#ennemies interieurs

[guyboulianne]

Un article de Abraham Blondeau — Le Canada a fait imploser son armée intentionnellement : il s’agit de la première armée occidentale à succomber à une attaque de l’intérieur. « Le véritable ennemi intérieur, ce sont les dirigeants de la gauche radicale du Canada. » https://www.guyboulianne.info/2023/02/20/le-canada-fait-imploser-son-armee-sciemment-il-sagit-de-la-toute-premiere-armee-occidentale-a-succomber-a-lattaque-dun-ennemi-interieur

[mots-pour-maux]

Je voudrais seulement que tout ça s’arrête mais c’est impossible, le problème vient de l’intérieur. Le problème vient de moi, le problème c’est moi... et ça l’a toujours été. L’erreur c’est d’être moi. L’ennemi c’est moi ! Seulement moi.

[filmblabla]

OSCARS 2017: Live Action Short Film Nominees

Oscartime again! Es ist schon super, dass bei iTunes sogar die nominierten Kurzfilme zu sehen sind. Wie in den letzten Jahren, sind auch diesmal Perlen dabei, hier kommt die Übersicht für Euch:

MINDENKI (SING) aus Ungarn

Ein Film über 10-jährige Mädchen, die in einem Chor singen, ist für den Oscar nominiert? Jawoll und zurecht! In 25 Minuten gelingt es Regisseur Kristof Deak eine Geschichte über Freundschaft, Integration, Gemeinschaft und Ehrgeiz zu erzählen, deren Botschaft sicher noch auf weitere und andere Lebensbereiche transferiert werden können. Die jungen Schauspielerinnen sind fabelhaft, der Film einfach wunderschön!

8 von 10 Singstimmen

SILENT NIGHTS aus Dänemark

Hier könnte ich mich jetzt seitenweise echauffieren, versuche es mal dem Genre angemessen kurz: ein einziges Ärgernis, voller Klischees, komplett fragwürdige Botschaft! Eine verzweifelte junge Dänin verknallt sich in einen Flüchtling, der ihr aber nicht die Wahrheit über sein Leben daheim erzählt. Schon der Charakter dieser Protagonistin ist so uninteressant, ich hätte am liebsten vorgespult. Der Regisseur setzt hier sicher auf die Botschaft nach außen, dass in Dänemark etwas nicht stimmt. Aber was ist mit der Botschaft nach innen, die durchaus lauten könnte: "Sagen wir ja, Integration klappt nicht, alle wieder abhauen bitte!" ???

Keine Punkte für so einen Mist!

TIMECODE aus Spanien

Dieser Film braucht nur 15 Minuten, um ein bisschen zu verzaubern. Es geht um zwei Angestellte, die Wachdienst in einer Tiefgarage schieben, sie sehen sich immer nur zur Schichtübergabe, stets nur ein paar Sekunden, frei nach dem Motto: "Hallo, wie gehts? Alles klar, Tschüß". Bis auf einmal eine ganz andere, non-verbale Kommunikation beginnt. Diese drollige Idee hat dem Film schon die Goldene Palme für Kurzfilme in Cannes eingebracht.

6 von 10 Ausfallschritten

ENNEMIES INTÉRIEURS (ENEMIES WITHIN) aus Frankreich

Ein einfaches Beantragen der französischen Staatsbürgerschaft für einen Algerier, der sein ganzes Leben in Frankreich gelebt hat, ist die Ausgangssituation für 27 Minuten politischen Sprengstoff. Clever, die Handlung ins Jahr 1996 zu verlegen, wo es Frankreich schon einmal drunter und drüber ging. Das 2 Personen-Stück spielt nahezu in einem Raum an einem Schreibtisch und was wie ein Gespräch beginnt, wir schnell zu einem Verhör, zu einer Parabel über Recht, Unrecht, Vorurteile, Macht. Diesen Film hätte ich mir gern länger und etwas erklärender gewünscht, denn die Geschichte ist faszinierend und sie funktioniert, denn ich habe sofort gemerkt, wie wütend ich auf den Beamten war...

7 von 10 billigen Medaillen

LA FEMME ET LE TGV aus der Schweiz

Der cineastischste Beitrag von allen, erinnerte mich vielleicht aufgrund seiner Verschrobenheit ein bisschen an AMÉLIE. Die Grand Dame Jane Birkin (BLOW UP, LA PISCINE) ist LA FEMME, die in einem kleinen Häuschen an einer Bahnstrecke wohnt und immer dem vorbeifahrenden TGV winkt. Klingt ein bisschen beknackt, oder? Ist aber ganz zauberhaft! Sowohl vom Erzählstil als auch von den Bildern, ein kleines Stück Kino, was lange nachwirkt. Der Oscar muss in die Schweiz!

