That great comic director, Pierre Salvadori, is back--with a strange, sad IN THE COURTYARD

While TrustMovies does not have a favorite director, he certainly has favorite directors, and among those who make comedies, he would place the splendid Pierre Salvatore at the top of the list. From Cible Emouvant through Après Vous and Priceless, this guy makes us laugh buoyantly while grounding his movies in very human/ humane terms. His films are a joy in so many ways. No wonder I was greatly looking forward to his newest film, IN THE COURTYARD. Surprise: There are a few laughs in the movie but many more smiles, and finally, if there are no outright tears, I suspect that, once seen, this quiet and unusual film will stay with you in odd ways for some time to come.

M. Salvadori, shown at right, has here made his most elusive film to date -- one that deals with depressed people (his other films do this, too, but in a much more comedic manner) in ways that seem both believable and empathetic. Further, the filmmaker is blessed to have at his disposal two top-notch stars, both of whom are pictured below: one a long-time icon of French cinema, Catherine Deneuve; the other an actor who has been working in film for years but may at last have a role in which he makes an indelible mark, Gustave Kervern.

The two play off each beautifully and effortlessly, Ms Deneuve in that rare role in which she is neither wise nor strong, and in fact is not at all in charge of her life. Kervern essays a musician who has suddenly given up his career and his life -- to disappear into some place where he can be left alone. Via the efforts of one of those French civil servants who actually cares about the people she serves (this scene and the actress who plays it -- I believe it is Carole Franck -- are keepers indeed), our "hero" finds his way into the good graces of the couple who owns a mid-size apartment building in town (Ms Deneuve and, as her husband, Féodor Atkine).

The building is peopled with an odd assortment of folk whom we get to know but fleetingly -- with the exception of a sad and sexy, drug-addled ex-sports star (played by Pio Marmaï). There's a blind man, a chronic complainer, and a Russian emigre (in the penultimate picture) with a troublesome dog who stars in the film's most inventive and amusing fantasy sequence. A crack in the owner family's apartment wall (below) leads to more depression, humor and odd plot developments. All along the way, Salvadori keeps a gentle but firm hold on everything from event to character, never allowing the former to circumvent the latter.

How the movie develops is part of its low-key charm. It goes places -- after that crack in the wall, for instance -- that broaden and deepen, but toward character rather than situation, which makes the movie much less "funny" but more real in terms of the people we're getting to know. Exactly how real we won't discover until the finale -- on one level unexpected (if we are viewing all this as "comedy"), on another quite determined by everything that has come before.

The movie -- running 97 minutes, in French with English subtitles and released to DVD this past week via Cohen Media Group -- has, on the DVD "extras," a fine and supremely well edited Q&A with the director which is one of the best filmmaker interviews I've so far seen. In it, Salvadori speaks of how the movie came about, why it is so intentionally different from his other films and how Ms Deneuve proved instrumental in helping it along. (The icon is known for her generosity to French filmmakers and her willingness to take a chance on their projects.) He also tells us why his second most recent movie, Beautiful Lies, made its debut amidst the worst possible circumstances. (This may account for why we've never seen the film on this side of the pond,)

If you, too, are Pierre Salvadori fan, In the Courtyard, will be a don't-miss in terms of understanding the artist's complete oeuvre. While it might not be an appropriate place for PS newcomers to begin, stick the film on your "watch-it-later" list. As for me, I am now wondering just where -- and why -- this talented filmmaker will venture next.

DVDebut (and streaming soon, we hope): Pelin Esmer's WATCHTOWER from Film Movement

Watching present-day films from the country of Turkey is tricky. They seem to represent modern living to some extent, as experienced by those of us who live in the west, but then we get these whiffs (sometimes much more than that) of cultural craziness that makes the movies seem as though they are coming at us from a different century. (Or two. Or three.) Think for a moment about movies such as Bliss, The Edge of Heaven or When We Leave (a German film, yes, but more about Turkey than Germany), and you'll have an idea of what I mean: violence, honor killings and women as chattel, to name a few fairly typical themes.

Interestingly enough, Turkey's most successful "international arthouse" filmmaker, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, has smartly managed to sidestep this by concentrating more on the male than the female, while offering themes that would seem to make Turkey more western than eastern. Hence, I suspect, his full acceptance by our cultural gatekeepers.

WATCHTOWER, from the female writer/director Pelin Esmer, shown at left, is one of the better and more interesting examples of new Turkish cinema because it faces head-on the question of woman's place in Turkish society and finds it greatly wanting. Yet, due to the story Esmer tells and the manner in which she tells it, we see the situation a step removed from the full-frontal, in-your-face, honor-killing set-up of Bliss. Here, a young woman takes charge of her life in a way that would never be necessary in most of the western world but that seems perfectly understandable in Turkey.

The location of the film, too -- a mostly un-populated, mountainous region of the country and the tiny bus stop with a shop or two nearby that services the area -- works beautifully to clue us in on how any kind of behavior that does not fit into fundamentalist thinking must finally be relegated to outsider status. Only if people do not know about it can deviation from the norm be tolerated.

