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Reviews
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)
Intelligent and fun movie with one naive detail
Kissing Jessica Stein is a intelligent film, with some real qualities that made me see it several times. Every scene is well thought, well played, visually brilliant, almost nothing is extra, nothing is lacking. I would recommend it to anyone.
Two main characters seem to be very opposite, however, when they get to know each other, it turns out they have a lot in common, they are both perfectionists searching for a real thing, just in different ways.There is a very tiny line between a woman who sleeps with many people, and a woman who sleeps with nobody. Jessica seems to be very shy, very reserved, and proper, while actually deeply inside she keeps her sex appeal under the lock. Helen, who is very sexual and very experienced in practical stuff, realizes immediately how sexy Jessica actually is. That is why she keeps being so patient and persistent with her, waiting for Jessica's sexuality to come to the surface. That is the best quality of the movie: two women from different universes actually come to the same: they are so much into each other, once they give each other a chance.
What is naive in this movie is the end. In general, the film very sharply shows how smart, intelligent, and opinionated women in NY are simply wasting time by looking for a perfect guy. There is no such thing for them, and instead of pleasing their families and friends expectations, they should look for alternative ways to find happiness - and it often turns out be a happiness with women. While the break up of Helen and Jessica in the end is still believable, since they both still have a lot to explore, it is very naive to hint that Jessica is in the end excited for meeting that guy, Josh, whom she has already dated in the past, and whom she dropped long time ago, without any interest. In spite of Josh now becoming a writer, it is not realistic to believe that a woman who moved on, and developed herself and her self-confidence, would now go back to the deprecating, judgmental and macho guy whom she dropped even when she was much less experienced, and much less self-confident. I see this part of the movie as nothing but simple lip-service to hetero audience who still would like to see a boy with a girl in the movie. Otherwise, the whole Josh role has no any real function in the story, it is mostly occupying the space to add some flavor for straight viewers. Well, it was 2001, one can even understand that calculation, it was still early in the game.
Appropriate Behavior (2014)
A new film star has been born!
A new film-making star has been born! This is not an indie movie, this is not an LGBT movie, this is simply great! Ms. Akhavan is so talented on so many levels. This stuff is much better than "Girls" and other similar indie pretentious accounts of white middle-class daughters whose biggest problem in life is that their boyfriends are more handsome than themselves, which makes these girls bloody insecure, and than they comfort themselves with some trashy losers from the street.
I love this movie, because it is totally post-indie and post-everything production. Shirin is seemingly a girl who has everything, looks and brain, and even pleasant and pretty nice parents, but who still has real, depressing problem. Her problem is that, due to her age, education and ways of socialisation she is caught up between rapid identity liberalisation, feminism, sexual freedom, on the one hand, and still remains of firm traditional identity constrains, that come from her family background, on the other hand. This is so much a story of current second generation immigrants everywhere in USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Scandinavia, etc.Her family is so typical for North American immigrants - they seem to be worldly people, but actually they still know only their original ways and hold on them, as the only source of security. Being familiar to that community, I am so proud someone has finally started telling this story, in relation to NY and these, youngest generation.
The second layer of the story, the tension between lesbianism, and bisexuality, is also done very interestingly. It also deconstructs in very subtle way the fashionable urban myth of "bisexuality", as something that is cool for every woman, and belief that, after being in love with a woman, bisexual girls can always successfully replace her with a hot guy, or threesome. Shirin's character so obviously demonstrates that "bisexuality" does not help when a woman loses another woman whom she loves. I actually liked sex scenes a lot in this movie, they were so effective and graphic. I simply can't believe the same person who acted in them, also directed them.
I also like the interesting anatomy of her relationship with Maxin, who is seemingly a dorky, unattractive and insecure girl, but actually much stronger than she looks like, and, a real, genuine love of Shirin. Striking contrast between their looks and styles is a great accent in the movie: it underlines the strength of love.