9 von 10 immer gleichen Tagesabläufen

Cheers Marcus

[randomrichards]

Ennemis Interieurs

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“The April 1960 decision proved prescient. Almost exactly a year later, four senior generals executed a putsch in Algiers. In response, the regime declared a state of emergency in mainland France and invoked — for the first and only time in the history of the Fifth Republic — the unequalled emergency powers afforded by Article 16 of the 1958 constitution. Acting under this dispensation, de Gaulle issued a series of executive decisions two days later, including one that prolonged the state of emergency indefinitely.

Before the law finally expired in May 1963, it would be prolonged three times. France lived under a continuous state of emergency for just over two years, well beyond the signing of the Evian Accords and the conclusion of hostilities in Algeria.

This period witnessed a distinctive, two-pronged coordination of state violence directed against both the nationalist insurrection and the mounting threat of praetorianism and right-wing terrorism. Brutality across the Mediterranean — the systematic use of torture by French forces, massive population transfers and internment camps — was accompanied by an “Algerianization” of the metropolitan home front. Functionaries and police formed by their colonial experience re-imported practices of population control and counterinsurgency.

The bloodiest consequences of this transfer appeared over the autumn of 1961, when Parisian police murdered well over 120 Algerians, leaving bodies to float in the Seine. Scores were killed on the single night of October 17, when a peaceful march, forbidden under emergency powers by a racist curfew (targeting French Muslims), elicited a brutal response from forces commanded by chief of police Maurice Papon.

Erstwhile prefect of the Constantine region, Papon shared the belief that France was waging a new form of war; in the words of one of its theorists in the army, this conflict could not be fought “according to the Napoleonic Code.” Months after the October massacre, official violence again shook the capital when police attacked a February 8, 1962 protest against bombings orchestrated by the right-wing terrorist Secret Army Organization (OAS). Although the march was forbidden by Papon, acting on orders from the government, corteges formed at surrounding metro stations to advance to Bastille. They would not get the chance.

At the intersection of Boulevard Voltaire and Rue Charonne, a group of demonstrators was cornered by two companies of police which, after a peremptory order to disperse, charged into the crowd. In the ensuing melee, dozens of protestors were forced into the entry to the Charonne metro, bludgeoned by officers. When it was over, nine — all but one Communists, and all members of the party-affiliated trade union (the CGT) — were dead, either beaten or suffocated.

As with the murder of Algerian demonstrators the preceding October, the violence at Charonne represented not a sudden break with normal policy, but the reasoned outcome of political and strategic decision-making. Of the fourteen police commissioners present for the October 17 demonstration, thirteen were on duty on February 8. Behind the delirious behavior of individual police lay a generative matrix of colonial warfare, anticommunism, and obsessive concern for the security of the state.

Political elites were also shaped by these forces. The same paradoxical logic that presided over the crackdown on the FLN Fédération de France governed reactions to the anti-OAS campaign: if the government repressed the communist-led protests against the OAS so ferociously, this was because it was preoccupied with retaining the support of the armed forces — not least in its struggle to retain their sympathies for mobilization against the OAS itself — for whom anticommunism remained a great unifying force.

At the very moment that terrorist violence employed by colonialist settlers and their supporters was reaching its apogee, then, governmental logic dictated that maximal violence be turned against their left-wing opponents.

Perfectly encapsulating this perverse dynamic, Interior Minister Roger Frey delivered a televised address on February 10 in which he denounced two sources of subversion. “The events [of February 8],” he observed, “prove once more the collusion of extremes against the Republic.” Faced with an existential threat of “political subversion,” any threat to public order could only be seen as itself an additional form of subversive activity.

It would be another forty years before the state of emergency again took force in France. In the interim, its legitimacy was affirmed by the Socialist government of Laurent Fabius, which applied the law in 1984 to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, with the purpose of facilitating repression of the Kanak independence movement. Contested at the time by the right-wing opposition and the Communists, this episode all the same demonstrated the bipartisan appeal of the legislation.

When Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced recourse to the law in 2005, following two weeks of revolt in the Parisian banlieus, its colonial history had not been forgotten. Unrest over discriminatory policing and harassment in the impoverished suburbs had been catalyzed by the deaths of two French teenagers, electrocuted while seeking refuge from police pursuit in an electrical substation.

Belligerent comments by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who boasted months earlier of “cleaning up” the area with a pressure washer and now denigrated the rioters as racaille (trash), further aggravated matters. Villepin avoided mentioning the “state of emergency,” referring more obliquely to the “loi de 1955.”