The two main characters here (they pretty much make up the entire movie) are both running from their former lives, while dealing with a ton of guilt. Nihat (Olgun Simsek, above) has come to the area to work at the titular watchtower at the top of the mountain as a guard against forest fires. Seher (Nilay Erdonmrez, below) has left university suddenly with no explanation and is now working on the bus line that arrives and departs from the tiny station.

Part of the movie's pull is that we have little idea from what these two are trying to escape. Slowly this is revealed to us, and not, fortunately by any lumpy exposition. We learn in degrees, and in a way that seems believable to the situation. Dialog is kept to a realistic minimum, and both performers do an excellent job.

Initially there is almost no connection between these two people. When real connection comes, after a few months, it is fast and shocking and eventually leads to a guarded rapproachement. Among the movie's highlights are a fraught scene between the girl and her mother, and another scene of a natural act often witnessed in films but never, I think, seen in a condition as shockingly "solo" as here.

From Film Movement and running 100 minutes, the Watchtower DVD hits the streets this Tuesday, February 18, and as with most Film Movement titles, will probably be available on Netflix streaming very soon.
Watch for it.

Catching up with Shane Salerno's SALINGER: All that fuss because he dared tackle a sacred cow?

Were you as surprised as I by the level of vituperation in some of the reviews of SALINGER, the documentary about a lot of people's favorite American author that was released theatrically earlier this year? In retrospect, this reaction reminds me of the level of nastiness accorded certain other movies -- Matthew Chapman's anti-religion film, The Ledge, or Anne Fontaine's film of Doris Lessing's mothers/sons love story, Adore -- that take the much less "approved" side while tackling taboo topics. After I read a few of the Salinger notices, "Whew," I thought, "this one must absolutely stink!" Guess what? It doesn't. Not at all. In fact, it's a surprisingly rich and interesting documentary about the reclusive author, dead now for almost four years. It offers some genuinely surprising material -- at least to someone like me, who, while not a huge Salinger fan, could admit that the guy's work was certainly worth reading.

Much of this material presented here is presumably true information about the man, his history and his work, and yes, it delves into the personal life that he tried so hard to keep private. But what worthwhile documentary wouldn't? (Ah, yes: some of those deifying American Masters docs, like the recent one on Philip Roth!)  Evidently, though, this delving was just too much for some of our more adoring critics, whose reviews seemed to scream, How dare you go there?!. Well, sweeties, Shane Salerno (shown at left) does go there, but not in any more sleazy a manner than have other documentarians who rounded up a bunch of talking heads and let them do their thing on the subject of a man and writer whom they knew pretty well.

Most of the interviewees here are very much "pro" Mr. Salinger, by the way. Ex-girlfriend Joyce Maynard (shown below) isn't too keen on the man (did anyone expect her to be?), although she certainly was on the writer. Nor is the subject's daughter. But, hell, how often does an artist sacrifice his family on the altar of his art? Let's start counting, and we'll be back in touch tomorrow.

If you are one of those who tried to follow every one of this reclusive guy's moves over the decades while you breathlessly waited for his next short story, or worse, that sequel to "Catcher in the Rye" that never arrived (Why should it have? Why should an artist have to repeat himself?), then maybe much of this doc will be old news to you. I was not one of those "fans," and so most of what I saw and heard here I found very much worth seeing and hearing.

The most interesting sections have to do with Salinger's desire to be published by The New Yorker and what he did to bring said desire to fruition. His penchant for discouraging editors and publishers from changing even one word of his work seems to have paid off handsomely. Also of great interest will be the man's activities during World War II (above and below), how his interaction with the Holocaust affected him (and certainly his writing), and the German bride he brought back to the States. How and why he was so drawn to young girls on the cusp of young womanhood is also explored. If this sounds a little sleazy, it's not handled that way: It seems more like an attraction that many men have, I think, and Salinger was simply one more of these, albeit a lot more famous.

But if you look at this fellow as some sort of god and his work as tantamount to the Bible, then of course, you'll have trouble with this documentary and any other that dares encroach on your deity. (In addition to the newsprint and online reviews, tale a look at those on the Netflix streaming site for the film. Reading some of these, it is clear that these reviewers are reviewing not the documentary itself but their own great love for Mr. Salinger.)

I admit I was a bit shocked at the several instances of mass murderers and other killers who had a copy of this author's most popular book on their person while they were doing their dirty work. But, hey, you can't blame Salinger for this. Can you? I don't think Salerno does. Instead he's sees it as just one more strange piece of the puzzle of art and the human character, and how good or great writing can affect certain people for better or worse.

Because TrustMovies was never a big Salinger fan, he wasn't even going to watch this documentary. But there it was, just sitting and waiting for a "click" via Netflix streaming. And so he did click, and once he began the film, he found himself so interested that he didn't want to stop. I think you may feel this way, too, and as Salinger is now available to stream, I suggest that, whatever your feeling about the man and his work, you take a chance on the film, watch it, and weigh in.

Interestingly enough, this Salinger documentary is actually going to be broadcast on PBS' American Masters series on January 21, 2014, at 9pm. Viewers may end up getting more here than they bargained for. At the very least, it will send them off looking for a way to view the old 1949 film, My Foolish Heart (based on, yes, the Salinger short story, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut).