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Reviews
Before Midnight (2013)
Disappointed
Before Midnight is something better erased from the memory. As a fan of Sunrise and Sunset (the latter upon viewing it several times), it was hard to swallow what was served in Midnight.
Delpy and Hawke are both good actors, and they have returned to their respective roles well, but why has Celine turned into a bitter old woman, and Jesse into a selfish ass? They both displayed the seeds of these traits in Sunset, but in Midnight, all redeeming features have been deleted.
Both characters could have walked out of a bad American sit-com. Enter a frustrated artist wife, who worries incessantly about her body and mothering skills, and is unfulfilled in numerous ways. Then add a guilt-ridden run-away father who talks like a teenager and acts supercilious in arguments. It's hard to like either of them, but you end up siding with Jesse, because Celine has become so hard as to be unbearable.
The scenes in which Celine plays the bimbo, ostensibly to attract Jesse, are cringe-worthy. The final scene therefore deals a death blow to the series. The Celine of Sunrise and Sunset would never have dumbed herself down to be found attractive, probably not even in jest. She is out of love with Jesse completely, and it would have been more honest for her to suggest a permanent separation! Jesse on his part seems largely contemptuous of Celine, making numerous remarks about how he puts up with her, as if he's the only person in the world who could love her, and as if he has no qualities that might make him irksome at times.
Content-wise, the conversations in this latest 'Before' film are of much lower quality. Gone are the deep revelations of inner truths, the pretentious thoughts of youth, and in its place are platitudes and sex jokes, with a great deal of sexism added. It's like Before meets American Pie, and it hurts.
Better it is to imagine Jesse and Celine had a one night stand in Vienna, and a short fling in Paris, for Jesse to return to his son in the US.
Linklater, here's a deal: I'll forget all about Midnight, and you'll stop murdering this series.
L'auberge espagnole (2002)
Bordel de Merde
What a disappointment this flick turned out to be. It doesn't even merit the word 'film'.
The camera-work is so-so, there are needlessly sped-up scenes of the main jerk walking around various offices and streets, and it generally left no real impression. With such a wonderful setting as Barcelona, much more could have been done with this.
My main grievance is with the characters and the plot, all of which are terrifyingly hollow. The main chap, Xavier, is nothing short of an asshole. He cares about women only so far as he can use them sexually, thinks nothing of rape-seducing a married woman, and then sulks when his girlfriend dumps him for another. There's nothing to like about him. He isn't deep, he isn't exciting, and he isn't charming.
The other people in the apartment suffer similar problems. They are cookie-cutter characters. The German is the studious, organised, anally retentive flatmate. The English girl appears to be a neat-freak, frustrated, and ultimately sexually somewhat immoral. (The one 'bonding' experience these flatmates have is in fact to hide her cheating from her English partner). The Spanish girl is just there for a few sentences, and the Danish guy also seems not to serve a purpose.
Now to the plot, if such it is. Xavier is frightened of growing up and committing to anything. So he leaves France, and aims for Barcelona. There he parties up large, ostensibly studying, while trying to sleep with as many women as possible. He and girlfriend break up. He returns to France, can't handle the idea of an office job, and decides to turn his mediocre adventures into a book. All of this takes up nearly two hours, which is far too long for all this white noise.
There is no message in this film unless one of cynical nihilism. It is a product of its time and generation, one that uses copious lazy stereotyping while trying to somehow claim it is being inclusive of European identities. It fails on all levels.
Zweiohrküken (2009)
Utter Scheisse
This film has massive problems, starting with an embarrassingly thin plot: girl suspicious of boyfriend, boyfriend gets defensive, girlfriend gets defensive in turn, both partners cheat on each other, they kiss and make up. The end.
While telling this 'story', we are treated to low-brow jokes, little character development, and sexist notions about relationships. Ludo is so annoying and childish, you end up wanting Anna to cheat. And then break up, so we don't have to watch any more sequels.
The children in the film seem to serve no other purpose than to make Ludo a bit more bearable (after all, the kids like him better than Ralf), and to allow for closure of this far too long film. Even the musical score is ill-matched. One star for the camera-work, with a very nice shot across the water at the end. A pitiful effort.