Good Films In Limited Release

In my Oscar excitement last week I neglected to include my thoughts on the Oscar nominated French film, The Class. Done in an almost documentary style, The Class takes us through a school year in the lives of the teachers and students at an inner city high school in France. Contrary to so many American films on this subject, I really liked how this film focused on the teachers, rather than the students. It was really interesting to see the teachers' points of view and witness how they interacted and dealt with their students. I also liked how every single scene of the movie took place at the school. Never once did we leave campus. I think that really enhanced the story. It allowed the audience to focus on the inner workings of the school and not be distracted by the personal lives of the characters.

Michelle Williams gives a heart breaking performance in the super low budget independent film Wendy and Lucy. Poor, down on her luck and living in her car, Wendy is on her way to Alaska to start a new chapter in her life. With her on this journey is her best friend and dog Lucy. Wendy is arrested for shoplifting dog food and when she is released from jail, she returns to where she left Lucy only to find that Lucy is no longer there. The rest of the film follows Wendy in her search for Lucy. This is a great example of simplistic and natural film making. There are no frills, very few characters and very little dialogue. And even in this simplicity there is something emotionally gratifying in its presentation.