Stereotypes in cinema, as elsewhere, tend to endure for a reason. Take the British: They are, so we're told, prone to dour social-realism, you know, the sort of flicks where kids are screaming around the breakfast table, Dad's missing, Mom's rushing off late to work and Granddad's pottering about in the garden. (Think Ken Loach, Alan Clark, Lynne Ramsay.) Or take the French: They are, as some love to point out, very good at making films where people talk and talk, particularly when it's about sex. (Think Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Patrice Chereau, even Catherine Breillat.)
This month's releases will hardly break the mold: "Kiss of Life," the debut from 34-year-old British director Emily Young, contains all the bits described above, while Anne Fontaine's "Nathalie . . ." spends much of its time with Fanny Ardant puffing on cigarettes while listening to Emmanuelle Beart's call girl give detailed descriptions of sex with her client, Ardant's husband. Plus ca change.
"Kiss of Life" appears to be one of those films where you know which direction it's heading. Harried working-mom Helen (Ingeborga Dapkunaite) has her hands more than full taking care of two squabbling kids and a grumpy father-in-law while her husband John (Peter Mullan) is off in Bosnia delivering aid to refugees for the U.N. (The film is set, presumably, during the mid-'90s conflict.) He's supposed to be home for Helen's birthday, but instead has to call her to say he's been delayed. "There are people counting on me here. They need me," explains John, to which Helen replies, exasperated, "They need you?" Cue a phone hanging up in Bosnia.
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