Like Monsieur Hire, Patrice Leconte’s subsequent feature (1990), written with Claude Klotz, is a claustrophobic, bittersweet tale of middle-aged sexual obsession filmed in ‘Scope. But I enjoyed this film more, perhaps because the colors and moods tend to be brighter, with more of a sense of comedy. After 40 years of dreams about marrying a hairdresser, the hero (Jean Rochefort) finally meets the manager of a salon (Anna Galiena) who happens to be married to the owner. Peter Greenaway regular Michael Nyman composed the music; with Roland Bertin and Maurice Chevit. (Fine Arts) Read more
A fascinating documentary by Madeleine Ali, an American black woman who has converted to Judaism, about a group of black teenagers from a high school for “problem kids” in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant who spent ten weeks living and working on an Israeli kibbutz. Ali carefully and, to all appearances, quite objectively chronicles the entire experience, from anticipation in Brooklyn to initial alienation and frustration at the kibbutz to passionate commitment to disappointment about leaving. Branford Marsalis provides an effective jazz score. (Film Center, Art Institute, Columbus Drive at Jackson, Sunday, August 9, 4:30, 443-3737) Read more
