bodhisattva13

"Identity" is a well-crafted film and a wonderful addition to the genre. When the film came out in April, I avoided it because I associated director James Mangold with such films as "Kate and Leopold" and "Girl Interrupted." So it was a surprise to find a fine psychological thriller in the Hitchcockian tradition. There are a lot of twists, turn and red herrings. In the Starz! feature on the DVD, John Cusak says that the characters are moved around as if on a chessboard, which is true. It's one of the best films of 2003. Cusak and Ray Liotta are fantastic; the former has that dark, intellectual stuff down while the latter is the dark, dangerous explosive type. I love them both and it's great to see such cinematic heavyweights working together. If you skipped this one out, rent it. Better yet get the DVD and take in some of the extras.

I started watching this film at about midnight. Even though it was 148 minutes long and I was becoming increasingly tired, I couldn't switch it off. I can't explain what about this film appeals to me. Especially since it isn't as much about a manhunt for the killer and rapist of an 11-year-old girl as how disconnected we all are from one another.

The lead actor conveys this melancholic, sweetness that makes a person want to embrace him. He's so filled with sadness and ennui. This really is such a deeply sad film. His neighbor, too, wastes her time with an immature and idiotic boyfriend. Their frequent sex scenes aren't as much erotic as desperate, feverish attempts to feel something.

Another film that had a deep effect upon me was Mike Leigh's "All or Nothing." That's another slice-of-life, roll the cameras and then pretend they aren't there kind of film. I think what makes these types of films resonant with me is all the artifice seems stripped away. Faced with a mirror of myself and my society, I can't help but ache and feel hollow.

As someone else said, few people will recommend this type of film, although critics invariably hail it. The reason - because this is more true than "Die Hard" or any other equally vacuous Hollywood blockbuster. I don't go to the cinema to be entertained. I want to see life and from that understand myself and my world better. "L'Humanite," which not surprisingly is written and directed by a philosopher, accomplishes those objectives.

A Francophile will probably like this film. I did. Meg Ryan plays a woman who's on the verge of marrying a Canadian, so she's denounced her American citizenship. She's also afraid of flying so she stays home while her fiance goes to Paris on business. Things take a turn for the worse when he calls, saying he's met the woman of his dreams and he's staying in France.

Frantic to get back her man, she boards a plane. Next to her sits a French thief, beautifully played by Kevin Kline, who has problems of his own, most notably how to smuggle a diamond necklace out of the country.

It's a character-driven plot that Cary Grant would have loved - two people who are seemingly so "repelled" by each other but all they need are the right elements to fall in love. I'm generally not a fan of the romantic-comedy, but the French setting sucked me in as did a supporting role played by the always excellent Jean Reno.

As for the authenticity of Kline's accent, I had a good friend from France who claimed it was "formidable." So there.

Very entertaining and worth a watch.

Want more French choices? Try "Frantic" with Harrison Ford, it's Hitchcockian; "Green Card," who can resist Depardieu?; and my all-time favorite Meg Ryan film "Addicted to Love." It's a great black comedy and it has the sizzlingly sexy Tcheky Karyo. "C'est magnifique!"