EARTH IS WEEPING, ITS WATER ARE TEARS
Other movies
LUMIÈRE, LE CINÉMA
Director: Thierry Frémaux
A contemporary film collating works shot by Louis and Auguste Lumiere from the earliest years of cinema, superbly preserved and restored by the Lumiere Institute in Lyon. Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux provides an informative commentary as toddlers squabble, a magician performs a trick and a train pulls into a station; the score is by Gabriel Faure, a composer favoured by the Lumiere brothers themselves. More than a hundred short films of 50 seconds each, provide a window both into ordinary life around the turn of the 19th century – not only in France but in places as far-flung as Japan and Algeria - and the wonder felt at the Lumieres’ astonishing invention, the cinematograph, a miracle whose magic continues.
FRONT ROW
Director: Merzak Allouache
Zhola Bouderbala and her five children wake up at dawn on a hot day and prepare to spend their first summer’s day at the beach. It is imperative to get there early, in order to get a spot in “the front row”, with an uninterrupted view of the beautiful sea. As the first to arrive, the family settles at the water’s edge; an idyllic day beckons. Then, when another family arrives, there is an unexpected disaster. Merzak Allouache, whose earlier film Omar Gatlato marked a turning point in Algerian cinema, gives us characters with wit, zest for life and an and endearing innocence. His ongoing exploration of contemporary Algeria, in all its charm and complexity, confirms his status as a cinematic pioneer.
A SUDDEN CASE OF CHRISTMAS
Director: Peter Chelsom
Ten-year-old Claire loves her family’s annual trip from the US to Italy, where they always spend a snowy Christmas at her beloved grandfather’s hotel in the Dolomite mountains. This year, however, they go in the height of summer; her parents are splitting up and want Lawrence (played by the inimitable Danny de Vito) to explain the situation to her. Claire’s immediate response is to insist that they must have Christmas right away, with all the celebration’s trimmings, even flying in her other set of grandparents for the occasion. She is pinning her hopes on the tradition’s charms to persuade her parents to stay together – a plan that backfires when her grandparents’ marriage also starts to wobble. A charming and entertaining film for all the family to enjoy.