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Reviews
Roxanne (1987)
excruciating embarrassment
There are few films that stick in my memory because they are so dreadful, but this is one. Steve Martin is one of the most embarrassing actors I have ever seen, and the whole film is cloying and without charm. Rumour has it that there is meant to be some humour in it - but I'm sure it is just a rumour. Oh for Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano. The only virtue of a film like this is that it helps you remember who to avoid in future. Somebody told me that in certain circumstances Daryl Hannah can act, but I have avoided her like the plague since seeing this horror of a film. This is a classic indication of how American cinema can screw up a first-rate story.
Tombés du ciel (1993)
sadly overlooked minor gem
I really loved this film which was charming and intriguing. It was a shame it did not achieve wider distribution, and that that terrible Tom Hanks vehicle took the same (English) title. It provided a wonderful insight into the way that people could lose their freedom to determine their own lives, as well as sending up the vagaries of French bureaucracy. Jean Rochefort is a wonderful actor; I would be happy to see him in almost anything but this was an especial joy. It even gave me a perverse yearning to stay in one of those automated French hotels that are guyed at some point. It is several years since I saw this film but a number of vignettes remain clearly in my mind.