Arnaud Desplechin‘s “Oh, Mercy!” (aka Roubaix, une lumiere) was an unexceptional police procedural — a pilot episode for “C.S.I Roubaix” as many critics have called it. A real shame since I absolutely love Desplechin. Then again, his last two films, also counting “Ismail’s Ghosts” have been absolute failures. At some point I really wasn’t sure if this was a serious statement from Desplechin or if he was actually pulling an all-time of a joke on us.
This is my final day of screenings today, unless I decide to go ahead and watch an 8:30am of Justine Triet’s “Sibyl” tomorrow. On tap are two films with the highest of potential. Abdelatif Kechiche’s “Mektoub: Intermezzo” which is said to be a near four-hour film taking place in dance clubs, which is supposed to have a 25 minute cunnilingus scene and Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor,” a Godfather-style Italian epic. Some feel-good cinema ahead in the next 24 hours.
When one amigo gets hit, the other two show up. That's been the deal for three decades between Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón, and it's playing out in real time this weekend