French drama boasts Oscar-worthy performance
"I've Loved You So Long" - Kristin Scott Thomas delivers one of 2008's best performances in this powerful, low-key French drama. In a just world, she would have been nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, and Angelina Jolie would have been just another well-dressed observer at the ceremony.
Scott Thomas plays Juliette, a woman trying to repair her life after serving 15 years in prison for murder. The crime, the details of which are tantalizingly hidden for most of the film, haunts Juliette, who remains silent and despairing even as her sister, Lea (Elsa Zylberstein), reaches out to her. As the film unfolds, the sisters try to reconnect and overcome the demons in their past.
Scott Thomas brings her character to life without a shred of vanity or bombast. It's a subtle, beautifully controlled performance that delivers a knockout punch at the end. The rest of the cast in this well-written drama shines as well. See it. The DVD comes with a selection of deleted scenes. (PG-13; Sony, $28.96)
"Ashes of Time Redux" - Wong Kar-wai's dreamlike, beautiful and often frustrating 1994 martial arts epic returns in a re-edited and rescored version. As is usual for the Hong Kong auteur, "Redux" boasts stunning visuals, haunting music and an achingly romantic story. The narrative, though, unfolds via a disorienting series of flashbacks and impressionist editing that tried my patience. This doesn't rank with Wong's best work, but it's a stirring film from one of cinema's brightest talents. The DVD comes with a short making-of featurette and a Q-and-A with the director. (R; Sony, $28.96)
"Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic" - If you're looking for a dose of "Watchmen" either before or after seeing the Zack Snyder movie out this week, you might like this release, which re-creates artist Dave Gibbons' original panels from the graphic novel and then subtly animates them with motion, light and sound - think of it as a "visual audio book." Tom Stechschulte performs all the narration and dialogue, and he's fine, though his performance as the female characters is a bit awkward. I found this to be a fascinating hybrid of printed page and animation, but it doesn't replace the pleasures to be had by reading the actual book. Aside from Warner promos, the two-disc set has no bonus features. (NR; Warner Home Video, $28.98)
"The Mindscape of Alan Moore" - Still haven't had enough "Watchmen"? Then check out this documentary about the acclaimed writer of the graphic novel. "Mindscape" lets the offbeat Moore tell his story in his own words; he discusses his childhood in England, his work in the American comics industry and his current dabblings in magic. In most cases, a lone man speaking into a camera for 75 minutes would be a crushing bore, but Moore is such an engaging storyteller that I remained captivated throughout. (Full disclosure: I was a Moore fan going in.) "Mindscape" lacks cinematic polish, and its student-film feel keeps it from becoming something special, but as an introduction to one of the most intriguing minds in pop culture, it works. The two-disc set includes interviews with Moore's comics-industry colleagues. (NR: Disinformation Company, $29.95)
Also out this week - "Australia," Baz Luhrmann's beautifully shot but overlong and often silly melodrama, arrives on DVD with a couple of deleted scenes. (PG-13; Fox, $28.98)