Half Nelson and This is England

About film, and real life that happens in front of your eyes.

Last week 2 films with the extraordinary talented Ryan Gosling premiered in the cinema. One could get annoyed about the fact that the way better one of these 2 is running in a small back street cinema, and the less successful one in the large main stream one but let’s not. Let’s be happy about the fact that he finally seems to have arrived. He already blew me away in The Believer in 2001

Fracture is the least of the two. I know why the bigger cinema’s picked it up: It has Anthony Hopkins in it. And I admit that I missed the first half hour of it, because that was where I had a thorough inspection of the inner side of my eyelids. But I wasn’t that impressed by Fracture.

[rating:7.5/10]

Half Nelson doesn’t give you any chance to fall asleep. The acting in this film is fantastic (Gosling got a well deserved Oscar nomination for it), the story is human and harsh and the ending is very non hollywood, but hopeful. Absolutely recommended, go see it, now.

[rating:9.5/10]

And while we are at “go see it now” films, go see This is England as well. 15 year old Thomas Turgoose gives a performance that makes you wonder how they are able to dig up such great talent every single time in British film. So yeah, go see it and be touched.

[rating:9.5/10]

The thing really touching me this Sunday was something happening outside the cinema. While waiting for the bus, a man was checking the bins for something to eat. He collected fags from the ground, taking out the bit of tobacco that was left in them, rolling it into a new cigarette. People looked at him as if he was something the cat had brought in. The little girl was the only one looking at him without prejudice and she gave him her biggest smile. I could see him getting alive, and for a short while he refound his dignity smiling back at her. I nearly cried.