Those two were real class, at the end : Responses by Tweet (and not) to La belle époque (2019)

Responses by Tweet (and not) [an accreting list] to La belle époque (2019)

More views of - or before - Cambridge Film Festival 2019 (17 to 24 October)
(Click here to go directly to the Festival web-site)

20 November

Responses by Tweet (and not) [an accreting list] to La belle époque (2019)

* With so many (doubtful ?) Twitter-accounts that appear when searching by film-title for the authenticated account, which are claiming to offer free HD streaming of the film, this seemed the safest pick. :)

— THE AGENT APSLEY #ScrapUniversalCredit #JC4PM2019 (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) November 21, 2019

Key film-references (in order of significance) :

* The Game (1997)
* Midnight in Paris (2011)
* Westworld (1973)
* The Truman Show (1998)
* Les Beaux Jours (Bright Days Ahead) (2013)
* A Fish called Wanda (1988)
* Nathalie (2001)
* Souvenir (2016)


A film whose (unexplained**) opening, which we may have forgotten by the time of its descent into romantic comedy (which are usually either 'ardour cooled' [Le Week-End (2013)], or 'hate at first sight' [You've Got Mail (1998)]), promised more interesting fare, as if a significant riff on The Game (1982) and others (as just listed) :

In its own terms, it got us to where it wanted, but its ideas could probably have done with being thinned out, so that - some adept pacing and editing apart, which certainly kept the story's tick-over going in the important moments - it did not feel as if some strands had been mimetic of the possibility of something more, but essentially thrown out (but kept in) as misleading pointers (rather than feeling like 'true' misdirections) and / or ideas that had been sent down a dead end :

For a film, itself shot on a set, that is largely set on a set, it is necessarily likely to get quite a bit Sunset Blvd. (1950) [not to say Mulholland Drive (2001)].

[...]


Other references :

* Hope Springs (2012)
* Les émotifs anonymes (Romantics Anonymous) (2010)
* The Pornographer (2001)
* Le Week-End (2013)
* Absolute Beginners (1986)


[...]


If you want to Tweet, Tweet away here

Unless stated otherwise, all films reviewed were screened at Festival Central (Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge)

Cinema-going in 2017, an illustrated round-up

#UCFF's most-esteemed films, as seen during 2017

More views of - or before - Cambridge Film Festival 2017 (19 to 26 October)
(Click here to go directly to the Festival web-site)

Christmas Eve

#UCFF's most-esteemed films, as seen during 2017 :
or, available here in a plain-text version

Dedicated to Neil White of everyfilm.co.uk (as pictured)

Just flicked through the 520 films on https://t.co/xFknMehWT9 that @everyfilmneil has watched and posted reviews for so far this year :

A way of reminding of the dozen or so that #UCFF valued (from a much smaller sample), to compile in a Christmas posting.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 24, 2017

In alphabetical order (with date of viewing), and - unless stated otherwise - seen at The Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge (@CamPicturehouse) :


* A Quiet Passion (2016) ~ 12 March

Bright Star (2009) and @aquietpassion link : Jane Campion and Terence Davies, respectively, want us to hear verse unheeded in the poets' day pic.twitter.com/PbPBKDwkGd

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) March 13, 2017

* Baby Driver (2017) ~ 3 July

No doubt that Wright's poking fun of - outright mocking ? - Drive (2011) and Gosling / Mulligan with the pseudo-psychology and 'Wanting out'

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) July 5, 2017

* Becoming Cary Grant (2017) ~ 29 July [seen at The Watershed* / @wshed]

Loved listening to Mark Kidel intro +Q&A his affectionate Becoming Cary Grant: "He took acid 100 times, which is 99 times more than I did."

— Rose (@rozebaker) July 30, 2017

* Cameraperson (2016) ~ 8 March

Thanks, @CamPicturehouse @PicDOCS, for Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson (2016) :

Well worth waiting, since not getting in at @sheffdocfest !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) March 8, 2017

* Citizen Jane : Battle for the City (2016) ~ 8 May

The @janejacobsdoc : Battle for the City (2016) is an encouragement to us, when we do not think that we can make a difference to our lives ! pic.twitter.com/YEG64wrfsw

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) May 8, 2017

* Elle (2016) ~ 10 March

'Where Eastern Boys (2013) evokes merging the power-play of the everyday world with that of gaming and gamers, Elle (2016) actually does it' pic.twitter.com/fWEATuFRZf

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) March 12, 2017

* Happy End (2017) ~ 1 December

Sally Potter's The Party (2017) and Haneke's @HappyEndFilm (2017) are arguably both ensemble films, but there the similarity stops : #HappyEnd's Anne (Isabelle Huppert), for example, has the space of not being in every scene, unlike Tom (Cillian Murphy), in the loo, or at the bin pic.twitter.com/Btxu7UoFu4

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 2, 2017

* Jackie (2016) ~ 22 February

Expectations of Grace of Monaco (2014) put right by @everyfilmneil's encouraging review, this was screen-filling intensity and immersion.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) February 22, 2017

