DVD Releases for the Week of Jun. 16, 2009

Criterion Collection, distributors of high-quality remasters, are  re-releasing Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal in a new edition. Set during the Middle Ages, it tells the story of towns beset by the Black Plague, and a knight who encounters Death in person. Of course, the overlying story is only a basis for more thematic ideas. This classic comes out at the same time as Bergman Island, a feature-length interview with the legendary Swedish director.

Ce qu’il faut pour vivre
Winner of the Jutra for Best Film, Benoît Pilon’s first dramatic effort stars Inuit actor Natar Ungalaaq (The Fast Runner) as Tivii who is brought to Québec as part of a forced program to treat native populations of tuberculosis. While residing at the hospital, he must communicate with his fellow roommates and the nurse with whom he has a growing attraction to. At one point he befriends a half-Inuit boy who aids him to understand the culture he has been brought into, and in turn help the Québecois understand his own way of seeing things. As one of the most acclaimed Québecois films last year, and shortlisted for the Academy Awards, this one is a must.

* * *

One Week
Many will like One Week. Joshua Jackson, for some, will be a likeable character who re-evaluates his life in the face of imminent death. The message is clear: if you had one week to live, how would you live it differently? It is a valuable life lesson for all, but it comes in a rather drab package. As the director’s main goal was not story and rather Canadiana, there really is only the hollow shell of a message, contrived as a means to an end. It’s too bad. Read more of my review here.

* * *

Other Releases
45 R.P.M.
Diary of Anne Frank, The
Friday the 13th
Liens du sang, Les
Morning Light
Suddenly
Strange One, The
Sword of the Stranger
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail
What Goes Up
What’s Up, Tiger Lily?