It’s the middle of the Kechiche retrospective in Coral Gables and the best films are this weekend
July 10, 2015
Abdellatif Kechiche, The director behind Blue is the Warmest Color, one of my favorite films of 2013 (Film Review: ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ and the pain of loving), has a very rich filmography that few have seen in the U.S. in its entirety. Two of his previous films (2000’s La Faute à Voltaire [a.k.a. Blame it on Voltaire or Poetical Refugee] and 2010’s Black Venus [pictured above]) never received commercial theatrical runs in the U.S. As far as the other two, Secret of the Grain (2007) is thankfully available via the Criterion Collection (Support the Independent Ethos, purchase direct through Amazon via this link) but his second film, Games of Love and Chance (2003), went of print when its distributor, New Yorker Films, went temporarily out of business (if you’re lucky, Amazon will have one for sale by re-sellers).
So that’s the situation of Kechiche’s filmography in the U.S. But I had the chance to see all of his films, two in 35mm, no less, thanks to a preview by the Coral Gables Art Cinema and the French Embassy. I processed the French-Tunisian writer/director/actor’s career, and was able to sum it up in a preview in the Miami New Times’ art and culture section last week. Not enough seemed to have recommended it via social media, but I am very proud of it. You can read it by jumping through the blog’s logo below, just click the image:
I hope the first weekend went well for the retrospective, which included Kechiche’s powerful debut, La Faute à Voltaire and the deeply moving Games of Love and Chance. This weekend comes his two later films, also to be shown on 35mm, The Secret of the Grain and Black Venus, which — forget about Blue — stands as his most controversial film. I’ll let what I say about the movie in the Miami New Times stand. Believe me when I say it’s a bold but vital film.
I would like to add, however, that Kechiche’s knack for capturing earthy moments between people in a vivid, natural manner, which I praised so much in my review of Blue, is no fluke. All his films feel as though they come from life. His endings are special in their lack of resolution but their inspiration to rattle the viewer to consider his storytelling decisions for deeper insights into life. After all, in our own lives, we all only get one real ending, no? His films all feel like experiences, and if you live near Miami, you should not miss the opportunity to see these two later films in his career on the big screen and in 35mm, no less. I’ll leave you with these movies’ trailers.
Catch the second part of Kechiche Before Blue this weekend at the Coral Gables Art Cinema. The Secret of the Grain shows at 1 p.m. this Saturday and Black Venus screens Sunday, at 1 p.m. Details and tickets can be found here (that’s a hot link).
Deeply moving film from Basque country, Flowers, makes exclusive U.S. commercial run in Miami area
July 2, 2015
If you live in or near Miami, do not miss your chance to see Flowers (Loreak — the film’s official site is only in Spanish or Euskara) on the big screen. It premiered here at Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival, and I missed it (A hit and miss affair at boldest Miami International Film Fest yet — a MIFF 32 recap). It comes from the Basque country of Spain and is in the region’s language of Euskera. It has no distributor, so it’s not possible to point any other parts of the U.S. that might host it, but I hope my review will convince some followers of the Independent Ethos to seek it out. Maybe you will want to recommend it to your city’s film festival or your local, adventurous art house exhibitor.
The film explores love beyond what many are accustomed to from more mainstream films. Usually, the easy way to do it is to treat love with romantic sentiment and dwell on the lusty side of things if not what some would call infatuation or puppy love. But for those that have experienced the dynamic, more profound range of loves (in other words, real life), it is a much more complex thing. I’ve written about several films that capture those difficulties. Sometimes there are documentaries that do it well (Film Review: ‘Cutie and the Boxer’ looks beyond art for the heart of a long-term relationship) but more often these kinds of films come from overseas (Film Review: ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ and the pain of loving).
It’s difficult concept to capture on film as well as to digest as an audience member, but writer/directors Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, working on their second collaboration, find a way to capture it and make it easy to engage with, on top of that. Their film recalls a less wordy version of the Polish master Krzysztof Kieslowski. It’s that good.
Because this a special Miami-only run, Miami New Times hired me to write the review. You can read what I have to say about the film after jumping through the alternative weekly’s logo below. I wrote a rather passionate piece right after watching this film one morning. I was blown away:
On a side note, since we are on the subject of programming at the Coral Gables Art Cinema, today is the last day to catch Güeros (Güeros: A coming of age in an ode to Mexico City — a film review) and Saturday begins the 35mm retrospective for Abdellatif Kechiche, whose film, Blue is the Warmest Color, I reference above. I have an overview of his oeuvre in the Miami New Times. Details here.
Loreak runs 99 minutes, is in Euskera with English subtitles and is not rated (it has some cursing and a couple of disturbing images involving death). It has its U.S. premiere theatrical run at the Coral Gables Art Cinema beginning this Friday. The cinema provided a screener link for the purpose of my review. Images are courtesy of the film’s official website.
Film Review: ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ and the pain of loving
November 11, 2013






—Hans Morgenstern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQGSlVJgGlI
South Beach 18 – Miami Beach Gateway 4 – Fort Lauderdale
On Nov. 15, it opens further north in:
Parisian 20 – West Palm Beach Pompano 18 – Pompano Shadowood – Boca Raton
Update: The Bill Cosford Cinema in Coral Gables has added the film to its calendar beginning Thursday, Nov. 21. See the cinema’s calendar here. Update 2: The Miami Beach Cinematheque has added the film to its calendar beginning Friday, Nov. 22. See the cinema’s calendar here. Update 3: The Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale has added the film to its calendar beginning Friday, Nov. 22. See the cinema’s calendar here. Update 4: O Cinema’s Wynwood location has added the film to its calendar beginning Friday, Nov. 29. See the cinema’s calendar here. It has already opened in some parts of the U.S., and it may already be playing at a theater near you or on its way there. Visit the film’s official website here and insert your zip code to find out.