* Missing (Sarajin Yeoja) (2016) ~ 24 April

Hyo-jin Kong and Ji-won Uhm [Missing (2016)] do much more than give Tae-ri Kim and Min-hee Kim a run for their money [The Handmaiden (2016)] pic.twitter.com/xT3ge6KCVr

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) April 25, 2017

* Prevenge (2016) ~ 31 March [seen at Saffron Screen / @Saffronscreen]

As told by @prevengemovie's @MissJoHartley [@Saffronscreen's guest], @alicelowe scripted @prevengemovie in a fortnight, shot it in 11 days.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) April 1, 2017

* Silence (2016)

We can be proud to have film-makers with the vision and honesty of Martin Scorsese with Silence (2016), initially in first half C17 Japan.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) January 20, 2017

Very easily done with Scorsese, but thinking that #silencemovie has a colonial theme or needs an interest in missionaries misses the point ?

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) January 24, 2017

* Souvenir (2016) ~ 28 August [seen at Saffron Screen]

Very pleased, once more, for the assurance of trusting @SaffronScreen 'blind' for Isabelle Huppert in Souvenir (2016) - rivalling KST now !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) August 28, 2017

* The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo) (2017) ~ 11 September

Here's a first response, to a film that asks 'Who are we ?', and asserts (twice ?) that 'Nothing we say here will change anything'... pic.twitter.com/H6hXgw3RPr

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) September 11, 2017

So, March turns out to have been a good time to be at the cinema (not just because it is the time of year for bait for BAFTA, or The Academy Awards)...



Honourable mentions :


* Aquarius (2016) ~ 23 November

NB Should be 'makes / wants to *keep* an underclass' !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) November 24, 2017

* Chi-Raq (2015) ~ 5 February [seen at Saffron Screen]

At @Saffronscreen, Chi-Raq (2015) from Spike Lee was sometimes a little patchy, but had a stonking speech from John Cusack in St. Sabina's !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) February 5, 2017

* Dispossession : The Great Social Housing Swindle (2017)

50,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished to make way for about 130 illegal Israeli settlements #50yearstoomany https://t.co/1ZZ0kQ2pIY

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) September 27, 2017

And we must spot parallels ? :

In films such as @halfwaydocu and @velvetjoyltd's Dispossession), we see people in the UK losing their homes https://t.co/bcoMfCK9OX

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) September 27, 2017

* Freesia (2017) ~ 26 September

By chance at @CamPicturehouse, ended up (through @ourscreenuk) doing a double-bill : @WindRiverMovie, then Conor Ibrahiem's Freesia (2017). pic.twitter.com/QWQFxr9mYp

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) September 26, 2017

* Half Way (2015)

Some impressive coverage of @halfwaydocu in, respectively, @TimeOutLondon and @guardian :https://t.co/UxjIRhBJIXhttps://t.co/AFB7pVt3oi

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) January 12, 2017

* Loving Vincent (2017) ~ 10 November [seen at The Watershed]

Thanks, @wshed, for Following, and for @LovingVincent (2017) this afternoon !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) November 10, 2017

* On the Road (2016) ~ 9 October

Arguably, On the Road (2016) is closer to Roger Graef and James Rogan's Monty Python : The Meaning of Live (2014), but at a whole-gig level.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) October 9, 2017

* The Seasons in Quincy : Four Portraits of John Berger (2016) ~ 18 July

Tilda Swinton shares her friendship with Berger / he his with her : they know they're filmed, but no pretension :https://t.co/1db2h5FC9W

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) July 19, 2017

* The Journey (2016) ~ 16 July [seen at Saffron Screen]

John Hurt RIP and Timothy Spall being in The Journey (2016), and a Good-Friday-agreement setting, was enough to get #UCFF to @Saffronscreen

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) July 18, 2017

End-notes :

* In conjunction with Cary Grant comes Home for the Weekend Festival (@carycomeshome).


If you want to Tweet, Tweet away here

Unless stated otherwise, all films reviewed were screened at Festival Central (Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge)

Cinema-going in 2017, a round-up

#UCFF's most-esteemed films, as seen during 2017

More views of - or before - Cambridge Film Festival 2017 (19 to 26 October)
(Click here to go directly to the Festival web-site)

Christmas Eve

#UCFF's most-esteemed films, as seen during 2017 :
or, available here in a jazzed-up version

Just on merit, https://t.co/oyIJF62aS2, #UCFF's list of much-esteemed films seen in 2017 includes @aquietpassion @Cameraperson16 @janejacobsdoc @ElleMovieUK @jackiefilm Missing 미씽:사라진 여자 (Sarajin Yeoja) (2016) @prevengemovie @YvesVerbraeken's Souvenir (2016) The Villainess pic.twitter.com/exHaSQtiQ2

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 26, 2017

Dedicated to Neil White of everyfilm.co.uk (as pictured)

