Film review: FLY ME TO THE MOON, from Built For Speed

Fly Me to the Moon has nothing to do with song popularised by Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, in fact that track never appears in the film. This is a quirky French rom-com which unfortunately emphasises the less appealing aspects of French comedies such as zany, manic behaviour and clichéd resolutions rather than the sharp wit, intellectual propositions and rich

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Film review: RENOIR, from Built For Speed

Set in France in 1915 as the First World War grinds to a close, the sumptuous but slow-moving Renoir describes the later life of renowned French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  The film also portrays the stirring of passion for the cinema in his son, Jean (who at the time was a convalescing war veteran) and the effect on both their lives

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Film review: WHAT’S IN A NAME, from Built For Speed

Clearly influenced by playwright Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, What’s in a Name depicts a dinner party among alleged French intellectuals that descends into bitter conflict.  Biting and perceptive, if at times over the top, What’s In a Name cleverly skewers French middle class pretensions. The film stars Charles Berling and Valerie Benguigi as Pierre and Elisabeth, a

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Film review: HAUTE CUISINE, from Built For Speed

Make sure you eat before seeing French kitchen drama Haute Cuisine otherwise you will be drooling like the Alien, so enticing is the parade of French delicacies on display here.  In fact, this film is closer to a cooking programme than a traditional drama and may not appeal to those who regard spending hours in the kitchen as a tedious

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Film review: THE OTHER SON, from Built For Speed

Despite its minimalist plot and the fact that it is set within the crucible of Arab-Israeli tension on the West Bank, French film The Other Son manages to deliver a warm, sensitive and moving family drama that lingers in the memory. When Israeli teenager Joseph (Jules Sitruk) applies for military service he discovers that his blood type does not match

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Film review: THE OTHER SON, from Built For Speed

Despite its minimalist plot and setting within the crucible of Arab-Israeli tension on the West Bank, French film The Other Son manages to deliver a sensitive and moving family drama that lingers in the memory. When Israeli teenager Joseph (Jules Sitruk) applies for military service he discovers that his blood type does not match his parents.  A hospital reveals that

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