The relevant decree, put before the council of ministers by President Jacques Chirac, limited the scope of exceptional powers to twenty-five départements, including the region surrounding the capital. Exercised to impose curfews, a power already invested in municipal authorities, and to forbid public gatherings in Paris and Lyon, the 2005 state of emergency served little practical purpose. Villepin himself spoke of the desire to create a “shock” effect, and speculation focused on his political rivalry with Sarkozy, styled as a hard-line advocate of law and order.

If the colonial echoes of the law aroused denunciation on the Left, they did not dampen public approval; some three quarters of those surveyed voiced their support for the measure. Challenges to the legality of the November decision maintained that the threat to public order — a condition for the law’s application — had been overstated. These were rejected in December by the Conseil d’État, which nonetheless envisioned a proximate end to the emergency in view of changing circumstances.

Since 1999, the French state has officially recognized that its military operations in Algeria constituted a war. But the ambiguity of that conflict has left an enduring imprint on the state apparatus. The decade spanning the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the New York attacks of September 11, 2001 witnessed a rejuvenation of French thinking about counterinsurgency and counterterrorism.

Persistent unrest in the banlieus, coupled with military intervention in the Middle East and domestic repercussions of the Algerian civil war, inspired fresh reflections on the “enemy within.” No longer the Communist militant or anticolonial revolutionary, this figure took on a distinctively deterritorialized, racially marked form: the immigrant and the Islamic terrorist now loomed as the gravest threats to national security.

Debates over Vigipirate, an anti-terrorist initiative conceived of in the late 1970s and continuously in effect since January 1991, underscored the connection between immigration and terrorism. Amalgamation of the two phenomena similarly appeared in the context of proposed reforms to French nationality law, and controversy surrounding the supposed danger posed by dual nationals.

Enemies Within Today, reminders of this history are omnipresent. In his November 14 appearance on TF1, Valls did not hesitate to summon the menace of the ennemi intérieur. He likewise refused to rule out the possibility of establishing internment camps to house those suspected of terrorism. This eventuality, although explicitly prohibited under the 1955 law, was realized to barbaric effect in Algeria.

Laurent Wauquiez, leading figure of the parliamentary right, first revisited the notion, introducing a slight variation to Duclos’s line from Saint-Just. “There is no liberty,” he declared. “for the enemies of France and the Republic.” General Vincent Desportes, former director of the École de guerre, adopted an American idiom popularized by the country and western singer Chris LeDoux: “Freedom isn’t free.” “It must be paid for somehow,” Desportes added, “precisely by restricting liberties. This is the state of emergency.”

So far parliament has agreed. Bellicosity prevailed in the Palais Bourbon Thursday, and a rhetoric of macho hyper-violence took hold even of hitherto doveish Socialist MPs. “We need our Battle of Stalingrad!” exclaimed PS deputy and former president of SOS Racisme Malek Boutih, as Valls spoke again of war and asserted that “security is the first of our freedoms,” parroting a familiar slogan of the far-right National Front.

The modalities of the emergency law, specified by two decrees dated November 14, include heightened security measures, especially in public places, schools, and transport hubs, and limits on the movement of people and vehicles. In the Île-de-France area police have been empowered to conduct warrantless searches, assign suspects to house arrest, and ban public gatherings.

Historical precedent abounds, but so too do elements of novelty. Several modifications mark a departure from the 1955 text. Notably, constraints on the procedures for house arrest have been slackened: whereas Article 6 of the law originally referred to the detainment of those “whose actions pose a danger to security and public order,” the recent legislation instead concerns anyone “with respect to whom there exist serious reasons to think that his or her behavior constitutes a threat to security and public order.”

Those detained may also be tagged with electronic monitoring devices, a longstanding demand of the right, endorsed in parliament Wednesday evening by a number of Socialists. Philippe Gosselin, right-wing stalwart of Sarkozy’s Les Républicains (LR), saluted a sign of “intelligent progress” in this bipartisan initiative. “We have won the culture war!” he exulted.

A corollary decision, favored in the same quarters, has granted police officers and gendarmes the right to carry their weapons even when off duty. Searches are no longer limited to the homes of suspects, but extend to any locale they are known to frequent — restaurants, cafes, places of worship.

Additional refinements have updated the law for a digital age, including a wide remit to scour data accessible from personal computing devices. Punishment for violations has also been dramatically reinforced, from a penalty of up to two months in prison and a €3,750 fine to up to three years imprisonment and a fine of €45,000.

