Blame It on Fidel (Koch Lorber)
Starring Nina Kervel-Bey, Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi, Benjamin Feuillet
Written and directed by Julie Gavras (2nd unit on Amen) with Arnaud Cathrine
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Not rated
Plot Summary: Anna (Nina Kervel-Bey) is a spoiled 9-year-old girl from a wealthy family who must deal with the changes in her household when her parents become political activists, giving up everything to live in a poor, communal setting with strange bearded men from Latin America.
We're going with a very low-key film this week, one that's not likely to play many places besides New York and L.A. although it's another in a long line of great movies starring talented young newcomers this year, which began with The Italian and continued through Vitus and Joshua and Shane Meadows' This Is England last week. Based on the novel by Domitilla Calamai, this drama by Julie Gavras could only be dubbed a "commie-of-age" story because it literally deals with a young girl dealing with her parents' interest in communism during the early ‘70s following France's own political revolution. The material is handled with charming humor, as we see everything from Anna's viewpoint and that of her younger brother (played by adorable scene-stealer Benjamin Feuillet). They really don't understand what is going on in their house with all the changes being made, and because we only see what they see, neither do we, but it's fun to watch this story unfold and how they deal with the unknown. Nina Kervel-Bey is a delightful young find, bratty at times and sweet at others—a bit like a French Shirley Temple in some ways—and she really takes the audience on a delightful journey in this pleasant and charming first film from Julie Gavras. This very unique French film opens in New York at the Cinema Village on Friday.
(More limited releases after the jump. Sorry, but due to scheduling issues, the mini-reviews won't be added until tomorrow.)
Also in Limited Release:
Becoming Jane (Miramax) - Anne Hathaway takes on the role of famed author Jane Austen in this fictionalized biopic directed by Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots) that looks at her romance with arrogant lawyer Tom Lefroy (played by James McAvoy) and how that affected her writing career. It opens in select cities on Friday.
Mini-Review (Coming Soon!)
Cash (Adlabs) - Anubhav Sinha's fast-paced Bollywood action-thriller takes place in Cape Town, South Africa where a con artist hires a trio of robbers to steal priceless diamonds for him, pitting them against a ruthless mob boss and a security agent. It was supposed to open last weekend but it was moved until this coming Friday.
If I Didn't Care (Artistic License Films) – This Hampton-based thriller by Benjamin and Orson Cummings stars Bill Sage as a husband who remains in the Hamptons during the week while his wife works in New York City, leading to an affair with a local real estate agent, but when they plot to murder his wife so they can be together, things don't exactly go as planned. Roy Scheider plays a local detective investigating the murders in this film that opens in New York on Friday.
Mini-Review (Coming Soon!)
The Ten (THINKFilm) - Former members of the comedy group "The State" David Wain and Ken Marino directed and co-wrote this anthology comedy featuring ten stories based on the ten commandments featuring the likes of Paul Rudd (who co-produced the film), Jessica Alba, Famke Jannsen, Rob Corddry, Winona Ryder, Oliver Platt, Liev Schreiber, Adam Brody and more.
My Thoughts from Sundance
Interview with David Wain, Ken Marino and Paul Rudd
Watch an exclusive clip
The Willow Tree (New Yorker) - This film from Iran by Majid Majidi (The Color of Paradise, Baran) about a family man and university professor who was blind since birth until his sight is restored and he's thrust into a world of confusion and temptation in the form of a pretty student.
