I've been thinking about you. About what you want from life, from relationships, from the movies. This list isn't about me, it's about you. Your needs, your dreams, all that jazz. This may seem like a hodgepodge selection of titles with no connecting thread, but believe me, these films reflect the way you've felt and thought in the past year. Don't say no before taking a look. Like a birthday card, it all boils down to two things: sincerity and love. Bear with me.
1. "Intouchables": Despite the ignoble nickname of "Driving Monsieur Daisy" it was given by some reviewers in the U.S., nothing can dent the fact that this Gallic life-affirming tear jerker has turned out to be the most successful French film of all time. Based on a real-life relationship between a wealthy Parisian disabled from a paragliding accident and his African caregiver whose life priorities are girls and Earth, Wind and Fire, it's an unabashed tribute to a beautiful friendship. As for racism: "Qu'est-ce que c'est la?"
2. "The Help": Racism is the central theme of this tale depicting the life and times of African-American maids during the 1960s. With the civil-rights movement raging just outside its manicured lawns, a white community in Mississippi sees nothing wrong in hiring "colored" maids for peanut wages to look after the house and care for the children. College girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) embarks on a project to interview the maids and write a book about them. Sounds like a noble undertaking, but her privileged upbringing often gets in the way of good intentions. Superbly insightful.