comment #1

actionman says ...

I am so pissed that I missed this during the summer. I was in the process of moving and I just never got to it. Can't wait to finally catch up with it on DVD. It sounds like a great thriller.

comment #2

Chase Kahn says ...

Yup, this is still playing at the Angelika here in Dallas (opened in late July) -- great movie.

comment #3

arturobandini2 says ...

Is that why they're dragging out the U.S. DVD release? The drop date got pushed from November '08 to January '09 to March '09. For fuck's sake, it's a 2006 title -- release it already! They're not doing Kristin Scott Thomas (or themselves) any favors by delaying the DVD until after the Oscars.

comment #4

Circumvrent says ...

What does it say about America's film world that a movie with the incomprehensible title of Quantum of Solace makes $70 million in one weekend, while less than 10% of that over the span of a year makes another film a bonafide success?

Whatever it says, it's not something good.

comment #5

NV says ...

The reason the dvd date got delayed is because there was no dvd distribution for the title. As far as I know, there STILL isn't. They were asking for an unreasonable advance for North American rights. Sony had the rights, but KCT's last film with her in it bombed on dvd for Sony, so they dropped the title.

And since when does US box office of a foreign language title become the sole measure of success? That's barometer and any judgments made from it are insulting.

comment #6

NV says ...

Oh, and Slumdog Millionaire will be the #1 foreign language box office champ of the year very soon.

comment #7

Circumvrent says ...

Who said anything about sole measure? If anything, I'm saying it's a shame that there's not a higher ceiling for quality foreign releases. If there were, maybe we'd get a few more.

comment #8

NV says ...

get more people to watch and buy foreign language films and they'll get the awareness and distribution they deserve.

comment #9

frankbooth says ...

Finally saw it last week. Was surprised to find it still playing here.

You'll like it, AM. It's very entertaining. The plot is ultimately presposterous, but that's the genre for you. Halfway through, I had no idea what was going to happen, and that's rare.

Also features the best creepy henchman (well, person) I've seen in some time.

Would be funny if they did an English-language remake, since the source material is an an American novel. And yes, it's a shame that such an audience-friendly film can't do better here. Remember the days of Crouching Tiger?

comment #10

115thDreamer says ...

It was very good - one of the year's best so far, I think. And, if you have a multi-region DVD player, you can go ahead and get the DVD now. I've definitely seen it in the "Import" section at Amoeba here in LA. Jeff, they also have "Happy Go Lucky" if you've been wanting to add that to your catalog (wink....).

comment #11

actionman says ...

Well I really want to see this. Checking out Happy-Go-Lucky this weekend.

I just watched The Aura a few weeks ago. Amazing film. Anyone seen it?

comment #12

Chase Kahn says ...

Yes, Jeff can rewind and watch Poppy's antics over and over again...

comment #13

Joshua Mooney says ...

Wow. "Now passed $6.2 million domestic." After all this time. One of the best films of the year. I know I'm preaching to the choir, and all, but-- damn! That's sad. I've seen it twice. 6.2. Wow.

comment #14

raskimono says ...

film. Anyone seen it?

Actionman, if you are referring to the Argentinian movie directed by the late Fabien Bielinsky, who also directed Nine Queens, that is an excellent movie. It looks like a normal heist movie, goes places you don't expect and it recycles back to the beginning. I watched it twice. Much better than Nine Queens.

The man left us way too early.

comment #15

silver says ...

I'll never look at sports-bra wearing German women the same way again! I enjoyed seeing the film the 2nd time almost as much as the 1st time.

Anyone know if the US DVD will be barebones, or will get some extras? (does the writer/director even speak English to do a commentary in English?)
Amazon.fr shows a 2 disc DVD available over there.

comment #16

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Fuck is that depressing - just $6.2M, which translates into way too few butts in seats for one of the better films this year.

I have yet to read or hear a single major slam, especially because frankbooth's right it is a little over-the-top at the end. But by that time, you don't care.

Meanwhile, the over-kinetic mediocrity that is Quantum of Solace made 10 times that. America, what a country!

comment #17

berg says ...

