the Beach, the seventh film by South Korean director, Hong Sang-soo, is about the choices a person makes in their search for love when they meet someone new. When does attraction take hold? Why do some people meet and fall in love while others remain friends or mere acquaintances? These questions are tough to answer, and making the wrong choice can lead to unwanted consequences. Weighing your options is sometimes not enough to come up with a good answer because the heart can be mysterious. It can fly in the face of your greater instincts which can cause great inner turmoil. Feelings can also change toward someone in short time and you can be left wondering how you ever fell in love in the first place. These problems all exist in this film, but don't expect any straight answers. The characters are all trying to figure it all out themselves.

All the drama centers around multiple love triangles involving a composer named Moon-sook. When she travels to the coast with a film director, Joong-rae Kim, and a production designer, Chang-wook, they spend all their time trying to be with her, even though they are supposed to be there on business to write a script. After days of making drunken advances towards her and subtly bullying others around him, Director Kim tells her he loves her and they sleep together. Afterwards, he blows her off and they go their separate ways while hurting their friendship with Chang-wook. Director Kim later ends up back at the beach again by himself and begins chasing a new girl who reminds him of Moon-sook. Then in Vertigo-like fashion, he begins to repeat all of the same things he did with Moon-sook the first time he was at the beach and even ends up sleeping with the new girl in the same hotel room. At the same time, Moon-sook interrupts them by drunkenly pounding on the door in the middle of the night.

Lovers, and feelings, come and go in this film. At one point a character may be desperate for another's affection and at a different point may be completely indifferent towards the same person. They can also let their hangups get in the way of a good thing, such as when Director Kim cannot get over the fact that Moon-sook dated and slept with European men when she lived in Germany. His hangups ruined his first marriage because he couldn't get over his wife sleeping with a mutual friend before they met. Moon-sook is disappointed in Director Kim because her adoration for him as a director and artist fades and she begins seeing him as “just another Korean man.” Moon-sook says that her greatest fear is obsession and this is displayed in her distaste towards Chang-wook's clinginess and later, Director Kim's desperation to be with her again. She showed much more interest when he was acting like an alpha male towards her in the beginning of their relationship.

In the beginning, Moon-sook has a choice between Director Kim and Chang-wook. Then Director Kim has a choice between Moon-sook and a new lover. In the end, two men help Moon-sook get her car unstuck in the sand. Woman on the Beach shows that there is always a choice in romantic relationships and you are never stuck with your current love. But is this always a good thing? It seems to create much more confusion as the characters go through the agony of desperation and then suddenly distance themselves and feel indifferent towards the object of their affections. It seems as if everyone in the film is at one time attracted towards each other but can never get it together enough to make it work. No one is on the same page at the same time to make anything last. It reminds me of a quote from a song by LCD Soundsystem: “Nobody's falling in love, everybody here needs a shove, and nobody's getting any touch, everybody thinks that it means too much.” Everybody is guilty of taking things too seriously sometimes and maybe in the beginning that isn’t what love and attraction is about.

Rating: 7/10

-Ryan Sallows

Next time: A review for Clint Eastwood's World War II film, Flags of Our Fathers, his companion piece to an earlier reviewed film, Letters from Iwo Jima.
We will put up a review for the French romantic thriller, Tell No One, by Guillaume Canet, winner of the César Award for Best Director and three others!

12:08 East of Bucharest (2006)

12:08 East of Bucharest

Corneliu Porumboiu

Romania

Set in the Romanian town of Vaslui sixteen years after the fall of the Communist regime, 12:08 East of Bucharest tells the story of a place and its people struggling to find its identity post revolution.  The film takes place in a single days time, and centers around a talk show host’s singular question; was there or wasn’t there a revolution?

As the film opens we are introduced to three central characters. Mr. Jderescu (Teodor Corban), a textile owner turned talk show host, who begs the central question. Although, Mr. Jderescu’s life is not that of a traditional talk show host, as he spends most of the day on the phone leaving nasty (and hilarious) voice messages for the guests he cannot get a hold of the day of the show.  As replacements for his guests, Mr. Jderescu first finds a master at deadpan comedy, Old Man Piscoci (Mircea Andreescu). The old man is known in town for his seemingly legendary role as Santa Claus. Still, most of the kids in the town scare him throughout the day with ear piercing fireworks. Mr. Jderescu’s second guest is Manescu (Ion Sapdaru), a high school history teacher and town drunk. The task of recalling the 1989 revolution is reluctantly placed in the hands of these two.

Throughout the day leading up to the talk show, Porumboiu takes us through the monotony of life in Romania. The use of a colorless landscape and seemingly every tone of grey throughout the film leaves the viewer wanting out of such a dreary town. Residents of Vaslui are readying themselves for the Christmas holiday, but the general well-being and cheer that accompanies such a celebration can only be found in dirty Santa suits and half-baked Christmas trees.  While battling a busted signal in his television set, Old Man Piscoci is asked to fill in as Santa Claus. He tries on a weathered Santa suit he refers to as a “dirty dishtowel,” in one of the films many dry comedic moments. The children cannot be found in the streets playing sports or riding bicycles, but rather they spend the day scaring old men with fireworks. Even the tripod used for the talk show camera does not work properly. The revolution has clearly not brought much fortune to the town of Vaslui.

Porumboiu chooses to use single stationary camera shots throughout the entirety of the film, further adding to the drab disposition of the Romanian town. Even through his camera technique blends seamlessly into the final act of the talk show, the director purposefully uses theses simple shots to convey the dull lifestyle.  Once the film reaches the conclusion of the talk show, it becomes obvious as to why the town of Vaslui appears so downtrodden. Manescu’s account of the day the Romanian leadership stepped down is suspect at best. His version of the story cannot be corroborated by one of the many residents who call into the talk show. Nobody is able to give a clear account of the day's events, and answer whether or not the townspeople of Vaslui took to the streets prior to the leadership relinquishing power (at 12:08 p.m. on December 22, 1989), leaving us with a healthy suspicion. Even Old Man Piscoci tells his story of that day through an argument he had with his wife, that led him to the streets to protest; simply to show his wife that he was a real man.

On the other hand, Porumboiu suggests the people of Vaslui may be asking the wrong question, when they wonder whether or not they played any part in the Romanian revolution. Possibly the reason why they are not reaping the benefits of a revolutionary change is simply because they have yet to learn how.

The talk show closes with one last caller; a woman who confesses that her son was killed during the revolution. However, she does not call into the show to tell her story. Rather, she calls to tell the three men the weather conditions outside. “I’m just calling to let you know its snowing outside,” she exclaims. “It’s snowing, Big white flakes…enjoy it now, tomorrow it will be mud…” While debating history and their role in the Romanian revolution, the people of Vaslui are simply overlooking the simple joys and beauties of their country. Abandoning the melancholy single frame long takes; the director closes the film with soothing pictures of Vaslui, with white snow falling on the streets. 

Rating: 7/10

- Joshua Albrent

Next time:  A review of South Korean romantic comedy, Woman on the Beach, by Hong Sang-soo.  This review will appear after the Christmas holiday, on December 28th.