And finally, the humor in the movie does not undermine the seriousness of the issue. Conflict with a loving family, which denies the crucial issues of their children, is one of the most painful features of current adulthood, no matter how emancipated and self-focused those people in question are.
There are scenes that could have been improved, and we could have seen more of a Shirin's non-Persian friends, who definitely must have influenced her in life. Also, some situations with family could have been more elaborated. Still, this is incomparably better than "Girls", so I hope that this talented young woman will get at least as much chance in this business as a person who wrote "Girls" has got, and I am sure, the screen result will be much more interesting. Kudos to Ms. Akhavan!
Je te mangerais (2009)
Better than expected
This movie is definitely worth seeing, and has nothing to do with the movies like "Single White Female", or even "Lost and Delirious", etc. It is not a French version of some obsession thriller, and has nothing to do with "Fatal Attraction", or other ideologically really sexist movies. I guess many people disqualify this movie even before watching exactly because of these unjust and incorrect comparisons, which are really misleading. The film is about two really young girls, one of whom is just a bit older. They are from the beginning very attracted to each other, emotionally and sexually definitely, and they need each other just in very different ways. The love and attraction is sometimes very difficult, and very unfair, disturbing, and intertwined with a lot of morally ambiguous issues, and complications. But it is definitely not just an obsession from one side, it is obsession and sexual fascination from both sides, just it is the pianist who is trying to turn her own obsession for the other girl into being a good pianist, and keeps avoiding physical contact, suffering and enjoying it at the same time. But there is no doubt that the touch of the other girl makes her lose all her control and brings her sexual electro-shocks. That is why the pianist does not mind sleeping with men, because with them she is not losing control, which is not the case with her sexual contact with the girl. It is even actually surprising how quickly the pianist makes clear that she is not crazy about men, at all. For her they are just OK, she can handle them, because she does not fall in love with them.
It is also true that the movie is not entirely successful in all its aspects, i.e. it is not really totally understandable for wide audience. It does require a musically educated, at least a little bit, viewer. Also, it does require a viewer who understands to which extent ambitious young people have to be dedicated to the art, if they want to be better than the others. The Marie, the piano student, simply has to make priorities between her uncontrollable and unpredictable encounter with that weird girl,Ema, and, on the other side, her dedication to piano studies. She can give all her sexual energy only to one of them, not both. The paradox is that Ema is the only one from her surrounding who is very intelligent and really understands Marie's talent and work with piano, and who would do anything to help her. But the accent of the movie is on the playing classical music, and how the sexual ecstasy with another person needs to be subordinated to this music.
It is simply a movie about how complicated and unrewarding love sometimes can be, confronted with other demands in life. It is definitely not a movie for someone who expects some classical lesbian love plot. But it is a movie about very passionate feelings, and in spite of subordination of love to the music, the film is highly erotic and exciting in all its dimensions.
Un prophète (2009)
A young Arab criminal, outsider, fights to survive in the dangerous prison environment, and while doing that, he is managing to become a big figure in the criminal circles.
Excellent movie. Shows a period in the development of a young criminal, outsider, who makes some difficult choices, simply, because he has nothing to lose.When a dangerous mafia boss offers him a kind of job that involves stepping outside of the prison during the day, he takes it, for he understands that being outside and trying some action is a good value for a huge risk that he takes. The class, race, ethnic and other components of difficult life situations and rotten system in France are efficiently entangled. The hero is just nobody, youngster who has no opportunity to survive unless he takes his own destiny in his own hands and takes a huge risk. He obviously crave for simple pleasures of regular people, but the only way for him to get to it is a crime. The movies is full of crazy exciting details, still the motivation is bitterly realistic and convincing. The movie holds a nice dynamics between the scenes in the gloomy prison environment and sunny wide landscapes, indicating the uniqueness of the hero's position: he can be both in and out, so he can see how the world is outside. Highly recommended. I will watch other films by this director, too.