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Reviews
Atomik Circus - Le retour de James Bataille (2004)
French Alien Rock 'n' Roll Romeo & Juliet
An underground French treat. A stuntman is imprisoned for accidental destruction of his fiancée's father's bar. He escapes and searches desperately for his sweetheart. A couple of things get in his way. For a start starfish-like creatures decapitate drunk revellers and face-sucking aliens abound.
This was a trip! A french take on Bayou hospitality and fight for survival had me reeling hysterically whilst the leads had me enraptured. James Fleyming speaking french like a pro! Vanessa Paradis acting naturally and singing cool tunes that created a frenetic ambiance. The jambalayic melting pot of film genres was superb.
Endstation Tanke (2001)
An East European Western that engrossingly comments on society in East Germany after the fall of the wall
A personal insight into the repercussions of the fall of the wall. Ruthless businessmen from the West have abused the innocent ignorance of East Germany's people, and, as a result taken everything from them: their money, their homes, their lives. In this film we witness what appears to be just a microcosm of the sort of troubles, frustration, anger, and despair at these repercussions.
The Middle of Nowhere uses this bleak situation as a backdrop. We are drawn deep into the characters of the main protagonists as a criminal enters a small community and, through mistaken identity, transforms and heightens their emotions to riotous proportions.
With the central 'OK Corral' being a barely used petrol station, and the barren landscape yearning for tumbleweed the characters parallel those stereotypically found in Cowboy Westerns. But here, we are treated to a director's vision that takes a familiar format and transports it to the most unlikely location, whilst managing to stylistically nod respectively to some of the world's great directors - Wim Wenders & Akira Kurosowa
I anticipate wonderful journeys for the viewer in any future ventures by this first-time director - Natalie Steinbart