Other amendments to the law attenuate some of its repressive features. Censorship of radio and the press, which played an important role during the war in Algeria, has been ruled out, seemingly on grounds of practicability — given the proliferation of new media — rather than principle. The offices of MPs, lawyers, judges, and journalists are excluded from police searches, although a proposal that would have afforded similar protection to their private residences was rejected.

Increased judicial oversight has also been introduced, and the procedures allowing citizens to contest their treatment under the law simplified and strengthened. What significance these decisions will have remains to be seen.

In addition to amending the 1955 law, the government has expressed its intention to seek a constitutional revision to formally consecrate the state of emergency, including it alongside the state of siege under Article 36. Proposed among a slew of other reforms in the 2007 report of the Balladur Committee, this alteration is essentially technical in character.

More controversial is talk of revising French law to allow dual-nationals born in France to be stripped of their citizenship, in contravention of Article 25 of the civil code. When Sarkozy reopened this longstanding fixation of the Right in the wake of the January attacks, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve objected that it would constitute a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Concerns are now brushed aside.

Meanwhile, the forces of order have already undertaken hundreds of raidsand administrative detentions, and strikes planned by Air France employees and Paris hospital workers called off. The assault Tuesday on a squat in Lille, conducted by the elite counterterrorism unit of the national police (RAID), encouraged fears that expanded powers will affect targets unconnected to the putative terrorist threat, a prospect confirmed days later by a wave of repression in the Nord Pas-de-Calais targeting drug dealers and petty criminals.

Operation Sentinelle, put into effect following the January attacks of this year, mobilized some seven thousand soldiers, the equivalent of two army brigades, mainly tasked with guarding public places in and around the capital. For this campaign, as the journalist Jean-Dominique Merchet has observed, “Bataclan was another Sedan.”

Hollande now declares it is his intention to recruit five thousand more police and gendarmes in the coming two years, an unlikely target given the limits of available resources and training facilities. Plans for reducing army troop strength have been put on hold until 2019; in the last week, demands to enlist are reported to have tripled.

Rhetorical intensification notwithstanding, France in fact has been continuously at war for some time. Four overseas military operations (Opex) have been launched in as many years: Libya, Mali, Central Africa, Iraq. Beset by personal humiliation and catastrophically low approval ratings, Hollande has embraced his role as commander in chief, relaying the baton of his predecessor.

Against a backdrop of crisis and diminished economic power, France more and more looks to its armed forces as warrant of international prestige. In reaction to recent events, the Socialist government has dared for the first time to declare its willingness to violate the European austerity regime, with the president proclaiming that security must take precedence over stability. The UN Security Council and the EU have rapidly acceded to French requests for support in its campaign against ISIS.

The conjunction of anti-terrorism measures at home and open-ended warfare abroad has invited comparisons with the US response to the September 2001 attacks. An unpopular president surrounded by a powerful, ideologically motivated retinue of advisers, opting for domestic repression and foreign adventurism, in each case animated by the exigencies of a “war against terrorism.”

Hitherto France has been relatively reticent on both counts. In the above-mentioned instances, “invitation” to intervene militarily was secured from local authorities. Syria, where France began conducting airstrikes two months ago, is an exception: juridically, ISIS is recognized as a territorial state, with borders encompassing parts of Iraq and Syria. Fighters who return to France are in principle subject to domestic law; unlike in the US, there has so far been no full-scale elaboration of an alternative legal regime for those accused of crimes relating to terrorism.

As the country enters its second week of emergency, public support for the government remains high. Preliminary polls suggest that Hollande’s Socialist Party may well capitalize on disaster, and the gelatinous president, his popularity reaching historic lows in the months before November 13, could emerge rejuvenated.

But contraindications have also appeared. A rally on Sunday in support of immigrant rights, planned well in advance of the attacks, went forward despite official prohibition on gatherings in the capital (prolonged through the end of the month). Some five hundred demonstrators, marching from Bastille to République, transformed their act into a protest against the state of emergency itself, and chants echoed of “état d’urgence, état policier!” Reports indicate that fifty-eight of the participants, identified by the police, are now facing prosecution.

Paris has announced that protests scheduled to coincide with the COP21 international climate talks, held the weekend of November 29, will also be banned. How authorities react to flouting of this decision will furnish an index of future repression.” - Gerry Anderson, “The French Emergency.” Jacobin. November 24, 2015. 

