I know I’m going to forget something I watched this week, but here goes with my best try:
- Middle of Nowhere
- Searching for Sugar Man
- The Central Park Five
- The Invisible War
- How to Survive a Plague
- Les Miserables
- Tokyo Story (this week’s Movie Club entry)
- The Intouchables
Of the four documentaries — Searching for Sugar Man, The Central Park Five, The Invisible War and How to Survive a Plague — I’d say The Central Park Five was probably my favorite of the lot with Searching for Sugar Man being the most entertaining, The Invisible War being the most maddening and How to Survive a Plague offering some sense of frustration and relief as it chronicles the rise of the AIDS/HIV epidemic and the group that stood up and demanded something be done sooner rather than later.
I want to make sure, however, to single out one film — The Intouchables. You probably heard how Jean Dujardin didn’t win Best Actor at the Cesar Awards last year, that’s because Intouchables star Omar Sy did. The Artist did win Best Film, but Intouchables and its nine nominations clearly had an impact. How big? Try over $414 million at the worldwide box-office, which includes $10 million domestically. If you were ever wondering why France submitted this film instead of Rust and Bone as its Best Foreign Language contender, take that box-office total and add The Weinstein Co. and you have your answer. (Nevermind the fact one submission from each country is stupid.)
The film centers on a young man from the projects (Sy) who applies for a job as caretaker for a rich quadriplegic (François Cluzet) and the two eventually form a strong bond and lasting relationship. Yes, it’s not a ground-breaking story, but it’s a fantastic one that is wonderfully told with excellent performances. It’s unfortunately out of theaters now, but once you get the chance definitely be sure and check it out. Particularly before they go and remake it, though I am intrigued at the idea of Chris Tucker taking on the role played by Omar Sy, that could be interesting.
Here’s the trailer.
Now what did you watch?
