In the shade

The only photo I took today, swiftly snapped in the park in Lézignan on the way to the cinema. It was the end-of-year session of the Cine Club, and it was quite a session: two Asian films separated by a Korean buffet ... we arrived at 6:30 and left at nearly midnight.

Whoever programmes the films for the Cine Club has excellent taste. The first film, Coming Home, directed by well-known Chinese director Zhang Yimou, was a melodrama certainly, and perhaps a bit too long. But how can you not be captivated by the beauty of his images and the acting of Gong Li and Chen Daoming in the lead roles? It was touching, beautifully done, and avoided a Hollywood-style ending.

The second film was Like Father Like Son, from Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. I'm not familiar with Japanese cinema, but we found this compelling. It's based on the same idea as popular French comedy La Vie est un Long Fleuve Tranquille, where two newborns are switched at birth, and the mistake is discovered six years later, but the ambiance is very different. Of course there is some humour in the contrasting styles of the two families: serious, driven salaryman Ryota and his subdued wife Midori living in a soulless modern high-rise apartment and sending young Keita to a smart private school,  and cheery  Mr Fix-it Yukari,  his wife Yudai and three kids living in joyful confusion over the electrical repair shop Yukari runs when he's not splashing about in the bath with his kids or flying kites. But it's above all about Ryota's inner conflict, his search for what it means to be a father, and his eventual admission of his failings. All the actors were excellent, but the children were exceptional; far beyond the usual cute tots you see in films. The cinematography seems to get overlooked in most reviews of this film, but we found that beautiful too; subdued and intimate, almost every frame thoughtfully composed and lit. If I only recommended one of the pair of films, it would be this one. Deserving of the Prix du Jury at Cannes.

As for the Korean buffet: it was OK, but didn't leave me with any desire to visit the Korean restaurant in Lézignan ...