[nclkafilms]

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Often home to some of the promising film makers of the world, the short film category is often as difficult to predict as its animated counterpart. This year, France is involved in two of the nominees: Ennemis Intérieurs about the troublesome relations between France and its former colony Algeria and La Femme et le TGV (Swiss-French co-production) about a long-lived relationship. Denmark, who has proud traditions here as well, is also in consideration for immigration-love-story Silent Nights, whereas Spain and Hungary completes the list with CCTV-centred Timecode and choir drama Sing.

Nominees: (As per tradition, I will watch all nominees on Oscar night)

Ennemis Interieurs

La Femme et le TGV

Silent Nights

Sing

Timecode

[moviemosaics]

All short films nominated for an Oscar at the 89th Academy Awards

[christophe76460]

Bonjour mes amis(es) 🙋🌼🌞🌈

LES ENNEMIS DE LA PRIERE

Il y en a plusieurs, je pense

- LA FATIGUE - qui peut nous rendre incapable de prier et pourtant la prière peut, justement, nous aider à vaincre cette fatigue.

- UN ESPRIT DISTRAIT - l’incapacité à se concentrer, des pensées qui nous envahissent et notre esprit voyage ... Prions à haute voix. David CRIAIT à DIEU (Psaume 55.17-18). En priant à haute voix, les distractions s’envolent.

- LE MANQUE DE CALME INTERIEUR - justement, prions en demandant à DIEU de nous débarrasser de cette agitation intérieure.

- LA HÂTE, LE MANQUE DE TEMPS - peut-être à cause de la journée de travail qui nous attend et pourtant, encore un fois, c'est dans la prière que DIEU peut nous révéler comment gérer notre temps au mieux ❗

- LE DECOURAGEMENT - Nous pouvons être paralyser, sans force, par le découragement. Regardons à JESUS, c’est LUI que nous devons contempler dans la prière ! Ne nous laissons pas décourager par des échecs. Satan essayera TOUS les moyens possibles pour nous empêcher de prier.

- LA PARESSE - Encore une arme de Satan. Prier nous semble pénible dans ces moments-là. Prions avec la Bible en main et lisons à haute voix les promesses de DIEU pour nous (Matthieu 7.7 ) Comment rester insensible devant une telle exhortation " demandez et l'on vous donnera " cela devrait faire jaillir la prière de nos cœurs .

Voyez, pour vaincre notre manque d'envie de prier , IL FAUT PRIER🙏

Un enfant de DIEU ne peut pas ne pas prier ❗

Allez courage ❗ Qui n’est jamais passé par un de ces moments de sécheresse dans la prière ❓ Ce qui est essentiel c'est de ne pas y rester ❗

[antikorg]

Daniel Voici mon commentaire à l’article de “Révolution permanente” https://www.anti-k.org/2021/11/19/face-a-la-cinquieme-vague-les-non-vaccines-designes-comme-les-nouveaux-ennemis-interieurs/ Est-il si difficile d’accepter qu’un virus ne soit pas “intelligent” et d’admettre que la génétique n’est pas une science, mais une idéologie. Pour prospérer à l’intérieur de son « hôte », un virus doit…

[myriamesther]

Ma force a été relevée par l'Éternel.

Que ton cœur se réjouisse en l'Eternel, car il a relevé ta force interieure quand ta bouche s'est ouverte contre l'ennemi /Tu as du potentiel/HELP

1 Samuel: 2:1 - Anne pria, et dit: Mon cœur se réjouit en l`Éternel, Ma force a été relevée par l’Éternel; Ma bouche s’est ouverte contre mes ennemis, Car je me réjouis de ton secours.

Point de prière

Père céleste, mon âme te bénit, car tu changes ma tristesse et ma douleur en chant de réjouissance.

Au nom de Jésus.

Amen.

[guyboulianne]

Un article de Abraham Blondeau — Le Canada a fait imploser son armée intentionnellement : il s’agit de la première armée occidentale à succomber à une attaque de l’intérieur. « Le véritable ennemi intérieur, ce sont les dirigeants de la gauche radicale du Canada. » https://www.guyboulianne.info/2023/02/20/le-canada-fait-imploser-son-armee-sciemment-il-sagit-de-la-toute-premiere-armee-occidentale-a-succomber-a-lattaque-dun-ennemi-interieur

[sowonderflow]

Voilà un message fort en ce lundi : ne perdons pas notre temps & notre énergie à lutter contre des forces extérieures. Travaillons plutôt à éteindre le feu de notre colère intérieure 😡⚡🔥 Résultats plus rapides, plus impactants & plus durables 😀😘😘 #vivezvibrez #bonheur #bienetre force #resultat #energie #temps #coaching #conseil #coach #feu #incendie #epanouissement #impactant #durable #rapide #efficace #empowerment #interieur #exterieur #inspiration #inspirationalquote #goodvibes #laetitia #rein #scelerat #mindfulness #ennemi #shantideva #lutte #combat #developpementpersonnel #psychologiepositive #instaquote #wonderflow #sowonderflow https://www.instagram.com/p/B2dsiURCfyl/?igshid=1kk4iy8blfu8x

