Weekly DVD Pick - Angel-A
I was really tempted to post Rescue Dawn up as my Weekly DVD Pick but I decided against it mostly because some other sites have it up and you really don’t need two sites to tell you the same thing. I’d much rather highlight something different. I also thought about mentioning that a new release of Hudson Hawk, one of my favourite guilty pleasures is out on DVD. Another DVD I thought I might highlight was the Death Note Vol. 1 DVD but I try to stay away from TV series. I also thought about mentioning Silip (watch out for the NSFW link) but 1) I haven’t seen it yet so I don’t know if Kurt is right about this movie and 2) Kurt mentioned it the past couple of weeks at Movie Patron so you can go with the same reason as Rescue Dawn for this not being my pick. I could ramble on listing the other 3 or 4 DVDs that would be worth picking up this week but I should actually say something about Angel-A my actual pick.
Angel-A may not be the best movie out this week for story but I loved this movie when I first saw it for its visuals. Luc Besson does a wonderful job of filming Paris in black and white. The cinematography is stunning and really makes this movie for me. For the story itself we have Jamel Debbouze playing André a down on his luck scam artist who is in trouble with the criminal element in Paris. His life is on such a downward spiral that he considers killing himself by jumping off a bridge. Just as he is about to jump he sees Rie Rasmussen who plays Angel-A jumping herself. In a selfless act he jumps in to rescue her. From here on the plot follows the basic line of Angel-A helping André in return for saving her life. The twist comes with whether she is an Angel sent to help André or if she is just a bit crazy.
If you look at any of the posters or screen shots or trailer it is easy to see that Rie Rasmussen towers over Jamel Debbouze. The character of Angel-A in many ways it truly the opposite of André and it is their relationship that drives the movie. Both characters grow until the final scene which you will either find beautiful or underwhelming. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
Angel-A is a beautifully filmed movie that is worth picking up. I for one am glad that Luc Besson doesn’t seem to be able to stay retired.
Dave Becker said
November 22 2007 @ 8:41 am
Glad to see ANGEL-A featured here. I’m a Luc Besson fan, and I definitely want to check this one out!
Marina said
November 26 2007 @ 3:09 pm
I’m happy to see “ANGEL-A” get some love. I wasn’t an enamored with the film as I had hoped but I thoroughly enjoyed it and agree completely: thank the lord(s) that Besson doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘retirement’!