Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on August 05, 2009 at 15:02:05

comes this deceptively quiet film about a family's decisions regarding valuable art works in the wake of the matriarch's death.
Charles Berling again proves he can command the screen with a minimalist's skill; Juliette Binoche, though she shares screen time with many others, brings a feeling and beauty beyond her portion.
When she was younger, I thought she was talented and attractive. But she is one of the rare women whom age only improves. Her acting is more assured, effortless.
This film really is a rumination about several fascinating topics: how to maintain familial feelings in a materialistic world which causes families to scatter in search of opportunity; the place art has in relation to sentimental value of objects; the lack of appreciation that most art objects suffer in a museum as opposed to the veneration with which many are held by individual collectors who have paid for them, cared for them over time. Well, don't be scared away by this synopsis: the director is far too skilled actually to have actors bring up these subjects. Through skillful writing, these topics are aired through actions-- and actions not taken.