Hidden Diary (Meres et Filles) Film Review

As a lover of French cinema, I was automatically drawn to Hidden Diary with its stellar cast and a promise of subtle, meaningful drama. It did not fail to satisfy, with each member of the cast performing the thought-provoking story with excellent fragility.


Hidden Diary is about Audrey (Marina Hands of Lady Chatterley fame), who returns home to France from her hectic life as an engineer in Toronto to clear her head and decide what to do about her unplanned pregnancy. Within minutes of her arrival at the family home the difficult relationship between Audrey and her mother, Martine (Catherine Deneuve), becomes apparent; Martine is haughty towards her daughter for arriving unawares and outwardly rejects Audrey's gift of a digital camera. After numerous attempts of working in the house (which also acts as Martine's doctors surgery) Audrey decides to relocate to her grandfather's house, which has been vacant since his death some years previously. Wanting to improve the dated house and make it more hospitable, Audrey buys some mod-cons for the kitchen and whilst doing so uncovers her grandmother's, Louise (Marie-Josee Croze from Tell No One), diary. The discovery of the diary causes Audrey to pries open emotions which Martine has wished to ignore since Louise abandoned her and her brother when they were children. As more is revealed about Louise's situation, her reasons for leaving and the circumstances of her disappearance, an altogether different theory about her disappearance becomes apparent.

As the events of the narrative are slowly revealed the film, tactfully addresses the issues of individuals' perceptions, the role of women and their right to freedom but most of all the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters. Hidden Diary is both realistic and insightful. It does not handle the sensitive subjects with the melodrama which an American blockbuster would, but instead they are handled with delicacy and allowing the story to develop. Legendary Catherine Deneuve portrays the role of Martine to perfection; outwardly she conveys a woman who has strongly battled without a mother and shows little signs of how it has affected her, but behind the stern mask there are glimpses of a scared child and a fragile woman. The revelations emerge gradually throughout the film, allowing the audience to deduce the meanings of the events and its consequences, instead of pounding them out at a pace which confuses and alienates the audience. Of course this slow pace can make the film seem a little dull at times and doesn't allow you to emotionally connect with the characters, however, the realistic timescale of events does allow you to think and reflect about the issues which emerge as the film goes on.

Although far from perfection, Hidden Diary is a film which handles sensitive issues with grace and patience, and although not necessarily entertaining it is a rewarding film to watch.

A Review on The Wolfman...

There seems to have been a resurgence of Gothic horror of late with vampires, werewolves and monsters waiting in the dark in the vast majority of blockbuster movies. The Wolfman joined the bandwagon and will probably make a fair amount at the box office because of it, but it is definitely not the best film out there at the moment.The W olfman looked from afar to be an exciting array of Gothic corset action with tense moments of anticipation but upon viewing it lacked all the glamour, thrills and tension it had promised and instead produced a pathetic excuse of a story and acting more accustomed to B-rated hammer horror films.

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is an actor who became estranged from his family after having been shipped off to America at a young age to live with his aunt. However, Talbot is forced back to the family estate when his brother disappears. Reunited with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother and discovers that it was some kind of animal (or beast) with an insatiable blood-lust that killed his brother and many of the local villagers. His search to find out more takes him to a gypsy camp where he himself gets attacked by the beast and becomes a werewolf himself... The story then unfolds to be a predictable one with more bloodshed, little atmosphere and cliched lines.

The film is fast-paced making the time spent watching it go quickly, but that is about all that can be said for the film. There are grave inconsistencies throughout the film, with the werewolf looking distinctly different at the beginning of the film to at the end. The film is a remake of the 1941 film of the same name, but does not have the charm of old time horrors, but rather lacks the self-awareness which would have added humour to the film or any kind of surprise twist or intelligent encoding to have gained it some kind of credibility.

Personally, I'd recommend just seeing the trailer as it is far more suspenseful, dark and exciting than the feature film. Don't spend your pennies on the full one hour forty minute film, just hop onto YouTube for free and watch in short: an all together better experience.

Getting excited about the 6th Glasgow Film Festival...

Glasgow has always been a city celebrated for its musical accolades but the sixth Glasgow Film Festival looks to make the city just as renowned for its film achievements. The festival runs from February 18^th until the 28^th with an expected 2,300 tourists swarming Glasgow especially to see some of the films being shown. This is year there are many big films being screened across the city at many different venues (but the main venues are the key two cinemas in the City Centre the Glasgow Film Theatre and the world’s largest cinema Cineworld).

The opening film is the latest creation from Amelie and Delicatessen director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Micmacs, which looks to be both as visually charming and engrossingly entertaining as his former feats. There are also the UK premieres of the Italian love tragedy I am Love featuring the ethereal Tilda Swinton and Drew Barrymore’s rather dodgy looking directorial debut Whip It. Not only are there spectacular new films, but there are also some old classics as the festival celebrates arguably the greatest (if not greatest definitely the most stylish) actor of all time Cary Grant. I personally cannot wait to see Arsenic and Old Lace on the big screen! As in former years, there is also a country in focus, which this year is Japan, which means we have the delights of seeing the classic Ran on the big screen again and get an exclusive look at the new Studio Ghibli film Ponyo. Other cinematic highlights include the Frightfest (which, unsurprisingly, consists of horror films such as Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre), Capitalism: A Love Story, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, the Youth Festival and the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls.

Not only are there plenty of films to go to but also some live music events celebrating the music of films, including a tribute to the music of legendary John Carpenter, Mogwai’s live film Burning including a DJ set after the screening and Thomas Truax performing his album Songs from the Films of David Lynch.

With the vast array of films and events on offer this year the festival looks to be a resounding success, especially as it will feature the World Premiere of psychological thriller Legacy. The film was made by Glasgow based Black Camel Pictures featuring Stringer from The Wire and looks to make director Thomas Ikimi a name to be reckoned with. So, go and grab tickets now to see Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones, do a talk about his career and the next film from The Wrestler writer Big Fan before those pesky tourists get their grubby hands on them.