The run up to the Oscars usually results in rich pickings at the cinema and this year is no different. My first film of the year, The Kite Runner was long anticipated. I'm a big fan of the book being a sucker for a tale of tragedy and in particular, one set in a different country.
It is a tale of two afghan boys of different social status and backgrounds who are firm friends until an incidence of violence changes everything. What follows is a journey of loss, redemption and ultimate revelation that serves to add tragedy to an already sad tale.
The film certainly lived up to expectation. It is a sensitive adaptation, expertly depicted by the largely unknown cast, that captured the essence of the book. I can't recommend it enough. In fact the only negative was the two teenage girls who were sat right at the front whispering and giggling. Teenagers really should be removed from the planet and only allowed back when they can behave in polite society.
My second film of the week was one that has been much talked about in the press because it is by Ang Lee and it's rude. Although if Lust, Caution was just rude and not made by Ang Lee it probably would have got just as much press.
The film also happens to have received really good reviews so that cultured cinema-goers can justify the ticket price without blushing.
Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the second world a group of Chinese drama students decide to aide the underground resistance movement by infiltrating the friends of a high-powered collaborator with the aim of assassinating him.
He is a finely skilled director and the film is beautifully shot and put together. It is long but doesn't really feel long which is testament to his skill but ultimately I found the ending unsatisfying. I thought it might one of those endings that would improve on reflection. Maybe it's because it didn't end quite as I had anticipated and my pride is clouding my judgement. I'm just not quite sure.
Nonetheless it is worth a look and not merely for the titilation.