Filmfetish Friday: Tomboy, Arrietty, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Jul 8, 2011 | by Anouk | Art, Event

About the author

As a freelance journalist, Anouk (26) usually writes about what other people do or like. In her precious spare time she watches arthouse films. Not a few. A lot, thanks to her trusted Cineville pass. Here she can finally share her film-fetish with the world.

To watch or not to watch? I will tour around Amsterdam’s cinemas and answer this crucial question every Friday. Without mercy, of course. Sucky movies will be slaughtered, cinematographic pearls will be appreciated as such. Or the other way around. After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder.

Tomboy

Ten year old Laure just moved to a new city and tells her new-found friends that her name is Michaël. Not because she desperately wants to be a boy, but because Lisa, a girl from the neighbourhood, immediately presumes Laure is a boy. From that moment on Laure does anything to live up to that premise. She plays soccer without her shirt on, she swims in short swimming trunks, she even makes a clay penis for herself. At home Michaël is still Laure though, the oldest daughter and big sister of Jeanne (an unbelievably cute kid, I’m going to adopt her).

Director Céline Sciamma manages to tell a refreshing story about one of the oldest themes in the world: boys and girls and how we think they should behave. Pleasantly confusing!

Watch this film in Cineville’s: The Movies

Arrietty

Warning: I am a sucker for everything Studio Ghibli creates. From My Neighbour Totoro to Spirited Away or Ponyo, like it! So, I was very pleased to hear the Japanese studio made a new anime. Arrietty is based on ‘The Borrowers’, a book from 1957 about tiny creatures who borrow stuff from normal people. Arrietty is such a borrower and she can’t wait till she can finally go out to borrow stuff all by herself. On her first expedition with her father, things go wrong: a young boy sees her. Even bigger problem: the house keeper finds out where she lives. What now?

Allow yourself to be absorbed by this enchanting story, but let me warn you again: in anime, women moan and sigh a lot for no reason what so ever. Prepare for that and you should be more than fine.

Watch this film in Cineville’s: Kriterion and The Movies.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

EYE Film Institute is showing Jack Nicholson films the entire summer, because of the ‘Jack Nicholson Summerfestival’. A bit odd. But hey, Nicholson is a terrific actor so why not. Other classics showing in EYE: Easy Rider, The Departed and (of course) The Shining. Heeeere’s Jack!

Watch this film in Cineville’s: EYE.