It’s been more movies of late … it’s a good reprieve as I am right in the midst of fiscal ’07 forecasting, program planning and fiscal ’08 budget preparation. I had forgotten just how difficult managing a National Program can be with the adventures posed by the diversity that is Canada, not mention the international challenge we face in recruiting the exceptionally few folks globally who can facilitate this program. There are only three universities in the world where folks are professionally certified to offer this type of intervention. I must continue my effort to partner with a Canadian university to offer the curriculum.
But to the movies…
G and I watched this tonight. Filmed back in 2002, it is a VERY difficult movie to watch. Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Irreversible uses the all-a-rage-now reverse-chronological order gag to tell the story of the rape of a gorgeous pre-Matrix-days Monica Bellucci and the subsequent brutal murder of the rapist at the hands of her ex-lover and boyfriend. The murder of the rapist in a gay club is brutal to watch while the rape scene, which seems to go on forever (9 minutes in fact), is clearly one of the most grotesque scenes filmed in a long, long time. Bellucci was so very brave to take on the role. In the end, this movie as it spins backward through time touches on themes of regret (Bellucci is pregnant by her boyfriend but regrets his silly boyishness when compared with her more cultured ex-lover); vengeance is it basest form; and the old catch phrase of hindsight is 20-20. Engaging and utterly, brutally, horribly disturbing this film is hard to deny. My rating: 7 out of 10.
Hamam
An even earlier film (1997), this time a Turkey/Italy/Spain production directed by Ferzan Ozpetek is Hamam (aka Steam). Everyone seems to think this is a gay themed flick, and while it does have a Francesco-likes-Mehmet angle, it is more the story of a man reconnecting with his culture. Our lead, Francesco, dashes off to Istanbul to sell a hamam he’s inherited from a dead aunt, Anita. However, on arriving he finds he loves the Hamam (not to mention Mehmet, the son of the family who has run the hamam since Anita’s death) and decides to stay and restore it, which pisses off some nasty Turkish mafia guys. Francesco’s wife, Marta, arrives on scene bent on divorce but seeing how much Francesco has changed opts to love him again and forego the divorce. But it’s so-sad, too-bad as Francesco is murdered by the mafia bad guys leaving poor Marta to morph into dear, dead aunt Anita. The end. Aside from some lovely scenes in the hamam, not much more here to sustain me. My rating: 4 out of 10.
ryc: go to http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/, under “Latest Video”, look for “window washing in Toronto”. =)
i mean the appears to be gay one
bellucci is gorgeous…hmm..low rating for the gay movie
oh mine…just exactly how many movies do you watch in a month? It seems to me that what you watch in a month is what I watch in a year! lol…