A Casa de Alice (Alice's House)

The performance by Carla Ribas in this is amazing. Somewhere Jon read that this was meant to be a "state of feminism" in Brazil today picture, which, if it is, is very depressing....even more depressing than the simple, subtle, flavorful character drama that is appears at face-value. The director has, until now, I believe, only made documentaries, and you can feel that approach come through, with interesting details highlighted without being part of the story. I felt sorry for this woman and her mom and her client who lies about her life and the young girl who finds an older, married man to flirt with -- these women are all controlled in every way by the men around them -- their lovers, sons and husbands. No one is happy. Life carries on.

4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days)

What surprised me most about this movie is that it is about the friend who arranges an illegal abortion for her friend, not about the friend having the abortion. We follow them both through about 6-8 hours in almost real time, but the main character is the one who we really feel for, her irresponsible friend, by virtue of not being able to take care of herself, asking far too much too many times in this unfortunate scenario. Set 1980's Romania where the oppressive government touches almost every aspect of people's lives, even the most private and personal.

There are interesting moments in this film, directorial touches that made me pause and appreciate how hard it is to paint in all gray. But they are few and far between deserts of difficult, sad, slow circumstances. Some of the emotional horror is far too intense, and there is little or no redemption for anyone. I left this film feeling depleted and tired.

Persepolis

I saw Marjane Satrapi speak a few years ago about her autobiographical graphic novels by the same name of this movie. She was incredibly funny and spoke eloquently of her surprise at finding her way to be a "comics artist." She had me as a fan for life and I was thrilled when I heard about the film.

The film was impeccably done. They kept Satrapi's style, spirit and touch so perfectly, you might beleive she drew the whole thing herself. Magnificent shades of gray envelop each scene with wonderful details and palpable emotion. We are transported with sadness, patriotism, joy and adventure.

Even though Marjane lived in Iran through war and revolution and moved to Austria and Paris, her life was not that remarkable. It is her gift for storytelling that draws us in and wraps us up in journey.