A saga of actors moving from taxis,hotels to a ship.

La Pirate (1984) directed by Jacques Doillon

Those who enjoy serious cinema (this is the way I describe the films I like to watch) and have some knowledge of filmmakers, are aware of the fact that Jacques Doillon is recognised as a tender, kind hearted filmmaker who specialises in poignant stories about children. This film proves that he has tried his hand at making off beat films too. "La Pirate" is one of those rare, off beat films which can only be made in France." The Pirate" is a film not about pirates as the title suggests but about people trouble by love. The sad thing is that one of these people is a married woman whose husband is giving her hell.Jane Birkin is nice as the victim whose situation is rather peculiar as she loves her husband too (played by her real life brother Andrew Birkin). Philippe Leotard is an enjoyable part of the film. He plays the detective hired by the uxorious husband. Many viewers who watched this film at Créteil Women film festival 2006 were quick to add that the Dutch star Marutschka Detmers was the real "point of attraction" of this film. This view was also shared by the leading lady Jane Birkin who said that she was enamoured by her beauty.If you have lived in Paris, you would be able to recognize some of the places where "La Pirate" was shot. For ex-I had no trouble recognizing the road near "La Chapelle" station. In 2007 it is still the same as it was in this 1984 production.

Nostalgia for all the things of the past.

Kung-Fu master (1987) directed by Agnès Varda

I undertook a time machine type ride heavily imbued with nostalgia when I saw this film in 2005.Kung Fu master directed by the unofficial grand mother of French new wave cinema Agnes Varda is as relevant in our contemporary times as it was 20 years ago in a not so distant past of 1987.It was a time of ubiquitous video games and all the unending worries,fears and anxieties related to a mysterious disease called AIDS. In this film it was nice to see some young French actors who ever since have nicely grown up such as Lou Doillon,Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mathieu Demy.The mystical Agnes Varda touch is very much evident and she takes her viewers on a tour of two different countries where our leading lady Jane Birkin has resided :England and France.Kung Fu master also contains in itself a puppy tale of juvenile love.In the hands of a less versatile director this would have been an absolute catastrophe but due to Agnes Varda's experience in handling such a complex tale of human emotions, what we get is one of the most personal wonderful statements of 21th Century on love.This is the only plausible reason for viewers to watch this film.

It brings to mind Makk Karoly's classic Hungarian film "Szerelem" (love)

Depuis qu'Otar est parti... (2003)

directed by Julie Bertucelli

Since Otar has left is a humanist tale directed by Julie Bertucelli who in the past worked as assistant to great Georgian master of cinema Otar Iosseliani.This film can be likened to Samuel Beckett's famous play "Waiting for Godot" as in both these works of art the important focal element is that of patience.For those who are into serious cinema mention must be made of Hungarian classic film "Szerelem" directed by Makk Karoly.Both these films have a lot of common
elements namely protagonists who are not near their families as well as brave women who carry on with their own personal lives in the absence of a male member in their life.Some astute viewers might like to know about Georgia-France connection as depicted in the film.This comes from the fact that one of the film's characters is interested in French language and literature and for that purpose at her home,she has a very good collection of classics of French literature.The only defect of this film is its innocuous end which might appear as too deceitfully agreeable to some astute viewers. This film was chosen by legendary actress Jane Birkin as her personal choice at Créteil's Films De Femmes Film Festival 2006