[greensparty]

Green’s Party Oscar Guide to Short Films

Years ago, there was some talk of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences doing away with their short film categories (Animation, Live Action and Documentary shorts respectively). Several high-profile filmmakers including Steven Spielberg spoke out about the importance of short films to be recognized alongside features films. As a filmmaker who has made short narrative and short documentaries, I know all of the challenges that go into developing and resolving a short in a short amount of time and with fewer resources, so I have the utmost respect for short filmmakers.

The thing with the Academy-nominated shorts is that most years, you haven’t heard of 99% of them. People don’t line up at movie theaters to see something that isn’t feature length, so unless you caught it at a film festival or in front of a Disney animated film, predicting the winner your Oscar pool was a crapshoot. That is until about a decade or so ago. Since the mid-00s, several art house theaters have shown short packages, where you pay a ticket and see all 5 in that category. Most years all of the nominees are available on iTunes as well.

This year, I was lucky enough to get a press screener of all the short nominees in all 3 categories. Here are my predictions and picks:

Best Animated Short Film

Will Win:  Piper

Pixar was not nominated for Best Animated Feature this year for the massively successful Finding Dory, but their short that screened before it Piper is likely to win thanks to the Pixar seal of quality!

Should Win:  Pear Cider and Cigarettes

At 35 min. it’s the longest, but it’s unlike anything else I’ve seen in a while. It’s like a 90s drug-addled crime film, but animated. Fun fact: the associate producer is Robert Trujillo, who also composed some of the music. Yes, that’s right: the bassist for Metallica is an Academy Award nominee!

Best Live Action Short Film

Will Win:   Ennemis intérieurs

This is a tough category and it’s anyone’s to take. But this French film that deals with Algerian terrorism seems to be the one most are predicting. But again, don’t be surprised if its any of the other 4.

Should Win:  La femme et le TGV

This Swiss short stars the great Jane Birkin. It reminded me a lot of Amelie and had that kind of vibe throughout!

Best Documentary Short Film

Will Win:  Joe's Violin

Should Win:  Joe's Violin

There’s some very strong doc shorts this year, all about very serious subject matter, 3 of which look at the refugee crisis from very different angles. But the one that truly blew me away was Joe’s Violin about a Holocaust survivor who donates his violin to a Bronx student. If you have a chance to see this, it is one of the best movies of last year - short, feature or otherwise!

[randomrichards]

