Northwest (***1/4) [screening]

Eighteen-year-old Casper (Gustav Giese) is a small-time burglar-for-hire who sees a chance for something better, though equally illegal. But as making money suddenly gets a lot easier, ditching his old business associates proves a lot harder. What makes this movie a cut above other stories of ambitious criminals is in Casper’s relationships to the other characters, particularly his younger brother Andy, played by the Geise’s actual brother, Oscar. Casper is basically a nice guy. He’s a loving brother to his little sister. He’s nice to his mother, who tells him to keep Andy out of his schemes but doesn’t ask how come Casper’s income seems to have swelled. He’s protective of the prostitutes he drives around on jobs for his new boss.

Danish director Michael Noer tells this story plainly, without any moralizing. (The title refers to the seamier part of Copenhagen.) Perhaps burglarizing empty homes and being a driver seem too antiseptic for Caspar to feel morally troubled by his activities. But he does eventually recognize the danger to himself and the difficult choices he’ll be required to make. And that no matter how he has tried to insulate his family from his activities and those choices, he cannot prevent their impact.

IMDb link

viewed 10/20/13 2:35 PM at Cinemark University City [Philadelphia Film Festival] and posted 10/20/13

A Cat in Paris (***1/4)

This charming, Oscar-nominated animated film, which I saw in its US version (dubbed with American voices), is about a literal cat burglar. By night, the cat is the non-human partner complicit in a series of thefts. This cat must sleep a lot less than most. By day, he is the companion of a young girl traumatized by the death of her father. She doesn’t speak. (Neither does the cat. It’s not that kind of movie.) The girl’s mother is a police detective responsible for investigating the thefts. And so these worlds must collide.

This film isn’t particularly meant for kids, but some may enjoy it. The touches of film noir and playful homages to Quentin Tarentino, Martin Scorsese, et al will be noted by adults. The band of ruthless but hapless crooks bound up in the story will amuse all, and there’s just enough emotion (as when the detective, alone, weeps over the memory of her murdered husband) to bind it all together.

IMDb link

viewed 9/5/12 7:15 pm and reviewed10/10/12