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Exit Through the Gift Shop

Red Lights is a clever movie. It doesn't actually seem all that clever until the end, but that's what makes it clever.

Does that make sense?

It's good. I know that much.

That, and it features some funny binge drinking. Serious guzzling. Awkward consumption of alcohol, FTW.

Is this the crappiest review in the history of the world? It might be. I've written good reviews. I'm okay with this not being one of them.

OH MY GOD I'M HAVING A HARD TIME REVIEWING THIS MOVIE AND I WANT TO MOVE ONTO THE 2010 FILMS.

Why am I having a hard time? Well, it's good enough that it deserves more than the 200 words I'd be lucky to give it, but yet I can't just knock out 500 words on why it's good. Le combat dans l'île is a strange, complicated movie about a period in French History that I only know through the lens of the French New Wave.

I saw it at the Brattle, which is always fun, but as a movie I'm not fully sure what to make of it. There's a rocket launcher in it. I know that much.

Oh, I also know that Romy Schneider is a lovely, charming actress.

Check it out. It's pretty good.

Am I done yet? Can I move onto the films I've seen in twenty ten?

Oh heck yes.

I doubt it.

It's a bit out of my price range, but I'm in love with this triptych sold by Heritage in November:

This first note, has nothing to do with the actual quality of the film, but if you've seen any German cinema over the past 30 years, you'll recognize many faces in this film. I'm not a German film aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, but even I was struck by how many people I recognized. Here's a short list.

• Bruno Ganz (who's Swiss, but is clearly known for his work in Germany) was the star of Wim Wenders masterpiece Wings of Desire and, most relevant to the internet, played Hitler in Downfall, the memetastic film about the final days of the Third Reich. On that subject, has anyone ever made a remix where "Hitler discovers Bruno Ganz is going to play Hitler in Downfall?" That would be meta.
• You'll recognize Martina Gedeck from The Lives of Others and Mostly Martha
• Moritz Bleibtreu was Manni in Tom Tykwer's genius Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run.) He was also in Das Experiment.
• Alexandra Maria Lara was mesmerizing as Annik Honoré in the Joy Division film, Control.

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