Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Double Lover, The Good Postman, I Called Him Morgan, Vigil.
Double Lover
Derived from a Joyce Carol Oates story, Double Lover is an elegant hall of mirrors, a puzzle of spirals and twists. French director François has Vertigo-era Alfred Hitchcock in his DNA as he follows the erotic fantasies and inconsolable guilt of a young woman (Marine Vacth) seduced by her psychiatrist (Jérémie Renier)—and then his twin brother. Secrets are concealed within secrets and psychiatrists are a doubtful lot in this hallucinatory, disturbing thriller.
The Good Postman
A dying Bulgarian village has become a transit point for Syrian refugees and the locals are divided. Some feed them while others—alarmed by sensationalized media—fear crime and terrorism. In the mayoral election, the postman runs on a platform of welcoming refugees to rebuild and revitalize the town while his opponent, trading on nostalgia (for Communism), wants them out. The Good Postman is a fascinating look at a local manifestation of a global situation.
I Called Him Morgan
The documentary begins with a black screen and a voice—a ’70s late-night jazz DJ debuting the upcoming LP by Lee Morgan. “He’s really flying high on this one,” the announcer says, but the flight soon ended. It was 1972 and the trumpeter would soon be dead, killed by his wife, Helen. They seemed good for each other, friends recall. Concert footage is scant but the soundtrack is built around the trumpeter’s cool, confident playing.
Vigil
A father dies, a mysterious brooding stranger appears and things get strange on a remote New Zealand farm. Vigil’s elliptical story of repulsion and attraction is less remarkable than director Vincent Ward’s memorable images, the brooding sense of menace, the silences broken by murmured voices and the cries of unseen birds and the rich colors drawn from the darkest hues of the palette. Shown at Cannes 1984, Vigil put New Zealand on the world cinema map.
