SingleSimonSays

"Code Inconnu" is an utterly original, even revolutionary piece from the Austrian director who continually refuses to compromise and pander to an audience.

Many of the reviews on this site focus on the coherence of the film and suggest that the film lacks meaning or narrative, or even that the film is a failure because it is not easily comprehended. This is untrue and deeply unfair.

"Code Inconnu" is not an immediate film. Indeed it may take several viewings to really come to grips with the meaning of the film - certainly there is not a single definitive meaning. For many film viewers when the basic linear narrative is remote. Again this adds to the view that the meaning of this obscured film is pointless. However this is more a reflection of the viewer and of audience expectation than of this film.

In a series of free standing vignettes Haneke has fashioned a moral conundrum without an answer. Much like in life itself. But rather than searching for meaning or answers Haneke is daring us to confront the questions themselves. The themes here are obviously about racism and reality, but also conscience and the consequence of our actions. By linking his separate characters initially Haneke points out that we are tenuously linked to people by uncontrollable events. By setting his film in Parisian streets, Hanekes film becomes recognizable of all our lives.

The central performance from Binoche is equally ambiguous, again this adds to the strength of the piece, but also the difficulty inherent in it.

The best way to view this film is as a series of questions which have no easy answer. The code is indeed unknown. By viewing each episode as a single moral conundrum the film takes on a very interesting and worthwhile dimension.

Country of My Skull had its world premiere at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival.

One of the most eagerly awaited films of the year, coming from veteran director John Boorman, has turned out to be a major disappointment. In retrospect it is not hard to see why, it should have been predicted, but the fascinating subject matter made it seem like Boorman was going to give us that rare treat - a balanced political drama, with insight and intelligence.

The problems with Country of My Skull all originate with the screenplay. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Antjie Krog. However Krog's novel was a non-fiction account of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up in the aftermath of Apartheid. The screenplay by Ann Peacock is a mere fiction where a lacklustre romance takes precedence over the main events.

Samuel L Jackson stars as Langston Whitfield a New York Times journalist who has been sent to South Africa to write a feature on the TRC. Here he meets Afrikaans poet and Journalist Anna Malan played by Juliette Binoche. At first the pair clash over their very different attitudes but as the real life accounts of torture and suffering inflicted during the Apartheid regime are recounted their attitudes towards each other soften and they fall in love even though both are married.

This is my biggest issue with the film. Peacock and Boorman for some utterly unknown reason have seen fit to invent a romance between the protagonists. This fictional romance muddles the intent of the film and belittles the very serious nature of a body such as the Truth and Reconciliation commission. I also have problems with the use of the American journalist. While he is obviously used in the screenplay as an outsider to explain the aim of the TRC to us, the uninitiated viewers, his reaction to what he is hearing is hard to credit.

Malan and Whitfield spend the first part of the film literally sparring over every aspect of the TRC. To him, any commission that doesn?t punish the perpetrators of such crimes is worthless, while for her reconciliation is more important. She is horrified by what she hears about a country she is passionate about. This should make for very interesting drama. However the dialogue between the pair is utterly ridiculous and often sounds more like two politically correct politicians than supposedly intelligent journalists. It is idealistic, unnatural and even risible.

As part of his assignment Whitfield tracks down the Apartheid police chief De Jaeger played by Brendan Gleeson. Whitfield conducts a series of interviews with this man, which are meant to illustrate the pure evil of the Apartheid regime, however the character as written by Peacock and played by Gleeson is more like an out and out Nazi baddie than a credible perpetrator of such crimes. Boorman has spiced these interviews throughout the film. They are distracting and somewhat simplistic.

All too often the film takes pedestrian material and adorns it with simplistic political motives. The use of a flat tyre and a local bar give Malan and Whitfield a chance to spend time together and soften towards each other as they embark on an affair which becomes the centre of the film. It is hard to credit that this would happen. Why Boorman and Peacock have done this is beyond me. The type of audience that would see this movie surely does not need romance to actually enjoy a film.

The only place the film scores any kudos is in the courtrooms of the TRC where horrifying evidence is recounted to a nation. However as the other parts of the film are so weak it is easy to be cynical about these sequences as they seem over manipulative and again badly written dialogue is a major stumbling point. Their content is however undeniably powerful.

Jackson and Binoche, fine actors when given the correct material, struggle with unforgiving roles. Both characters are under-written and remote. Jackson?s change of heart about events is hard to credit. Binoche struggles with an Afrikaans accent (sometimes doing surprisingly well for someone who is not a native English speaker). However her character is not well defined and is constantly laden down with the worst dialogue.

Certainly Boorman and Peacock?s intentions were genuine, but the screenplay should have focused entirely on the TRC, allowing the drama to emanate from that. Instead we are given a rather insipid love story that reduces the impact considerably. In doing this Boorman has failed to use his excellent cast to anything like their full potential and has undermined the whole project. A lot more work on the screenplay and this had the makings of a wonderful film.

"Un Tour de Manège" stars Juliette Binoche and Francois Cluzet as Elsa and Al, a pair of troubled Parisian lovers. The film gently portrays their initially broken relationship as they re-build it and it ultimately falls apart due to miscommunication and lies.

The film is slight in all senses, but it does elegantly sketch out the relationship of the protagonists. Cluzet's Al is strong and determined as he sets about constructing a career and looking after his beloved Elsa. Cluzet is a strong presence and his sheer physicality envelops the screen.

As the gamine Elsa, Binoche is very reminiscent of her role in Léos Carax's "Mauvais Sang". She is a passive, albeit bewitching presence. Her performance is low, key but the sadness in her eyes makes it utterly compelling.

Pradinas's direction is sure and steady. The screenplay by Pradinas and Alain Gautre however is a bit too rambling, lacking both direction and purpose.

Beautifully filmed on,location in Paris the film is very visual with strong blues and reds and fluid camera movement.

Juliette Binoche is an actress capable of deep and moving performances in the finest movies of our times. Her work with Kieslowski, Carax, Téchiné and now Leconte, Haneke and Boorman has given us the modern cinematic equivalent of Garbo - a melancholic enigma.

So it was a huge surprise to see her in a French language Romantic comedy with Jean Reno. The result? Well Decalage Horaire or Jet Lag will never be mentioned with her finest movies, it is not a 'great' contribution to cinema, but it is an expertly crafted and performed piece of fluff with Binoche playing against type as a cheap and tarty beautician with winning results. In this 'movie star' mode she could give Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan a run for their money. As Rose she is funny and touching, while Reno as Felix provides all the right ingredients for her to bounce off, and their> chemistry is extremely successful. the film has its limits and at times it is a tad over the top, but with a mega watt movie star in her film Thompson can not go wrong.

I hope Binoche will return to what she does best, daring, difficult and complex portrayals of modern women, but in the meantime Jet Lag is a welcome distraction...