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT: – ENNEMIS INTERIURS (ENEMIES WITHIN) What starts out as a straight forward interview becomes an intense interrogation in this scathing, political thriller. Set in the 90’s, the film also looks at France’s turbulent relationship with Algiers. As the film begins, An Algerian teacher (Hassan Ghancy) applies for French Citizenship. He answers a series of basic questions of France’s Culture to an officer (Najib Oudghiri). But as the interview progresses, questions start to lean toward a terrorist attack by two Algerians. The officer suspects those two were at the same mosque meeting the teacher was at. The interrogation grows more hostile as the officer tries to get the teacher to name names. The premise probably has the simplest delivery of the films in this category. Most of the film is just these two character in a single room, talking. And yet it’s the most gripping short in this category. Starting with a simple Q & A, writer/director Selim Azzazi builds a slow burn of suspense coming out of each information revealed. The teacher also reveals himself to be a complex protagonist. Though born in the Algiers, he considers himself first and foremost a French man. He argues that since Algiers was part of the French Empire when he was born, he is therefore a Frenchman. But his fate lies in the hands of a man who could deport him with just the click of his pen. And no one will let him leave without two names. You don’t know much about him, but thanks to Ghancy’s performance, you care for him and don’t believe he had anything to do with this. This film takes a simple premise and keeps you in suspense. When it’s over, you’ll have a lot to talk about with your friends. – LA FEMME ET LE TGV The most romantic short in this category, this adorable little gem from Switzerland follows the developing relationship of two people who never meet. Every day, the TGV passes a little house of Elise (Jane Birkin), whose always there to wave her Swiss Flag. This seems to be the only high point of her day. Once a successful business, Elise’s bakery now struggles with competition from the All Deal retail store. Not helping is this ballet blaring techno tunes right next door. Her son Pierre (Mathieu Bisson) has grown up and moved out. Her only companion is Balthazar the budgie. So, the only excitement of her day is the coming of the TGV. Then one day, a letter comes flying onto out of the train and onto her lawn. So, begins a loving correspondence between Elise and the mysterious train conductor named Bruno. Elise would send letters and her treats to Bruno, who throws his letters out the window, along with some cheese. But their romantic correspondence comes under threat when the train takes a different route. La Femme Et Le TGV reminds me a lot of 84 Charing Cross Road, a biopic about two bookdealers (Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins) who formed a bond through business correspondence. Both films are romances centered around two people who never meet. You’d think this would be the kiss of death for romance films, and yet both films seem to make it work. Romance live and die by the chemistry between the two leads. How can you have chemistry when the two leads never have a scene together? With great writing, that’s how. Elise and Bruno bring out their most romantic sides in their letters, often turning to each other to vent their personal problems. Though it begs the question; are they falling for each other’s true selves or just idealized versions of each other? What also makes it work is Birkin’s performance. She creates such a quirky character in Elise that she brings joy in every minute she’s on screen. When she waves her swiss flag, she brings out her character’s genuine happiness. Plus, she faces the task of selling the questionable decision of falling for a person she hasn’t met. Her romance feels so genuine that you can’t help but root for her to get together with Bruno. She also as good in her low points, especially when Pierre gives his mom a degrading birthday present. The film is also very funny. Elsie cherishes Bruno’s gifts of cheese. There’s just one problem; she hates cheese. So, we are treated to the hilarious image of a fridge full of cheese. La Femme et Le Tiv will leave audiences swooning over this romance. – SILENT NIGHTS All the way from Denmark comes a love story about two people fallen on hard times. Kwame (Prince Yaw Appliah) immigrated from Ghana in hopes of providing more for his wife and kids. Instead, He finds himself on living on the street, making a living by collecting bottles. Meanwhile, Social worker Inger (Malene Beltoft) cares for her deadbeat, drunken mother Solveig (Vibeke Hastrup), who makes her life a living hell. These two lost souls come into each other lives when Kwame’s beaten by some racist thugs and Inger comes to his aid. After nursing him to health, they sleep with each other. They seem like a great couple, if it weren’t for a few problems. First, Solveig is gets very racist when she’s drunk, which leads to an awkward first meeting. Second, there’s both living in states of extreme poverty. Oh, and there’s the matter of Kwame’s wife and kids in Ghana. The film seems to draw inspiration from Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s romantic masterpiece Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Both films focus on the relationship between a lonely woman and an immigrant and the prejudices inflicted upon them. While not as frequent as in the later film, Silent Nights still has Kwame dealing with racial hostility, as previous beatings indicate. In an interesting spin, the hostility doesn’t only come from Caucasians. In fact, the thugs are of Danish born Arabs. I assume writer/director Aske Bang’s trying to prove whites aren’t the only ones’ hostile towards refugees. The film is clearly a commentary on the Syrian refugee crisis. What is surprising is how complicated the film portrays Kwame. The man came to Denmark thinking it would give him a better chance to provide for his family, only to find himself under a tunnel in the freezing cold, at least when the shelter’s not full. Fearing shame, Kwame can’t bring himself to return home without anything to show for it. On one hand, we can sympathize with his circumstances. But then Bang tests our sympathies by having him commit criminal activities. Kwame’s need for funds becomes urgent when his daughter contracts malaria. In his desperation, he commits a horrible act that’s not only criminal, but also nearly destroys his relationship with Inger. Sure, you understand why he did it, but it’s still a horrible thing to do. And then there’s the fact he’s cheating on his wife and doesn’t even have the decency to tell Inger, which may prove unforgivable for some audience members. We probably wouldn’t feel any sympathy if it weren’t for Appliah, who brings a lot of heart into his performance. The film has a lot of ups and downs. The films’ highpoint is the opening scene, which intertwines Kwame’s and Inger’s troubled lives with a church choir’s beautiful rendition of “Silent Night.” The low point is the ending. The message it sends is just…confusing. Whether the high points outweigh the low points is up to the audience. – SING (MINDEKI) Not to be confused with Illumination’s recent animated film, Sing is a Hungarian import. Moving to a new school is never easy for a kid. Despite the butterflies in her stomach, Zsofi (Dorka Gasparfalvi) fits right into her new environment, even joining her new best friend Liza (Dorka Hais) in the schools’ award winning choir class. After the first rehearsal, Zsofi comes to see why choir director Ms. Erika (Zsofia Szamosi) is her favorite teacher. But then Ms. Erika pulls her aside and insists Zsofi lip synch for the rest of rehearsals, which drains the poor girl of her enthusiasm. Soon, the girls come to realize how unfair adults can be. While a lesser actress would have hammed it up as Ms. Erika, Szamosi delivers a more nuanced realism to the character. When we first meet this teacher, she seems like a nice, encouraging teacher. When she does put down Psofi’s singing, she twists her insults under a polite guise; “You can sing in your head.” Szamosi maintains her polite manner as Ms. Erika tries to rationalize her questionable treatment of some students. It takes a hard push for her to show her true colours, but even then, she tries to mind her manners. Through Ms. Erika, the girls can see how adults make excuses for bad behavior, always believing themselves to be in the right. Matching her performance as the girls. Whenever they are together, Gasparfalvi and Hais make the interactions between Zsofi and Liza feel like real life conversations between two girls. Gasparfalvi is so joyful in the early scenes that when Zsofi’s spirit is broken, it’s upsetting. These little actresses further the depth of their character’s relationships when Zsofi won’t tell the concerned Liza why she’s upset. When they gather the choir team to get back at Ms. Erika, their hilarious revenge is glorious. SPOILER ALERT: These elements come together thanks to Director/Co-writer Kristof Deak. But one scene proves he has excellent storytelling skills. During one choir rehearsal, Liza starts to grow suspicious. She looks to student after student, and comes to realize Zsofi isn’t the only one who’s lip synching. The irony is the choir’s song is about singing in defiance. The fact he pulls this off without any spoken dialogue takes a master storyteller. – TIMECODE We conclude with the Palme D’or winning at the Cannes Film Festival. Today seemed like any other day for security guard Luna (Lali Ayguade) until she got a call from her boss. Apparently, a client’s tail lights were knocked out and the boss wants her to check the video. After typing in the timecode, the video reveals fellow guard Diego (Nicolas Ricchini) was dancing across the parking lot and accidently kicked out the light. Instead of ratting him out, Luna decides to try her hand at it. On her shift, she awkwardly dances in front of the security cameras and leaves a note of the times for Diego to watch it. Diego plays along, leaving notes for her to watch his dancing. This exchange starts a funny bond between these two. This is the third short film in this category centred around a blooming romance. The question is does this even count as a romance or just two friend enjoying a common activity? Either way, this short film is very funny, especially in the way it ends. Who Will Win? The odds are in favour of Ennemis Interieurs. This film is probably the best written and best acted film on the list, bringing a complex discussion of immigration and terrorism under a deceptively simple guise of a political thriller.

