uwe-johann

First, this movie is a beautiful example why there's am more European kind of humour and a more American kind of it. I once read an American critic who honestly complained that all the funny things happening in this movie were so previsible. Wow, he even must have thought that was smart to realize. In fact, that's what this movie is all about: You know what's going to happen and you enjoy to see HOW it will happen. That's why this movie was remade in the US with Tom Selleck and stripped of all it's original charme, only to be found "better" by some people. Second, this movie is kind of a test whether you should become a dad/mum in your life - or better leave that to others. It worked with me ..two kids... If you vote this movie "9" or above, you should get kids. Below "5" ? Think again! ;-)

This mini-series was obviously - and successfully - designed to boost tourism for Ireland in the early 80ies. The story is good, the characters are funny and likable, and all this makes up just a lovely picture of Ireland. Christophe, a Paris newspaper photographer, is shooting pictures of the Irish rugby team in their locker room, when one of the players realizes his name. He calls two teammates (his brothers) and Christophe gets heavily beaten by the trio and ends up "folded" in a locker. As it turns out, 10 years ago, Christophe had spent a night with their sister, Spring Kavanaugh. But he didn't know there was a leftover: Anthony, who lives with his mom, her parents and her brothers (the three Rugby internationals) in a small town in Ireland. Chrstophe decides to go there and find out about his son. His arrival soon stirs up confusion and controversy within the Kavanaugh family, but all over the little community. As soon as he meets his son, he's determined to stay and win back his mother. But Spring rejects him time after time. When Spring, privately admitting to love Christophe, decides to marry Fritz Hutzinger instead, a rich man who has always been courting her, there's a dramatic showdown. "Les Roses de Dublin" maybe created it's own genre, beautiful landscape and great romances, copied by authors like Rosmunde Pilcher and produced in mass to please their audiences. The difference here is the abundance of funny characters and little stories apart from the main drama. Some of them really good, others rather ridiculous or embarrassing. While Jean-Claude Boullion gives a solid performance as Christophe, Berenice Toolan plays rather uninspired, and this movie remains her only appearance on the screen. Paul Kinlay (Anthony) is absolutely remarkable, but he too didn't make it to the movies again. My favorite actor in this one is Jacques Maury as Homere Kratsinas, a big drama-fan from Greece who once stranded with his ship on the shores of the Town and tries to set up a Russian drama with the locals as actors. The mini-series takes its time to tell all of it. So, I would rate it just 6 out of 10, but definitely worth watching with your family.

It's no big drama to be left behind by the bus when you're on a typically weekend tour with the inevitable selling of pots&pans. But if it takes your husband and sons at the bus an HOUR to realize mom isn't there - that's hard to swallow for Rosalba, a very likable woman in her early 40s... With Rosalba's eyes, this great movie takes us to Venice, a strange world so far away from her everyday life. The camera manages notoriously to avoid all those famous sights, even San Marco's Basilica only shows up reflected in Rosalba's sunglasses. Bruno Ganz is his stellar self - a joy to watch. A great appearance by Giuseppe Battiston as a heavy young plumber who becomes a detective for Rosalba's husband. The entire story is so strange and so funny it simply seizes you from the beginning. This movie became an amazing commercial success in Italy and won a lot of admirers abroad - away from "mainstream" cinema, that is.