Man on the Train - (L'homme du Train) - 2002

Hollywood's recent remake of this film reminded me of the original French film from 2002. Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort are quite good as two men who find themselves intrigued with each other's life.

A poet. A thief. Two strangers with nothing in common are about to trade their lives for a chance to cheat their destinies.

A weathered old gangster (Johnny Hallyday) arrives by train at a small French town to rob the local bank. But he soon discovers there's no room at the local inn in which he'd hoped to stay while he plans his crime. Taking up the kind offer of an elderly teacher (Jean Rochefort) to stay in his mansion, the two men soon discover that they each might have been better suited for the other man's way of life.

Firelight - 1997

Firelight (1997) is a period romance/drama film written and directed by William Nicholson. It was Nicholson's first, and to date only, film as director. I'm sorry the video preview has no audio. It's a must-see film. Sophie Marceau is absolutley wonderful in this romantic period masterpiece. In 1838, Swiss governess Elisabeth Laurier agrees to bear a child for an anonymous Englishman. In return, the Englishman will pay all of her father's debts. They meet over three nights at a lonely island hotel. Despite their wish for detachment, they develop a deeply passionate connection during their lovemaking by firelight. Their feelings grow after they converse on the beach and at the hotel. Elisabeth gives birth to a girl, Louisa, nine months later. As agreed she gives the child away, but never forgets her. She begins to keep a journal of watercolor flowers and plants, adding a page for each holiday and birthday they are apart. The anonymous Englishman is Charles Godwin, a landowner and struggling sheep farmer. He can barely keep the debtors of his philandering father, Lord Clare, at bay. Charles's wife, Amy Godwin, is paralyzed and catatonic due to a horseriding accident. Amy's sister, Constance, runs the Godwin household. Never having forgotten the voice of her daughter at birth, Elizabeth manages to track her down seven years later, and get herself hired as Louisa's new governess. Charles rejects Elisabeth, and demands she leave immediately. However, Constance insists that he give the new governess a month in order to find a new situation. Showing Elisabeth the catatonic form of his wife, Charles forces Elisabeth to swear never to reveal to Louisa or anyone the nature of their previous relationship.

A Man and a Woman - 1966

This film hit so close to home for me. A quiet, understated film that brings together two people from different backgrounds yet similar situations to find life in a new romance.

A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their childrens' boarding school. Slowly they reveal themselves to each other, finding that each is a widow/widower. Each is slow to reveal anything personal so that each revelation is hidden by a misperception. Much of the film is told wordlessly in action, or through hearing one of their thoughts as they go about their day.

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1967.

Favorite quotes; "It's crazy to refuse happiness."
"When a woman sends you a telegram, "I love you"......you go and see her."

Four Minutes - 2006

One of my favorite films I viewed in the last year. The music alone is worth a look.

Traude (Monica Bleibtreu), an elderly music teacher who gives piano lessons to prisoners, finds an unexpected prodigy in Jenny (Hannah Herzsprung), a brooding young inmate, and devotes herself to developing Jenny's talent in the little time they have together. But while Traude teaches Jenny valuable lessons about music, Jenny herself inspires Traude to examine her own past and the meaning of her life -- and what might have passed her by.