The Girl in the Cafe
David Yates, 2005 (8.6*)
Emmy Award, best tv movie
This is a small, captivating film of an improbable romance, closely tied to political events surrounding a G8 economic summit in Iceland. Veteran actor Bill Nighy (who has been much better, he's a little too mannered and unnatural here) is an withdrawn economist for the British government, preparing some proposals and financial feasibility for their participation in the upcoming G8 summit in Reykjavik Iceland, who can't find a table at lunch and sits with a young woman, having coffee alone. Kelly MacDonald is terrific as the young Irish woman, slowly warming up to Nighy, as we watch her character change and come out of her shy shell over the course of this film and become more vocal about her concerns; she won an Emmy for actress in a movie.
The script by Richard Curtis tackles some tough political issues, especially poverty and hunger in the world, so some have dismissed this as "propaganda", an attitude I just don't understand. I guess most westerners would rather see a dumb Bullock or Sandler romantic comedy, than a serious film about society's shorcomings. If you're one of those, avoid this, but if you want an engaging romance on a intellectual level, with complex and real people, this Emmy winner for TV movie is a small gem. Also won a Humanitas Prize, and the Shanghai TV Festival award.
[Note: even though for tv, this features brief frontal nudity, but don't panic, it's neither gratuitous nor arousing]
This is a small, captivating film of an improbable romance, closely tied to political events surrounding a G8 economic summit in Iceland. Veteran actor Bill Nighy (who has been much better, he's a little too mannered and unnatural here) is an withdrawn economist for the British government, preparing some proposals and financial feasibility for their participation in the upcoming G8 summit in Reykjavik Iceland, who can't find a table at lunch and sits with a young woman, having coffee alone. Kelly MacDonald is terrific as the young Irish woman, slowly warming up to Nighy, as we watch her character change and come out of her shy shell over the course of this film and become more vocal about her concerns; she won an Emmy for actress in a movie.
The script by Richard Curtis tackles some tough political issues, especially poverty and hunger in the world, so some have dismissed this as "propaganda", an attitude I just don't understand. I guess most westerners would rather see a dumb Bullock or Sandler romantic comedy, than a serious film about society's shorcomings. If you're one of those, avoid this, but if you want an engaging romance on a intellectual level, with complex and real people, this Emmy winner for TV movie is a small gem. Also won a Humanitas Prize, and the Shanghai TV Festival award.
[Note: even though for tv, this features brief frontal nudity, but don't panic, it's neither gratuitous nor arousing]
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