How a young housewife is trapped into submission by her husband.

Martha (1974) directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

No one can deny the poise,finesse and grace with which Fassbinder has directed some of the most charming women characters. This quality is currently being imbibed by some of the most talented filmmakers like Todd Haynes in USA and François Ozon in France. In this particular melodramatic film,Fassbinder is at his best and there is strong belief in the minds of true cinema admirers that "Martha" would surely rank as one of his best films.Initially the setting in Italy helps the film to build its momentum but it reaches feverish pitch once the events start to unfold in Germany. The two main actors are captivating. Karl Heinz Boehm has given a chilling performance as a bizarre husband. Looking at him no one can make out whether he truly loves his wife or troubling his wife sadistically remains his past time. Margit Cartensen is great too as the wife suffering humiliation at the hands of a man she thought loved him. To my mind, Martha would be of higher interest to all those who are keen on learning more about the depiction of women in new German cinema.

Ordinary film tries to act smart but fails miserably !!!

Le Temps qui reste, (2005) directed by François Ozon.

Watching films is an expensive activity at least in a city like Paris. So I was a bit lucky when I saw this film after buying a reduced price ticket at MK2 Bibliothèque by getting a student discount price.However I was utterly disappointed. First of all it suffers from a very bad casting error. Jeanne Moreau looks like a lost old woman who is not doing any justice to her grand mother's role. The same thing can be said about the lead actor.He cannot live peacefully neither with his family members nor with his male lovers. One more
trouble with "Le Temps qui reste" is that the central theme of "a person having few hours to live" has become so outdated that most of the filmmakers are just putting any cock and bull story thereby hoodwinking the innocent viewers.
Valerie Bruni Tedeschi looks fine but her voice seems a bit deformed. Avoid this film at all costs because you must watch a good film for your time which rests with you. A good film on this theme is "Le Feu Follet"(Will o'the Wisp) by late
French master Louis Malle.