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Bird Box (2018)

Well, this started out as being my final post for 2018 but it looks like it will be my first post for 2019.

I admit it – I am little late to the game, but I am now just getting around to posting some quick thoughts to the Netflix “sensation” Bird Box.

bird_box

Starring Sandra Bullock, Bird Box is the second thriller of 2018 to give audiences a fright while losing one of our senses (the other being A Quiet Place). And while I still have not had the pleasure of seeing the latter, I very much looked forward to seeing (pun intended) a post apocalyptic world where your very survival depended on your inability to see what was in front of you. (Near) futuristic hellscapes are my jam.

By now, I assume most folks have a sense of the direction of the story – so I will simply drop a few of my quick thoughts/observations below.

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Tuesday’s Overlooked: Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage)

Up until recently the only thing I knew about this title (Eyes Without a Face/Les yeux sans visage, in France) was that it was a Billy Idol song:

 

Then I was watching TCM and saw guest programmer Anthony Bourdain talking about the film and thought – what the heck, a French horror film, co-starring Alida Valli. Can’t be too bad. I had no idea of what was in store …

SYNOPSIS (from the Criterion Collection):

Secluded in the French countryside, a brilliant, obsessive doctor attempts a radical plastic surgery to restore the beauty of his daughter’s disfigured face—but at a horrifying price. At once ghastly and lyrical, Eyes Without a Face is a true rarity of horror cinema and has influenced countless films.

That about sums it up. Check out this (rather long) trailer to get a better sense of where the film is going:

This film (directed by Georges Franju) is “horrific” in the truest spirit of the word. Not like the modern-day slash and thrash that we often associate with the genre, this film is disturbing and even oddly romantic in places.
In addition, it is beautifully shot in an “Expressionist-lite” black and white, with many scenes evoking sharp, contrasting shadows and light.

Originally released in France in 1959, the film originally hit our shores in 1962, was dubbed and given a new title: The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus; in addition, it was double-billed with The Manster, a Japanese horror film.

Currently, Eyes Without a Face is available on DVD for your enjoyment 🙂

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iluvcinema Selects: Ne les dis à personne/Tell No One (2006)

Ne les dis à personne (Tell No One) could have easily been an entry to the ‘Overlooked’ series I take part in, but alas, it is my latest video recommendation (Note: I have previously referred to this film a few times here on this blog).

For many of your out in the blog-o-sphere, you may be familiar with this film if only for the fact that Ben Affleck has been tipped to direct the English-language version. But why wait until 2014 (according to the IMDB) when you can catch the French original now.

Based on a novel from American crime author Harlan Coben, Tell No One is a taut, gripping suspense thriller which stars François Cluzot as Alex, a grief-stricken man who, several years after his wife’s (Marie-Josée Croze) murder, now finds himself the chief suspect of a double murder. Add to this an email Alex receives which reveals a new, mysterious layer to his wife’s death and …

… that is about all I will say about the film; the less you know, the better. There are so many unexpected developments that I do not want to spoil a single thing for you, if you decide to accept the mission I have laid before you.

Tell No One is directed and co-written by actor Guillaume Canet and co-stars Kristin Scott Thomas.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Tell No One was awarded four César Awards in 2007: Best Director for Guillaume Canet, Best Actor (François Cluzet), Best Editing and Best Music Written for a Film (Original Score).

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