Just flicked through the 520 films on https://t.co/xFknMehWT9 that @everyfilmneil has watched and posted reviews for so far this year :

A way of reminding of the dozen or so that #UCFF valued (from a much smaller sample), to compile in a Christmas posting.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) December 24, 2017

In alphabetical order (with date of viewing), and - unless stated otherwise - seen at The Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge (@CamPicturehouse) :

* A Quiet Passion (2016) ~ 12 March

* Baby Driver (2017) ~ 3 July

* Becoming Cary Grant (2017) ~ 29 July [seen at The Watershed* / @wshed]

* Cameraperson (2016) ~ 8 March

* Citizen Jane : Battle for the City (2016) ~ 8 May

* Elle (2016) ~ 10 March

* Happy End (2017) ~ 1 December

* Jackie (2016) ~ 22 February

* Missing (Sarajin Yeoja) (2016) ~ 24 April

* Prevenge (2016) ~ 31 March [seen at Saffron Screen / @Saffronscreen]

* Silence (2016)

* Souvenir (2016) ~ 28 August [seen at Saffron Screen]

* The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo) (2017) ~ 11 September


So, March turns out to have been a good time to be at the cinema...



Honourable mentions :

* Aquarius (2016) ~ 23 November

* Chi-Raq (2015) ~ 5 February [seen at Saffron Screen]

* Dispossession : The Great Social Housing Swindle (2017)

* Freesia (2017) ~ 26 September

* Half Way (2015)

* Loving Vincent (2017) ~ 10 November [seen at The Watershed]

* On the Road (2016) ~ 9 October

* The Seasons in Quincy : Four Portraits of John Berger (2016) ~ 18 July

* The Journey (2016) ~ 16 July [seen at Saffron Screen]


End-notes :

* In conjunction with Cary Grant comes Home for the Weekend Festival (@carycomeshome).


If you want to Tweet, Tweet away here

Unless stated otherwise, all films reviewed were screened at Festival Central (Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge)

Souvenir (2016) ['Memory'] itself remembers - far better than The Artist (2011) - a bygone style and feel of film (stalled / unfinished review)

This is an appreciation of Souvenir (2016), as seen at Saffron Screen

More views of - or before - Cambridge Film Festival 2017 (19 to 26 October)
(Click here to go directly to the Festival web-site)

28 August

This is a (stalled / unfinished) appreciation of Souvenir (2016), as seen at Saffron Screen on Monday 28 August at 8.00 p.m.

Of course, the release-date of a film – in this case, 2016 – is just as much a different matter from when, in the UK (say), it has distribution and one gets to see it as from when Isabelle Huppert would have signed up to the film, the dates of the shoot [IMDb (@IMDb) does not give any, but such as The Hollywood Reporter might], and the period of editing and other post-production work before one gets anywhere near ‘a theatrical release'.

All that aside, though, Huppert shows – in this film and in Elle (2016), released in the same year – such a different side to her acting that the contrast is palpable and endearing : the humour, the awkwardness, the pulls of desire are assuredly there in Elle, but the overall affect of Paul Verhoeven’s film is quite another, on account alone of Michèle’s (Huppert's) parents and her feelings towards them both !

Now at @SaffronScreen for Souvenir (2016), largely on the back of Isabelle Huppert in Elle (2016) : apparently, a comedy (missed that take).

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) August 28, 2017

Nonetheless, Elle - and Huppert's effective performances in Michael Haneke's films, from The Piano Teacher (2001) and Time of the Wolf (Le temps du loup) (2013) to Amour* (2012) - was a good enough reason to want to watch Souvenir...

[...]

Not @camfilmfest's Tony Jones, but Souvenir (2016) - wondrous Isabelle Huppert, in a film tons better than The Artist - has one of its own.

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) August 28, 2017

Very pleased, once more, for the assurance of trusting @SaffronScreen 'blind' for Isabelle Huppert in Souvenir (2016) - rivalling KST now !

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) August 28, 2017

[Something would have appeared here...]


Film-references :

* Bright Days Ahead (Les beaux jours) (2013)

* Edward Scissorhands (1990) - fable / Thurber

* Indecent Proposal (1993)

* Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

* Romantics Anonymous (Les émotifs anonymes) (2010)

* The Artist (2011)

On Souvenir (2016) :

It is sharply edited, and refreshingly uses story-telling by implication - so that not everything has to be spelt out. pic.twitter.com/0pIb5CMio8

— THE AGENT APSLEY (@THEAGENTAPSLEY) September 10, 2017

Thx for the feedback on #souvenir @THEAGENTAPSLEY

— Yves Verbraeken (@YvesVerbraeken) September 1, 2017

End-notes :

* Somewhat coolly playing Eva, the daughter of Emmanuelle Riva (Anne) and Jean-Louis Trintignant (Georges).


If you want to Tweet, Tweet away here

Unless stated otherwise, all films reviewed were screened at Festival Central (Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge)