Movies this weekend - Tit for Tat

I saw Zidane and I've Loved You So Long this weekend. One so boring we took the time to sort out the peanut m&m's that fell into the popcorn bag mid-movie and the other so enthralling, I haven't stopped thinking about it.

Despite being completely excited to see a movie on the amazing football player, Zinedine Yazid Zidane aka Zizou, all excitement soon dissolved after the first 15 minutes of the movie when we realized that there would be no dialogue for the entire 95 min film. It was literally one ordinary football match played from beginning to end interspersed with Mogwai songs and closeups of Zindane's feet, wrists and sweaty brow. A missed opportunity on a player whose career has been so marred in controversy and is ripe for a documentary but apparently not this one since it was ultimately a total bore.

I've Loved You So Long was fantastic and I have not stopped thinking about it since I left the theatre. This is writer/director Philippe Claudel's film debut and the lyrical tones and pace of the movie can clearly be attributed to his first career as a novelist. The film tells the tale of two sisters reuniting after the older sister has been in prison for the last 15 years. Both actresses are amazing (in fact the whole cast is incredible) and it would be a shame if Kirstin Scott Thomas was not nominated for an Oscar. The movie does an incredible job of showing the bond between siblings in a devastating and breathtaking way. Every detail, from the ambers in a bonfire to the shadows running across Scott's face are entrancing, beautiful and make the film that more rich. Highly recommended.