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Explore the world of original plots and unique storytelling with Sylvy, a film major and chronic indie fan. She will steer you toward the best that independent cinema has to offer at home and abroad, past and present.
Now go get the popcorn ready...
By Sylvana Fernandez
Paris, Je T’aime
Director: Various directors
Release Year: 2006
With follow-up New York, I Love You slated to hit U.S. screens this fall and several other cities lined up for their own films in the future (Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Jerusalem, Buenos Aires, Rome and Timbuktu), now is the perfect time to get acquainted with the first of Vivendi Entertainment’s Cities of Love™ collection: Paris Je T’aime.
Essentially a collection of short films, Paris Je T’aime tries to capture how universal love is by following moments in the lives of
Paris’ inhabitants and visitors. Though the stories don’t intertwine and each one is directed by a different world-renowned director, there is a strong feeling of interconnectedness in the themes they cover. Capturing in snapshots everything from dating to divorces to first meetings, the beauty of each tale takes viewers on an emotional tour through the infamous city, praising the human experience with all its imperfections in a way that anyone could relate to.
Though it’s hard to pick a favorite short, Sylvain Chomet’s “Tour Eiffel” was especially heartwarming with its unexpected twists and humor.
Grey Gardens
Director: Michael Sucsy
Release Year: 2009
Grey Gardens is easily the most heartbreaking story I’ve seen on film in 2009, haunting in its raw authenticity and impressive in its use of plot, aesthetics and music. It’s also, hands-down, Drew Barrymore’s best performance to date, with an intensity that’s both eerie and fascinating.
The HBO drama takes the lead from a 1975 documentary of the same title that chronicled the life and descent of the aunt (‘Big’ Edith Bouvier Beale, played by Jessica Lange) and first cousin (Barrymore as ‘Little’ Edie Bouvier Beale) of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The women, pre-Depression era, are part of New York high society, where Edie flirts with being a debutante while hoping to become an actress and dancer as her mother Edith tries (unsuccessfully) to get Edie married. When father Phelan Beale (Ken Howard) moves the family to a summer home called “Grey Gardens,” things begin to go downhill. Money is tight and Phelan and Edith split up as Edie runs back to New York to pursue her stage dreams. Aseries of circumstances bring Edie back to Grey Gardens “temporarily,” and this turns into decades of mother and daughter retreating into isolation and unbelievable squalor, with their 28-bedroom mansion overrun by cats and raccoons.
They are discovered by a photographer and forced into the media spotlight because of their famous relative, which leads Jackie (Jeanne Tripplehorn) to save them from poverty and eviction. That’s when documentary filmmakers David and Albert Maysles (Justin Louis and Arye Gross) approach the eccentric women to hear their life told on their terms. Already nominated for four Emmys, Grey Gardens is a must-watch.
Everything is Illuminated
Director: Liev Schreiber
Release Year: 2005
Everything is Illuminated is the kind of film that could get by as “good” with indie crowds on its literary cred (it’s based on a book of the same title by Jonathan Safran Foer) and quirk factor alone, but that becomes exceptional because of its performances.
Main character Jonathan Safran Foer (Elijah Wood) is a shy, Jewish American man who is obsessed with collecting family items. Lacking many memories of his grandfather Safran, who was saved during World War II by a woman in a Ukrainian village, Jonathan sets out to find the woman and thank her. Upon his arrival, he’s greeted by guides for “Heritage Tours”…in reality a family-owned business composed of Alex (Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz) and his grandfather Alexander Perchov (Boris Leskin). With them is Sammy Davis Jr. Jr., Alexander’s dog, which he calls his “Seeing Eye Bitch.”
Their search takes them, as all great road movies do, through the countryside and into their own inner life, forming unimaginable connections between the men. Each character is endearing-from Jonathan’s innocence to Alexander’s grumpy attitude to Alex’s obsession with Western culture and hysterical way of speaking English. They all feel like best friends by the time you’re done watching the film. The perfect mix between humor and deep subjects, the feel-good story captivates with its dialogue and cinematography, making it one of the greatest novel adaptations of the past few years.
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