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Gilets Jaunes : « Macron pense et dit qu’une vague révolutionnaire nous a saisis, agitée et organisée par les ennemis intérieurs et étrangers de la France » Lors d’un échange avec quelques journalistes triés sur le volet, comme dans «l’ancien monde», le président a confié ses projets de mise au

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And the 2017 Oscar nominees are ...

Best picture

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

Fences

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Actor in a leading role

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington, Fences

Actress in a leading role

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Ruth Negga, Loving

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Actor in a supporting role

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Actress in a supporting role

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester By the Sea

Animated feature film

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Zucchini

The Red Turtle

Zootopia

Cinematography

Arrival

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Silence

Costume design

Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Directing

Arrival, Denis Villenuve

Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson

La La Land, Damien Chazelle

Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Monergan

Moonlight, Barry Jenkins

Documentary (feature)

Fire at Sea

I Am Not Your Negro

Life, Animated

OJ: Made in America

13th

Documentary (short subject)

Extremis

4.1 Miles

Joe's Violin

Watani: My Homeland

The White Helmets

Film editing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Moonlight

Foreign language film

Land of Mine

A Man Called Ove

The Salesman

Tanna

Toni Erdmann

Makeup and hair styling

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

Original song

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)", La La Land

"Can't Stop the Feeling," Trolls

"City of Stars," La La Land

"The Empty Chair," Jim, The James Foley Story

"How Far I'll Go," Moana

Original score

Jackie

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Passengers

Production design

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

Passengers

Short film (animated)

Blind Vaysha

Borrowed Time

Pear Cider and Cigarettes

Pearl

Piper

Short film (live action)

Ennemis Interieurs

La femme et le TGV

Silent Nights

Sing

Timecode

Sound editing

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Sully

Sound mixing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Visual effects

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Writing (adapted screenplay)

Arrival, Eric Heisserer

Fences, August Wilson

Hidden Figures, Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi

Lion, Luke Davies

Moonlight, Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney

Writing (original screenplay)

Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan

La La Land, Damien Chazelle

The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou

Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan

20th Century Women, Mike Mills