The Girl on the Bridge

I wasn't going to recommend anything today because it's the end of the summer and I just didn't feel like it. Still, I have two great recommends that I felt compelled to share.

The first is The Girl on the Bridge, by French director Patrice Leconte. I first saw this movie at my at my parents house on the Bravo channel when that was still a movie channel. I never knew what it was called or who was in it, and finally after two years Netflix recommended it to me. The thing about this movie that first caught my attention is the wonderfully attractive actress Vanessa Paradis, though I soon was completely taken in by some of the most beautiful black and white film footage I've ever seen. So many B&W movies are muddy and gray, never exploring either black or white, but The Girl on the Bridge spends its most captivating scenes in a high contract of the brightest whites and the darkest blacks, making for very compelling cinema.

The movie isn't heavy on the plot. A knife thrower rescues a girl about to end her life and takes her on as his assistant. You're never quite sure where the movie is going, and that's largely due to the fact that it never goes far, but it still pulls you in to the world of these two characters whose lives have suddenly intersected and become inseparable If Chris hated my use of the vibrant to describe a book, he's going to really hate my use of the world sensuous to describe this movie, but I think this scene makes a good argument.




The other movie I need to recommend is Inglorious Bastards. I just saw it this weekend, and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's certainly Tarantino's best movie thus far. From the plot, to the banter between characters, to the acting, to the visuals, to the everything. Go see this movie. Tarantino is really at the peak of his career here. I could watch this movie again and again. Here is a trailer you may not have seen yet. There's a little bit of a spoiler in here, but nothing too serious.