What is so surreal about the film is how authentic it is, and what is fascinating about Laurent Cantet’s grip is that a 2 plus hour film is the sort of film that “doesn’t feel like two hours”.
Boldly going where no other “Kaufman” film has gone before – it might not have the visual flair of Kaufman-based material adaptations Being John Malkovich, ESOTSM and Adaptation, but I was floored by the originality of the script, the scope and size of the ideas that perforated the screen.
I caught Ramin Bahrani’s sophomore film back in 2007 at the Director’s Fortnight section in Cannes – it confirmed what we witnessed with his first film Man Push Cart: sometimes the best film narrative come in small packages.
The perfect companion piece to another film that is in my top 10 – (hint: the Yangtze and the consequences of the dam project are prominent themes and backdrop to both of films), my favorite documentary film of the year (so far) is Up the Yangtze.
I asked David Ondaatje the filmmaker behind The Lodger [Sony's Stage 6 Films: 01/23/2009] the incredibly arduous task of naming me what his top ten films all time were.