Father Geek reporting from here at Geek Headquarters in Austin, Texas. Our lovely island editor Moon Yun Choi took a sip of a few French flicks at HIFF, but didn't really find them to her taste...

Moon Yun Choi signing in from Hawaii...

The Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase has ended but I wanted to squeeze in reviews of two French films, MONDOVINO and APRES VOUS.

I was eagerly awaiting the screening of MODOVINO, a documentary about the wine industry, as much as I would anticipate the arrival of the nouveau Beaujolais. But this documentary by Jonathen Nossiter proved to be more of a disappointing vintage than a celebrated one.

First of all the filming was bad. The camera would zoom in too close, for example, to the nose of its subjects and pull out so quickly that you'd think this was taken by an amateur. This action didn't add anything to the cinematography.

Although the topic was interesting, MONDOVINO was overall a sloppy film. It had many interviews with wine makers and what they had to say was fascinating but the way it was put together made you wonder when the movie would end. MONDOVINO is basically about the traditional wine makers battling the globalization and homogenization of wine making brought on by the Americans. The traditional wine makers fight for individuality in their wines.

The documentary also follows a colorful character named Michel Rolland, a flamboyant, fast-moving wine consultant who sides with the Americans.

While Nossiter can be commended for his sober look at global marketing and cultural imperialism, I just wish it was the kind of movie where I can feel like having a glass of wine after leaving the theater.

A more enjoyable film was APRES VOUS, starring one of my favorite French actors Daniel Auteil. The distributor of the film requested that we write just a capsule of the film so I'll be brief.

Antoine (Auteil), the head waiter at a Paris bistro, stops a stranger, Louis (Jose Garcia) from committing suicide. Having interfered with the attempt to take his own life, Antoine feels responsible for what happens to the man from now on. He gets the distraught Louis a job at his bistro and tries to get him back together again with his former flame, someone Louis still loves. There's a neat plot twist that comes out of this.

APRES VOUS had good acting, especially by Auteil who received a Cesar Nomination for Best Actor. However the movie overall dragged and it wasn't as funny as Auteil's other comic film, THE CLOSET.

Moon Yun Choi signing out...