This year the Irish Film Board had more Oscar nominations, seven, than Paramount or Universal Studios.
However, Ireland makes a rather important contribution to the Academy Awards every year: the Oscar statuette was designed by Dublin-born Cedric Gibbons, an art director with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who also became Ireland’s first-ever Oscar winner at the second award ceremony held in 1930, according to The Irish Times.
I hope next year there will be at least one more Irish nomination – The Survivalist. This is Stephen Fingleton’s first full length film and it comes from Northern Ireland, financed in part by Northern Ireland Screen. They didn’t have to dig too deep into their pockets as the budget is a mere million pounds. It is a film of few words but the story is gripping and deeply disturbing. The genre is post-apocalyptic drama. It richly deserves its 18 Cert. Take a look at the trailer but be aware that the film is even more shocking.
Sticking with cinema, there is a recently released re-make of 1969 classic, La Piscine, now titled A Bigger Splash and filmed on an island off Sicily instead of a villa on the French Riviera. I have not seen it, preferring to see the original, showing at the Ciné Lumière in South Kensington. It is part of the Institut Français and feels like a part of Paris even, unfortunately, to the extent of having security on the door but then, happily, it has a very well stocked bar with a wide choice of wine by the glass. It took me a moment to get in the groove and say, “bonsoir, madam, un plus de soixante et un adulte”. Madam got the picture and replied in English.
But I digress. La Piscine is a sleek, sophisticated and – above all – sexy film. Everything looks good: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin and the Maserati. Jane Birkin plays an eighteen year old and her dodgy French is explained away by having an English mother and living in Lausanne. The Swiss don’t speak French very well! The Maseratti doesn’t have to speak, it just roars when the throttle’s pressed. Let’s digress again and remember Jane Birkin.
Worth a digression I hope you’ll agree. Re-makes are usually inferior to the original. En Plein Soleil trumps The Talented Mr Ripley, the original Italian Job wins over the new one. However, the Coen brothers True Grit is incomparably better than the original with John Wayne and – maybe – A Bigger Splash will, well, make a bigger splash.
One thing I am sure of is that you will have a more enjoyable time watching ABS than The Survivalist but sometimes it’s good to stretch your mind. Now, practice your French and watch the trailer for LP.
http://youtu.be/6-Y_6pnkN20
I long too see La Piscine having seen A Bigger Splash last night and left feeling quite non plussed about it. What did it all mean? Tilda Swinton is elegant and elliptical as ever but sad miscasting of Rafe Fiennes. It does however provide rare fodder for the gander as male bits are flying everywhere!
I propose that you buy or download La Piscine. It’s sexy but they all keep their swimmers on and look the better for that. Also the soundtrack is good and the story fairly straight-forward although the ending is enigmatic. The Inspecteur de police will be familiar from Le Cercle rouge, et al. Thank you for your assessment of A Bigger Splash – I will give it a miss.