July Movie Club Notes

Wow! The July Movie Club Notes are almost on time. I wanted to make certain that we were up-to-date with our notes before the start of our 6th Movie Club season next month.


I should mention upfront that the movies selected for September are:


The Traitor starring Don Cheadle, opening in theaters on August 29 and The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling which is on DVD. The September Movie Club meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 13.


As mentioned in an earlier post, it's been a while since we held a meeting in July. Summer is a notoriously bad time for trying to pull people together. But this year because there were members who didn't get an opportunity to select a movie during the regular 10 month season, we decided to do a one month extension to allow them to share their movie choices with us. Surprisingly we had a pretty good turnout although a lot of folks didn't see both films.

The first selection reviewed was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly chosen by Stephanie our resident professional actor. She told us that the choice was made because she couldn't think of anything else and two friends whose opinions she respected had recommended it. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to see the film. I'm certain that after hearing our comments, she's rectified that situation.

With one exception, most of our members liked this movie a lot. Mona said that she didn't really expect to like it. She doesn't necessarily care for subtitles and therefore the movie started as a C which then moved to a C+, then to a B and then finally to her final rating as an A. Zorah also felt that the movie was beautifully made and loved the perspective from which it was shot. Zanetta thought that the relationships in the movie were done especially well. India, who gave the film it's lowest rating, thought that it was too long although she admitted that it captured the essence of what was like to be Jean-Do.

In writing this I realized that the main character's name is the French version of John Doe. I will have to remember to mention this fact at the next meeting. It might add some additional perspectives on what that might mean.


Here are the ratings for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly:


Puma B+


India C+


David B+


Zorah A-


Ed B


Zanetta A-


Carl A-


Mona A-


Hope A-


The second selection for July was also a subtitled movie. Lust, Caution set in Shanghai during WWII was chosen by Carl. I must say I think the film was aptly titled; there was a lot of lust and the need for a lot of caution. Zorah really enjoyed the film and thought it was suspenseful but she really liked the relationship between Mr. Yee and Mak Tai Tai. Rylona thought the movie showcased the idealism and the unrealisticness of youth. They were caught up by their passion to achieve their mission.
Zanetta was intrigued by the sex scenes and thought they were excellent. The way these scenes were shot made the viewer feel almost like a voyeur. There was a spirited discussion about whether Mr. Yee and Mak Tai Tai really loved one another. Ed felt that Mak Tai Tai did grow to have true feelings for the married Mr. Yee. She had been so betrayed by so many people in her life and he was willing to do more for her than anyone.

I think that our movies this month proved that subtitles don't detract from films that are well made and interesting.

The grades for Lust, Caution were:

Carl A+

Mona C

John B+

Rylona A+

Patrice C+

Puma A-

India B-

Stephanie B

Zorah A+

Zanetta A

Ed B-

David B+

Hope B-

Looking forward to the opening of our sixth season. See everyone on September 13.