Silent Souls(2010) and Romantics Anonymous(2010)

Silent Souls is a Russian film that takes its title very seriously, I'd wager over half the film is spent with ambient noises and the soundtrack being front and center of the film, with the Dialogue being used to frame the scene.



The feature centers around Aist (Igor Sergeev), Narrating from beyond the grave, never a good sign, a Photographer that works at a paper mill. Aist is someone very much intent on holding up heritage and tradition, he knows the customs of his people, even if the rest of his world is forgetting them, and he wants to bring it back. His friend/Boss at the paper mill, Miron ( Yuriy Tsurilo), asks him to accompany him on a ceremonial for his newly deceased wife. This takes the two on a journey outside of they're home town, where Mirion will smoke (speak freely about his loved one, in a manner that they wouldn't while they where alive), and eventually, cremate the body.
Silent Soul's has some pretty terrific camera work in it, with several long shot without the camera moving, and a few that track the characters actions during key scenes. These shots really help set the somber tone of the film, and these shots rarely out stay they're welcome. But with these scenes, and the film as a whole as previously mentioned, there's a whole lot of silence between the two lead characters, and I don't think that they're body language spoke as much as it could, that may be because the director (Aleksei Fedorchenko) called for a more subdued performance.
They'res a fascinating history laid out in the story, and unfortunately i felt like a missed parts of it due to speed that the films subtitles come and go. There where a few lines peppered through out the film that i missed the last few words from, and i can't remember not being able to read a film's sub's fast enough in awhile.
The film isn't particularly long, not even breaking the 80 minute mark, that probably works in its favor, for as good as some scenes are, holding onto these scenes for too long

Romantics Anonymous is a very different film, for a start, its french, that's a different country, a different language, Then you've got the whole comedy thing, a little bit slap stick and awkward with its characters. Romantic's is about Angélique(Isabelle Carré) and  Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde), who are both very socially awkward. Jean-René is in therapy, is afraid of everything, and doesn't do the whole contact thing. He likes people, but his afraid of them. So afraid that he doesn't answer the phone because he's afraid of not knowing who's on the other end of the line. Angélique's support system is consist of a support group who meets regularly and discuss they're problems, like in a AA meeting. Angélique's problem's frequently result with her fainting when put as the center of attention.
The pair meet when Angélique applies for a job at Jean-René's chocolate factory, thinking that its for a positing as a chocolate maker, but in reality, its as a sales rep. The factory is about to go bankrupt and they're chocolate line has a bit of a bad reputation for being bland. But Angélique might just be the ace up they're sleeve, if only she can get past her issues.
Romanti's cracks with a sort of quirky charm, it's leads are charming, and pull of they're roles well, as do the support cast. For me, Isabelle Carré is the stand out of the film, she's kind of adorable as awkward emotive chef, and she managed massive laughs when she faints as she becomes the focus of attention.
The film doesn't have the flare of other comedies (Amélie comes to mind), but the film never really dips in quality, it remains consistent through out.