"We need them because it is a different way to make our imagination travel. We can put poetry, intelligence, beauty in movies; it's a way of re-creating reality, which is important. If you only have reality, that's not enough. You need transformation of reality, you need painting, music, theater, and cinema."
Actress Isabelle Huppert responding to the question "Why do we need movies?"


Huppert is the star of Catherine Breillat's film "Abuse of Weakness", which is this week's review. Breillat is a published novelist and has taught film at several universities in the US and Europe. "Abuse of Weakness" is based on Breillat's experience of suffering a stroke and losing a large amount of cash to a con artist. The film is not sentimental or self-pitying. Breillat uses the film to, in Huppert's words, transform reality into art that is thought-provoking and visually arresting.

Breillat is no stranger to controversy and has said "All true artists are hated. Only conformists are ever adored." Sometimes even non-conformists are rewarded for their efforts, however, and two of the three recipients of this year's Governor Awards, given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, have had careers outside the mainstream of Hollywood. Actress Gena Rowlands and Director Spike Lee will be given honorary Oscars for a lifetime of achievement in film. Debbie Reynolds is receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work on mental health issues. The awards ceremony is November 14th in Hollywood.

Spike Lee is currently shooting a new film in Chicago. Called "Chi-raq", (as in Chicago + Iraq), the cast includes Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Basset, John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Teyonah Parris. The film's subject is the epidemic of gun violence in Chicago, particularly on the south side. "Chi-raq" is the first movie solely financed by Amazon Studios that will be released in theaters.


Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

Abuse of Weakness Film Review
Why would an intelligent woman submit to the machinations of an admitted con man and thief? "Abuse of Weakness", written and directed by Catherine Breillat, explores this question and is based on the director's own experience.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art66930.asp

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