Andrew Bennett Movies

Two streetwise women are sent on a strange odyssey through a decaying society in this offbeat sci-fi comedy, set in a fictional African nation in the year 2025. Majolie (Adèle Ado) is an ambitious prostitute whose clients include a handful of prominent politicians, and one evening's assignment with the secretary general of the Civil Cabinet (Balthazar Amadagoleda) becomes problematic when he dies in flagrante delicto. Needing to get rid of the body, and fast, Majolie calls on her best friend, Chouchou (Dorylia Calmel), for help. Disposing of the secretary general's remains sends Majolie and Chouchou on a strange ride through the sordid underbelly of the city as they discover a variety of people looking for a way to turn the streetwalker's poor fortune to their advantage, including a crooked politician, a Machiavellian taxi driver, a handful of street people, and an underground society of covertly powerful women. Written, edited, and directed by Cameroon-based filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Les Saignantes (aka The Bloodettes) received its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes is an alternately funny and heartbreaking look at growing up in Ireland. Born in Brooklyn, NY, young Frank (Joe Breen) moves at an early age to Limerick, Ireland, with his parents Angela (Emily Watson) and Malachy (Robert Carlyle), who have been unable to support their family in America and are hoping for better prospects in their home country. But things hardly improve once they settle in Limerick; as McCourt puts it, "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Illness and death are commonplace in Limerick, and Malachy's drinking and inability to hold a job make matters worse. Angela's Ashes was directed by Alan Parker, who previously looked at Irish life in The Commitments (1991); Laura Jones wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi