Untouchable [2011]

During my intense film viewing at the beginning of this month, I had the pleasure of seeing a wonderful French movie called Untouchable. It tells the real story of two men from different social classes reunited by a lovely friendship, which forms when Driss, a young man from the wrong side of the tracks, gets a job as a caretaker at the house of Philippe, a quadriplegic. Directed and written by Oliver Nakache and Eric Toledano, Untouchable is a lovely story that deserves your attention and love.

The strength and beauty of the film lies in the quality of the script, which manages to mix an emotional story of hardship and problems with the funny interaction of two totally different men. Featuring funny and silly lines from Driss and sarcastic, sometimes moving retorts from Philippe, the two carry on their shoulders the weight of the movie, and they do it wonderfully, as their chemistry is palpable and very enjoyable to watch.

Driss is a young man who grew up in a family of too many kids, who is now trying to get away and find a job. He ends up being hired as a caretaker for mister Philippe, who sees something in him, although he isn't the obvious choice. Or maybe the old man just wanted a change of scenery, a breath of fresh air and honesty around him and Driss provided that. Whilst the young guy is crazy, spontaneous and says exactly what's on his mind, with no reservations, Philippe, having been brought up in another environment, is pretentious, taciturn and hard to please. But the interesting thing is that they complete each other, as corny as it sounds- they offer to each other what they can't have or do for themselves and that leads to a great friendship. The old man teaches the young one about art and music, offering him a nice roof to live under, and Driss pushes the quadriplegic man to live life more, to dare to do more, in spite of his incapacity.

The performances are great and deserve credit. the super funny Omar Sy who maintained the easygoing and cool aspect of the script and worked perfectly with Francois Cluzet, a great French actor who shined through his supposed illness and delivered a heartfelt performance. Other worthy mentions are Anne Le Ny as Yvonne, one of the helpers in the house and Audrey Fleurot as Magalie, the young, beautiful assistant that Driss has a crush on.

I don't usually watch a lot of foreign, or more specifically, French movies, but Untouchable is worth every penny spent and minutes wasted seeing it. Its warmth, funny lines and wonderful performances make this film an unmissable one- you should see it, it will brighten up your day and make you laugh multiple times.

The Skin I Live In [2011]

Almovodar's latest movie, La piel que habito- "The Skin I live in", is quite remarcable. I think it is one of the best I have seen in the last year and it's curious not to see its name mentioned on top 10 lists or award nominations; but then  again, I don't think a lot of people saw this movie.

The story is about Robert Ledgard, a brilliant plastic surgeon, who creates a new type of skin that resists any kind of damage. His guinea pig happens to be Vera, a mysterious and volatile woman, who is part of his troubled past. As the plot thickens, we learn the shocking truth about her identity, one that will heavily influence the fate of both the doctor, and her life. No spoilers here (I learned my lesson), but trust me when I say it is very interesting.

The main thing that makes this film so good is the perfect combination of the filmmaking elements in all the right amounts. Fast-moving, intricate, shocking storyline, with complex characters, realistic dialogue, a touch of science fiction, mixed with a lot of mistery, told in Spanish, a sensual, dynamic language; appropriate music to every scene, highlighted by the fantastic orchestra, especially violin, in key moments, accompanied by beautiful cinematography- all wrapped up nicely by clean editing and visually interesting shooting style. You can't wait to see what happens next, you are fascinated by the story and where it's going and the end just leaves you breathless- hours pass, but you keep thinking about the movie you just saw. All of the above are signs of a very good feature.

As for the performances, I was pleasantly surprised by Antonio Banderas, who is fantastic as the surgeon, and offers us the correct amount of crazyness, genius, love, desperation and determination. Elena Anaya is, also, very good as Vera, his misterious patient, and steals every scene with her unearthly beauty and calm. Jan Cornet (Vicente) is another standout, although he is not featured too much, while Marisa Paredes delivers every time you see on screen- you can see she is an experienced actress.

All in all, "Skin I live in" is fantastic and I highly recommend it, whenever you will have the chance to see it!

I am not very familiar with Almovodar, as I have only seen 2 or 3 of his movies! What do you recommend I should see next?

2012 Resolutions

2012 is here- the year of The Hobbit for some, the TDKR for others, even the "Apocalypse" one for a few.

For me, I hope it is the year of growth, of new opportunities, the year where I finally become a proper adult and get a good job in my field of choice and start a career.

But I am not going to bore you with my personal resolutions, but I do want to lay down on this page, my New Year's resolutions concerning movies (thanks Scott from FrontDoorCinema for the idea)- blog included!

1. Watch at least 150 movies

2. Out of those 150, at least 60 will have been released before 2010


3. At least 15 will be foreign movies


4. Review or summarize/write about every movie I see

5. Do 2 marathons based on a director's portfolio

6. Mantain my 18 posts/month for the blog

7. Have more then 20.000 views by the end of the year 2012

8. Rely less on piracy and more on cinema and festival viewings

9. Improve my writing (Longer reviews, with more depth and a better vocabulary)

10. Diversity for the blog posts  (more essays, special features, monthly round-up etc)

And so, at the end of the year, I can check my resolutions and make a proper balance of 2012!


What do you think of them?Are they accomplishable? Am I aiming too low or too high? What do you wish for?

Happy New Year everyone!