Kings & Queen (2005, dir. Arnaud Desplechin)

Kings & Queen (2005, dir. Arnaud Desplechin)

What Is It?: A critically acclaimed, though little-seen, French, ah, tragiocomic-romantic-drama? Something like that.

What About It?: Desplechin is well-known is his home country as a terrifically gifted director who makes intricately constructed, but easy-to-enjoy films. Kings & Queen was something of a breakthrough here in the states, though still far under the radar of most filmgoers.

Why Should I See It?: This is a big, sprawling film that still has a sense of intimacy unmatched by any film in the Lost Classic's recent memory, there is so much to recommend this movie. The two main characters, Ismaël and Nora, are engaging and mesmerizing. The narrative is fractured, but not in a painful, Tarantino-esque way, more of a novelistic meandering. The more you see this film, the more you get out of it. For example, there is a scene in the third act that knocked the breath out of us. It was the perfect kind of surprise -- one that enriches everything that came before, rather than undercuts it. This was easily the best film of 2005 (with only the very different The New World coming close). Watch it more than once.

What Else Is It Like?: Thieves, Irma Vep, Nenette et Boni.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

--ddt/pdx

In Good Company (2004, dir. Paul Weitz)

In Good Company (2004, dir. Paul Weitz)

What Is It?: A romantic dramedy about a sad-sack, newly-divorced, young turk ad exec who falls in love with the daughter of the man whose job he just was handed post-evil-big-company takeover.

What About It?: This movie came and went when it arrived without much notice, one would imagine because of the lack of the appeal of the What Is It? above. That, and the star is That 70's Show alum Topher Grace, not your first choice for latter-day romantic leads. But it was directed by Paul Weitz, who brought us the surprisingly good About a Boy, a maudlin, self-important book turned into a fascinating humanistic comedy. He reminds the Lost Classic a little but of a kind of latter-day, budget Renoir in his obvious interest in what makes interpersonal relationships tick. Weitz, who wrote the film as well, has a deft touch for both the comedy and the drama here. In particular, he directs Grace with a peculiar agility and a naturalistic touch. Dennis Quaid (in his excellent supporting mode here, a la Traffic or Far From Heaven, as opposed to his charmingly smirky starring mode) underplays his role surprisingly well and the lovely and talented -- and new muse for Woody Allen -- Scarlett Johannson does more than you would imagine with a fairly straightforward part.

Why Should I See It?: To see a moving, well-written, -acted and -directed film with the love story framed entirely by heartbreaking Iron & Wine songs, to great effect (in particular the credit-sequence tune, "The Trapeze Swinger" is a doozy. Also, the film looks at corporate life in a even-handed, nuanced manner that's highly unusual for a Hollywood movie. A true sleeper.

What Else Is It Like?: About a Boy, The Apartment, Wonder Boys.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

-- ddt/pdx

Stray Dog (1949, dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Stray Dog (1949, dir. Akira Kurosawa)

What Is It?: A rookie detective has his gun stolen on a crowded train and he must track it down before it's used in bombed-out, post-war Tokyo.

What About It?: A furiously-paced, humanistic noir thriller -- the first Japanese detective flick, if you can believe it -- Stray Dog is compulsively watchable and totally entertaining. Now, before we get ahead of ourselves here, we here at the Lost Classic understand the difficulty with subtitles and with older films, too. We find that if you can see acting styles and cinematic styles as a continuum -- that this led to and informed the things that we love today -- then it's easier to meet the film eye to eye, so to speak, and enjoy it as a movie. We aren't here to recommend movies that are good for you; to the contrary, we want you to be entertained -- which is why we all rent movies. And we love movies.

Why Should I See It?: There's a scene at the mid-way point of this film that feels like a great documentary about post-war Japan, with the main character, played by the esteemed Toshiro Mifune, wandering the back alleyways and black markets of Tokyo. It's both compelling and moving. And we swear that the fellow playing the titular Stray Dog looks exactly like Steve Buscemi when he first appears. Let us know if you agree.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

-- ddt/pdx

Deconstrucing Harry (1997, dir. Woody Allen)

Deconstrucing Harry (1997, dir. Woody Allen)

What Is It?: A very black comedy about a famed writer -- and all-around bad human being -- trying to get to an honoring ceremony at his alma mater.

What About It?: Though it's from the end of his period where he was seemingly trying to work with every living white actor in the western world, and it was sandwiched between the execrable Everyone Says I Love You and Celebrity, this poisonous little flick has a lot to offer. First, it has the most interesting editing in an Allen film dating back to his early-70's heyday, matching the rhythm of the film to various scat anthems, opening with a mesmerizingly, sputteringly furious Judy Davis arriving to "Twisted" sung by Annie Ross. Secondly, it offers a fascinatingly self-depricating, truly unpleasant -- yet still funny -- Woody Allen. To be clear, we here at The Lost Classic HQ's basement bunker have long grown tired of the Woodsters schtick, so it was refreshing and genuinely amusing to watch his self-loathing take such a pure, bitter form.

Why Should I See It?: More than a mere curiosity, however, the film offers a kind of cinematic version of the "horrid little man," -- in the words of the Official Wife of the Lost Classic -- Phillip Roth. As none of his unapologetically autobiographically-informed novels has ever been made into a watchable film, this stands as a fascinating record. All that aside, however, the film is interesting, well-written and genuinely, darkly funny.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

-- ddt/pdx

Blow Out (1981, dir. Brian De Palma)

Blow Out (1981, dir. Brian De Palma)

What Is It?: A bleak, exciting political thriller about a man who witnesses an assasination of a presidential favorite and his struggle with the aftermath.

What About It?: Though (arguably) overpraised by Pauline Kael in his heyday, De Palma has fallen on largely deaf ears in the years that have followed. Today, he's praised only by a select few Kaelites left (no disrespect intended) who appreciate his singular gifts, which is a shame. He's a intelligent, funny filmmaker who knows when to crib from Hitchcock and when to put his own peurile cinematic impulses on display.

Why Should I See It?: Blow Out, a kind of re-imagining of the seminal Blowup (1966, dir. Antonioni), tells the story of a B-movie sound engineer who accidentally records the fatal accident of the favored presidential hopeful and the unraveling of his life following the incident. De Palma makes the best 70's political conspiracy thiller you've ever seen (in 1981, natch). And it'll remind you of the magnetic actor John Travolta once was without having to watch Saturday Night Fever again.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

-- ddt/pdx