Michel Fessler Movies

This distinguished outing constitutes Cambodian director Rithy Pahn's feature adaptation of Marguerite Duras's 1950 novel of the same name (a tome typically perceived as a predecessor to her better known volume The Lover). Panh relies on the material to provide a panoramic overview of his native country, within the context of a fictional narrative. The film, like the novel, unfolds in Duras's temporarily-adopted home of French Indochina circa 1931, occupied by a bevy of French estate owners. Surrounded by the polar extremes of colonialist wealth and indigenous poverty, a young French widow (Isabelle Huppert) and her two adolescent children (a son and a daughter) attempt to carve out a meager life for themselves by farming rice fields alongside the ocean. Their efforts are hampered each year by the presence of the sea, which invariably floods the fields with saltwater and wipes out the crops. In desperation, the mother realizes that their only hope lies in the construction of a sea wall to prevent continued flooding, but the mother must cut a swath through the local bureaucracy in an almost Sisyphean attempt to make this happen. Meanwhile, her obstinate daughter, Suzanne, draws the romantic obsessions of a well-to-do Chinese gentleman, Monsieur Jo; though he could easily provide a way out, the possibility of a romantic relationship between Jo and Suzanne could just as easily fall prey to local racial prejudices that would damage or ruin the lives of both. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

While many people think of penguins as comical birds who look like they've been decked out in tuxedos, the truth is they're among the strongest and most resilient creatures in the animal kingdom. And they have to be -- each year, the emperor penguins of Antarctica travel through the most punishing environment on Earth to their nesting grounds, and after the females lay their eggs, the males keep them warm while their mates walk 70 miles back to the sea to fatten themselves with fish for themselves and their young. Filmmaker Luc Jacquet spent over a year braving the frigid temperatures of the South Pole to film this annual ritual of the penguins, and March of the Penguins documents their brave struggle to survive, as well as the close emotional bonds between the penguin families. March of the Penguins was first screened in France as La Marche de l'Empereur, with a handful of French actors providing a voice-over in which they expressed the "thoughts" of the penguins; for the American edition, Morgan Freeman was brought in to deliver a more straightforward narration. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Between a documentary about animals and pure Indiana Jones, Hanuman is a children's film that lavishly narrates the tale of Hanuman, the legendary monkey king of India whose father is the wind and the mother a monkey. Hanuman is the most lovable baby monkey one can imagine. He meets Tom who comes to visit the temple in the Valley of Monkeys and tries to protect it from the robbers. A warm relationship develops between the two. The strongest points of this film are the magical landscape of India reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling books and the acting, particularly by Robert Cavanah who stays day and night with little Hanou. Recommend to children of all ages. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide