Tag Archives: inspired by a theatre play

vaudeville on screen (film: Amoureux de ma femme – Daniel Auteuil, 2018)

I couldn’t resist the temptation to watch a film that brings together such a formidable cast—Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Kiberlain, and Adriana Ugarte, alongside Daniel Auteuil, who also directs. The screenplay is penned by the successful French playwright and screenwriter Florian … Continue reading →

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the loneliness of angels (film: Meet Joe Black – Martin Brest, 1998)

I wonder if any of the screenwriters (and there were quite a few, as the script passed through many hands) for Martin Brest’s 1998 film ‘Meet Joe Black‘ ever read Mihai Eminescu’s Luceafărul (The Evening Star). Most likely not, given … Continue reading →

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the dawn of the Lubitsch world (film: The Marriage Circle – Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

‘The Marriage Circle‘ from 1924 is one of the first films of Ernst Lubitsch‘s American career. The Berlin-born film director brought to American audiences a style of romantic comedy that he would develop after the advent of sound in talking … Continue reading →

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a fantasy movie in the 1900 Vienna (film: La Ronde – Max Ophüls, 1950)

The year was 1950 and film director Max Ophüls was returning to Europe. He had spent the decade of the 1940s in the United States, where between 1947 and 1949 he had made four films. He was returning to France, … Continue reading →

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a drama with music (film: Mélo – Alain Resnais, 1986)

Melodrama has not always had a negative or ironic connotation. In fact, in the 19th century this theatrical genre was closer to what the etymology of the word indicates, that is, a drama (usually set in a family environment) with … Continue reading →

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a Swedish gem (film: Flickorna / The Girls – Mai Zetterlink, 1968)

‘Flickorna‘ (the English title is ‘The Girls‘), made in 1968, was probably the most ambitious film in the directorial career of Mai Zetterling, a personality of Swedish cinema that I discovered while watching this film. Mai launched herself as an … Continue reading →

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three girls and an apartment (film: How to Marry a Millionaire – Jean Negulesco, 1953)

‘How to Marry a Millionaire‘ (1953) was an excellent surprise. I chose it because it stars Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe and because the director is Jean Negulesco. Born in Craiova, Romania, he was an extremely interesting personality, an appreciated … Continue reading →

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Modern Times Square (film: La Cocina – Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2024)

‘La Cocina‘ (2024), the bold and unusual film by Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, immediately reminded me of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Modern Times’. Both films have one memorable scene that visually and symbolically represents all that is wrong with the dehumanization of … Continue reading →

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at the theatre with Deneuve, Luchini, Depardieu (film: Potiche – François Ozon, 2010)

‘Potiche‘, François Ozon‘s 2010 film brings together Catherine Deneuve, Fabrice Luchini and Gérard Depardieu, which is reason enough to want to see it without delay. The film brings to the screen a plot inspired by a play that was successfully … Continue reading →

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breaking taboos (film: The Children’s Hour – William Wyler, 1961)

By the time Bill Wyler adapted it in 1961, Lillian Hellman‘s play ‘The Children’s Hour‘ and its big screen adaptations already had a history of nearly three decades. The play itself was the first major hit on Broadway and the … Continue reading →

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