Dai Sijie's beguiling, semi-autobiographical movie is set during China's Cultural Revolution, when two reactionary city students are sent to the mountains to be re-educated in the ways of Chairman Mao. But their forbidden love for Western art, music and literature is soon infecting the locals, including the tailor's beautiful daughter. Lightweight, but gorgeous to look at.
Irrespective of the now infamous intra-generational doggie-doggie, this steely little tale concerning a granny (Anne Reid) and a horny builder (Daniel Craig) is a visceral attack from writer Hanif Kureishi on the hateful London middle classes. The merciless depiction of harsh money-grabbing sons and neurotic, self-obsessed daughters gives the flick its genuinely dark heart.
François Ozon's psychological thriller finds repressed crime writer Sarah (Charlotte Rampling) retiring to her editor's house in France to work on her new novel. Then his wayward daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arrives, shattering the calm. Sagnier does her best teenage temptress, Rampling's initial disapproval turning to fascination as Julie racks up the notches on her bedpost. Until there's a murder. Quietly clever.
Even the director of this film, recounting the tale of how road manager Phil Kaufman stole and burned Gram Parsons' corpse, was surprised when Parsons' wife and daughter okay-ed the use of his music. Parsons' "A Song For You" and "Love Hurts" and The Flying Burrito Brothers' "Wild Horses" evoke the era, along with Country Joe and Eddie Floyd. Gillian Welch tackles "Hickory Wind", and Starsailor handle "Hot Burrito No 2" bombastically. But The Lemonheads, Wilco and trend-whores Primal Scream just seek cred by association. Twangy.
