LE HUITIEME JOUR

What a difference a day makes.

Director: Jaco Van Dormael

Actors: Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou and others

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Duration: 118 minutes

Plot: an unusual but wonderful friendship develops between a busy but unhappy salesman and a resident of a mental asylum.

Analysis: Le Huitieme Jour (The Eight Day) is without doubt the best and -by far- the most dramatic film i have ever seen. The plot is quite simple but it is exactly this simplicity that enchants the movie, rendering it something more than just a plain and ordinary emotional story. Daniel Auteuil and Pasqual Duquenne are absolutely touching in their roles, this sharing the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival (an honor which is considered to be even greater than winning an oscar).

      Le Huitieme Jour will make you cry. Whether you will hate it or adore it, get excited or get bored by it, trust my word, you will cry. Again and again. And again. And even though that may sound repellent, the feelings of freedom and relief that will overwelm your heart while shading your tears will surprise you. Personally, after watching that movie i caught myself smiling happily while washing my tearful eyes. That's the power of this film. Just like another ancient greek tragedy, will take you by the hand and lead you through the path of sadness until you finally reach the final destination of felicity and tranquillity. A journey you will not regret, should you ask me.

Things to notice:

• the chemistry between the main. Vraiment magnifique,
• the metaphorical scenes that transfuse a fairy tale aura to the movie and
• the deep feeling of compassion and liberation which will warm your heart.

Oscar awards (1997): -

Personal Evaluation: 8.8/10 

Should be watched tonight if: you are prepared to shed rivers of tears.

Trailer

IT FOLLOWS

It doesn't think. It doesn't feel. It doesn't give up.

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Actors:  Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi and others

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Duration: 100 Minutes

Plot: a young woman is followed by an unknown and evil supernatural force after getting involved in a sexual encounter.

Analysis: at first look, It Follows seems like a typical, low-badget horror movie. The cast consists of young and completely unknown actors, the special effects trigger laughs rather than screams and the film's main idea could have been written by a horny teenager who was drinking beers with his mates. However, this movie manages to unexplainably grasp you from the shoulders and keep you sitted in front of your screen for 100 minutes, as you slowly realise that everything in this film –from the inglorious actors to the naive scenario– is deliberately there, serving its own purpose, like scattered pieces of a puzzle joined together to form a spectacular image.     

      And even though i do not get easily scared, i admit that It Follows made me peeping anxiously behind my back for a whole week!

Things to notice:

• the suspenseful atmposphere,
• the unexpected finale and
• the strange figure lurking behind you...

Oscar awards (2016): –

Evaluation: 7.3/10

Should be watched tonight if: you want to enjoy a clever and trully original horror movie which will not make you scream but will make you fear. 

Trailer

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

Lost in the forest. And the night is coming...

Directors: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez

Actors: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard and others

Genre: Horror

Duration: 81 minutes

Plot: three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.

Analysis: Damn! Another horror movie, you are going to say. Chill your horses, guys. Because this is not just another horror movie. This is THE horror movie. A film that costed less than 60.000$, gained more that 200.000.000$ (!) and actually created a whole new category regarding the first person shooting movies, with countless films following its path during the next years.
     The script is rediculously simple -some people may even consider it childish. Neverthelss, the results are extraordinary, since Blair Witch Project succeeds in giving its viewers the creeps. Direction may be one dimensional but at the same time highly sophisticated, should we take as granted the one and only available camera which was used to shoot the whole movie! The scenaries are pure perfection. Almost twenty years have passed since i last saw this movie and i still cannot forget the night scenes in that crippy, haunted forest. Last but not least, the performances of the three young actors are quite persuasive, making you share their despair and horror (rumor has it that the three actors were abandoned in the forest by the executives of the studio with one strict order: make a god damn scary horror movie. And they did).
     All in all, if you are looking for a movie which was succesful not through its expensive budget, its fancy CGI effects and its famous actors but thanks to its ingenuity, creativity and originality, then Blair Witch Project is the finest example.


Things to notice:

• the simplicity yet ingenuity of the script,
• the bloodcurdling forrest's scenaries and
• the eerie atmosphere.

Oscar awards (2000): -

Evaluation: 8.3/10

Should be watched tonight if: you are curious to find out what was the genuine idea that inspired hundreds of horror movies during the last fifteen years.

Trailer