Weekend movies

With my birthday party, I did a lot of cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, so I had a chance to watch some of the videos that I picked up at the library.  All 3 were wonderful independent films, with great casts and provocative, unconventional stories.  They also had more in common than they initially seemed to have - all 3 involved troubled adults who are rescued by their relationship with unrelated children.

The Girl in the Park (2007) - Sigourney Weaver gives a tour de force performance as Julia. a guilt-ridden woman who has never recovered from the loss of her daughter in a park when she was 3.  15 years later, she meets a troubled young woman who she becomes convinced is her long lost daughter (a really strong performance by Kate Bosworth).  Alessandro Nivola (Junebug) has a small but pivotal role as Julia's bitter grown son.  The story does not transpire quite as expected and I loved the ending, which avoids being too sentimental or too predictable.

Adam Resurrected (2008) - a difficult movie to watch, of course, as all Holocaust movies are, but this is new take, focusing on the recovery of survivors more than on their experiences.  Jeff Goldblum plays the guilt-ridden Adam Stein, whose family perished while he survived.  He helps the other patients in a special sanitarian, but resists treatment for his own crushing sense of despair, until he meets a young patient with whom he forms a special bond.  Another life-affirming ending that avoids sentiment.  A sad, but thought-provoking movie about the lingering cost of psychological trauma.

Leo (2002) - yet another movie that doesn't conform to expectations.  Joseph Fiennes is astonishing as the title character, a quiet, intense man who was recently released from prison after serving 15 years for murder.  We learn his story slowly through flashbacks.  The movie is beautifully filmed (even more impressive for a first time director and first time screenwriters) and features wonderful performances by many world class actors, including Sam Shepard, Dennis Hopper, Mary Stuart Masterson, and most especially Elizabeth Shue as Leo's guilt-racked mother.

At my book club meeting last week, someone said that American movies are terrible, and I said, not if you watch independent movies.  These 3 are a rousing confirmation of my statement.- all interesting and satisfying in their own ways.  The only thing I don't like is the titles, which are all flawed for various reasons.  Just a minor quibble, though.