On Movies

After the Wedding, a Danish movie starring Mads Mikkelsen. Of course, all Danish movies star Mads Mikkelsen. Excellent, but really just a long, beautifully acted, gorgeously filmed soap opera. Never let the elitists fool you, they are just as into maudlin sentimentality and improbable plot twists as daytime TV fans.

Blame it on Fidel, a French film, which is, in every way, a perfect, perfect film. It is about a young, spoiled, rich French girl whose parents throw off their trappings of wealth, and suddenly decide to become communist radicals. The girl's nanny blames it on "Fidel and those Dirty Reds, those bearded ones," and the little girl takes it to heart and is determined to resist her parents to ruin her life. When the parents move her and her brother to a tiny apartment and the bearded radicals start coming to meetings there, the little girl tries to convince them that capitalism is superior. In one scene her parents take her to a street protest and she is glaring up at all the bearded guys. She asks them what is the difference between group solidarity and acting like sheep. It is beautifully written and the actress who plays the little girl is wonderful. I can't recommend this movie highly enough. It is funny and sweet and realistic.

30 days of Night. Josh Hartnett, Josh Hartnett, sigh. Danny Huston, son of John, is great as a vampire. I love scary stories set in remote, icy locations a la The Thing. The movie was bloody and fun and it had Josh Hartnett and a lot of Maoris from New Zealand playing Alaskan Natives. You know one of the reasons I hated the movie Pearl Harbor so much is that I would never have chosen Ben Affleck over Josh Hartnett. Never.

Documentary, Crazy Love, about a beautiful woman who was a victim of an acid attack, made by a frustrated suitor. She was blinded and disfigured, but went on to marry him after he served 14 years in prison for the attack against her. Unbelievable, but it's all true.

Super kewl short zombie film, I Love Sarah Jane, from Australia, available online at Netflix. The plot involves teenage survivors after a plague. Lord of the Flies meets Night of the Living Dead. 14 minutes long.

An animated short, from students at Brigham Young University, called, Der Ostwind, also available at Netflix. It's about a German WWI pilot who despairs of ever finding a worthy opponent, until he meets up with an American pilot. Beautiful and moving. 10 minutes long.