If you didn't catch Kristen Scott Thomas's haunting performance in I've Loved You So Long, now is your chance. Philippe Claudel's moving melodrama recently won Best First Film at the 2009 Cesar Awards. Also out this week, French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier's first English language film, In The Electric Mist, and the newly restored edition of Wong Kar Wai's martial arts masterpiece Ashes of Time Redux.
1. I've Loved You So Long
Sony Pictures Classics
The desperate thousand yard stare of Kristin Scott Thomas in Philippe Claudel's I've Loved You So Long will give you chills. She gives an outstanding performance that allows this melodrama to skirt the dangers of the Lifetime TV drama. Claudel reveals the shocking story of Juliette (Thomas) in bits and pieces; her reawakening and eventual redemption in the midst of newly discovered family is moving and heartrendingly real.
2. In the Electric Mist
Image Entertainment, Inc.
French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier's (Safe Conduct) first film shot in the English language sadly never received distribution in the U.S. Based on James Lee Burke novel In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, this moody thriller tells the story of a detective (Tommy Lee Jones) tracking a serial killer who preys on young women. The case is complicated by a glamorous Hollywood starlet and a ruthless crime kingpin. The terrific cast includes John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ned Beatty, Mary Steenburgen, Ned Beatty, and indie filmmaker John Sayles.
3. Ashes of Time Redux
Sony Pictures Classics
Director Wong Kar Wai's definitive version of Ashes of Time, an epic martial arts masterpiece of larger-than-life characters, breathtaking landscapes and exquisite fight scenes. The story centers on Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung), a heartbroken and cynical man who spends his days alone in the desert, connecting expert swordsmen with those seeking revenge and willing to pay for it. As Ouyang narrates his tale, interweaving the stories of his unusual clients, old friends and future foes, he begins to realize the mistakes of his own past, and how his fear of rejection may have led him to a life of exile.