One of the best of the year for sure, read the book and the director made a few good upgrades such as changing Wu from a guy to a woman, and the whole Internet bar sequence ... also the end of the book has a similar but different ending (in the movie Margo had killed Philippe Neuville whereas in the book it's Alexandre) ...

comment #18

The Hoyk says ...

NV, my understanding is that Music Box Films picked up all rights - DVD and theatrical - and they have a DVD deal through MPI Media in Chicago; they already released OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES a month ago. Seems to me Music Box knows there's theatrical legs and wants to keep them up, hence the release delays.

Personally, I'm all for longer DVD windows - creates a sense of want and anticipation. Half the reason movies have less attendance is this lackadaisical "it'll be on DVD in a couple months anyway" mentality. Stretching things out like this restores a sense of event to a good movie like TELL NO ONE.

comment #19

lipranzer says ...

One of the reasons why I loved the movie is how Canet was able to show you things instead of relying on expository dialogue. He gave us Alex and Margo's romantic history in two minutes, from childhood sweethearts to their wedding to her funeral, he shows how Kristen Scott Thomas' character is a lesbian with a single shot of a waitress' ass, and uses "With or Without You" as an important plot point without hitting us over the head with it. I do think people who haven't read the book are going to be a bit confused, but it is one of those movies that gets better the more I think about it.

I didn't like THE AURA as much as NINE QUEENS, though.

comment #20

arturobandini2 says ...

On the nose, lipranzer. Tell No One was even better the second time for me. There's so much cool stuff happening on a human scale, it's easy to forgive the movie-plot denouement. I love the director's cameo as the murdered pederast ... that the hero's best friend and protector is his sister's hot wife (would never happen in a Hollywood movie) ... that his shattered nerves and need for closure dominate the genre proceedings ... and especially Francois Cluzet's sympathetic and heroic performance. I'd forgotten how appealing he was as Dexter Gordon's sidekick in Round Midnight 20 years ago. Apparently Tell No One was one of the few times he was offered the lead role.

comment #21

MickTravis says ...

I would argue that using "With or Without You" non-ironically in a film ... kind of is hitting the viewer over the head.

But you're right, the best thing about the movie is how much the viewer has to piece together from unassembled available material.

Although I must admit it took me a while to figure out that K.S. Thomas was not Alex's sister but his sister's friend, largely because he was so much closer to her. And that's not a twist or a spoiler, either, it's just an indicator of the way the movie doles out info (or my own thickheadedness).

Personally, I felt the story had to do handstands to explain its twists and turns, and it is long and feels long. But also highly entertaining.

Does anybody know anything about a particular fall a character takes while running? It's clearly not a stuntman, it looks very accidental and it seemed extremely painful. I'm wondering if it's a blown take they were able to use because it caught my breath.

comment #22

T. S. Idiot says ...

Tell No One is based on a novel by Harlan Coben, from Livingston, NJ. Livingston no longer has a theater, but the film ran for at least eight weeks each in nearby Montclair and Maplewood. Local interest is only one factor. Some might have seen it more than once to try to sort out the vague relationships between the characters, as noted above.

One scene exemplifies the difference between Hollywood and the rest of the world. Our hero silently jumps out of his office window to escape the police. In an American movie, he would have to make a cute quip to his waiting patient. My favorite film of the year so far.

I was slightly disappointed in The Aura but remain haunted by certain scenes and images. Bielinsky was a great loss.

comment #23

actionman says ...

I rented Nine Queens after loving The Aura and wasn't as impressed with it. Still a solid film, but The Aura was pretty flawless. I thought about how if that film were to be remade how different it'd probably turn out.

comment #24

frankbooth says ...

I hope that no one who hasn't seen the movie has read this far down. I'm surprised no one has been cursed out for spoilers.

Dustin Hoffman's twin is the Round Midnight dude? I had no idea.

And yeah, that fall looked like it hurt. But wasn't there an edit before he got up?

comment #25

seam123 says ...

Je ne compreds pas. I thought it was terrible. The plot was ludicrous and you throw in that hokey business with the leads as children and *boom* you've completely lost me. NOTE: I haven't spoiled anything here. If this was in English it wouldn't have gotten half the accolades.