It's hard to say why John Madden's "Proof" was overlooked last year--Gwyneth Paltrow backlash, contempt for theater adaptations, or maybe it was the three-hour-long remake of "King Kong." No matter, the excellent film is out on DVD this week, along with two exciting Criterion Collection releases, Whit Stillman’s "Metropolitan" and Jean Renoir's "La Bête Humaine."
1. Proof
Gwyneth Paltrow got Jurgen's vote for "Most Beautifully Disturbed Actress of 2005" with her wonderful performance in John Madden's undeservedly overlooked "Proof." Adapted from the play, the film has a sense of heightened speech that's just a joy. Jake Gyllenhaal is the love interest and budding mathematician, Hope Davis plays a mean sister, and Anthony Hopkins is heartbreakingly fragile and crazy as the genius father.
2. Metropolitan
Writer-director Whit Stillman’s debut "Metropolitan" is a sparkling comedic chronicle of a middle-class young man’s romantic misadventures among New York City’s debutante society. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Stillman’s deft, literate script and hilariously high-brow observations mask a tender tale of adolescent anxiety.
3. Lost Embrace
Daniel Burman's tender-hearted comedy about a young man's coming of age in a seedy mall in Buenos Aires was Argenina's 2004 entry for Best Foreign Language Film.4. La Bête Humaine
Based on the classic Émile Zola novel, Jean Renoir’s "La Bête Humaine" was one of the legendary director’s greatest popular successes, tapping into the fatalism of a nation in despair. Jean Gabin’s emblematic portrayal of doomed train engineer Jacques Lantier granted him a permanent place in the hearts of his countrymen.5. The World
Acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke ("Platform," "Unknown Pleasures") casts a compassionate eye on the daily loves, friendships and desperate dreams of the twenty-somethings from China’s remote Provinces who come to live and work at Beijing’s World Park.