Thursday, December 20, 2012
GOING HOME
Today's Romain Duris' film is Tony Gatlif's
A down and out and discouraged Parisian couple decide to go visit Algeria where both have roots.
This is a road picture with a big difference. The road is tough, they have no money or travel permits, and so we see a swath of Spain and Algeria which is never seen with a camera or at least not in the movies. People are poor and situations rough and quite realistic. Or seem so. Fascinating as a result.
They are great as a couple. A lot of chemistry even though they are both tough nuts to crack. We learn their history little by little with a grand finale in Algeria among sort of mystical arabs doing their thing.
The trip is run on music. Ethnic, local. Intense.
We see a lot of Romain which is good. When he gets to his family house it is a really wonderful experience to watch him find his beginnings and his lost family.
This did not get US distribution but is available on Netflix where I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5. I would not mind seeing the colors and people that flow past the camera. Obviously filmed with locals and just regular folks although not regular from our point of view.
Labels: films
