Billy Elliott , by Stephen Daldry

                          Billy Elliott is a british film directed by Stephen Daldry released in 2000. The movie received a lot of prices.


The main character : Billy 

As the movie title tells it, the main character is Billy, an eleven-year-old kid. He lives with his father, his elder brother and his grand-ma. Billy's mother died a little time ago, letting husband and kids alone. The story take place in a village, called Durham, located in the north-east of England in 1984.. In those days there were a lot of strikes, because the miners had enough of the precarious work conditions. Billy's father makes his possible to look after his family.  Billy, him, goes to school, play with his friends, and goes to boxing, because according to his father, a normal young boy practice boxing, or football... But the fact is that our little angel prefers Ballet...



Billy and the ballet

One day, as Billy was boxing,  Ms Wilkinson, the Ballet teacher, give his class in the gymnasium because there were troubles in her usual room, caused by the strikers. When Billy see the girls dancing, he's focused, and kind of chocked. Apparently, he really likes it and then decides to quit the box and get into the Ballet group. Obviously, he doesn't tell his father, who wouldn´t really appreciate it. So now, Billy dances Ballet. He's litteraly absorbed by his new pastime, at the point that he's even dancing in the street, and practicing alone in his bathroom! However, Billy is really good... Ms Wilkinson noticed that Billy had a gift for dancing,  so she purposes him to join the School of Ballet, but eventually his father found out that he left the box, and things get complicated...










The father's refusal

After finding out that Billy left the box, moreover to dance Ballet, Jackie ( Billy's father) get really mad. Ms Wilkinson tries to convince him to let Billy take an audition in order to join the Higher School of Ballet, but he refuses again. He doesn't want Billy to dance any more and forbids him to practice. During this period of strikes, Jackie doesn't need more troubles. That's why he's really angry against Billy. But in reality, he's a very sad man, he's very demoralized by the death of his wife. One time, haphazardly, he caught him dancing, but Billy, courageously, despite his father caught him dancing, didn't stop, so as to prove to his father that he was really good. It is a success. After seeing his son's performance, Jackie realizes that he was wrong and that his son is really bright. He totally changes his opinions and even decides to return to the mine. This is such a crazy thing, because during the strikes, those who went down the pits in spite of the absence of the majority of the minors were insulted and beaten up. They were called the "scabs".
Finally, Billy obtain his father's agreement and goes to London to pass the audition.





The School of Ballet :




Accompanied by his father, Billy goes to the School of Ballet. After that, the jury will decide if Billy is able or not to join the school. The audition doesn't happen very well and Billy is impressed by the jury, he's truly under stress. After the performance, the jury decides to ask some questions to Billy and his father, about dancing, and their life and general.

This is when Billy admits, emotionally that, when he dances, he feels like flying... However, they come back to home, waiting for the answer of the school.
After a couple of days, they receive the letter : Billy is admitted. All the family burst into tears and Billy is full of emotion.
So, Billy prepare his stuffs, and leaves to the School of Ballet.

Synthesis


An emotional story of a little gifted boy who lost his mother, but however appreciates life and lives his hobby at one hundred percent. Thanks to his hobby, he finally managed to change the opinions of his father and of his brothers.

Gran Torino, by Clint Eastwood

Gran Torino is an american film produced and realised by the famous actor Clint Eastwood. Released in 2008, the film was a success and generated 269 000 000 dollars.


The main character : Walter Kowalski

 Walter Kowalski is the character is the main character of the film, played by Clint Eastwood. Veteran of the Korean War, Walter Kowalski is an old hardened racist, who lives alone with his dog Daisy. His wife just died and his children are grown and have their own families. He doesn´t rely on anybody, not even on God. His wife was christian, she told the priest Janovich to force her husband to confess after her death, at least once in his life. This one will try several times, in vain ...

The Hmong people


As we said, Walter lives alone in  a quiet neighborhood, just next to Hmong people. The Hmong are an asian population coming from the south of China. Because of the war, he hates them and doesn't maintain any friendly  relationship. Though, one day, a hmong girl called Sue have troubles with gangsters who annoy her and her friend. Fortunately, Walter was riding around and saw what happened. Then he decided to rescue the Hmong girl and take her back to home.

After this incident, Hmong people will be very grateful to Walter for what he did. They start giving him a lot of gifts ( typical Hmong food, flowers...). Moreover, Sue start to build relationships with the old man.
She visits him sometimes, she invits him to meals...

The disruptive element



 Now that they are close neighbors, Walter and Sue see often each other. One day, Walter was invited by Sue. This day, Walter will meet Thao, Sue's brother. Thao is a sixteen-year-old boy, living with is family. All the people around him treats him like a sissy, because of his behaviour. He's only doing things like gardening, washing the dishes and normally, in the Hmong tradition, these things are reserved to girls.

Tired of this reputation, Thao is lost and doesn't know what to do. His cousin does. This one his completely different from Thao. He's a gangster and have his own band. He's tired from seeing his cousin treated like a sissy. So he decides to enroll him in the gang, but there's one condition. Thao must prove he's a tough guy, by doing a crazy thing, like stealing the neighbor's Gran Torino. Not sure about he's going to do, Thao doesn't think and do what his cousin asked him to do, but he failed. Walter heard that there was someone in his garage and went down immediately. Thao escaped.


Thao and Walter

After that Thao failed to steal Walter's car, his cousin comes back to give him something else to do. But Thao doesn't want to do this anymore, so does his sister. So a fight begins. But one more time, Walter intervenes and cast Thao's cousin and his gang out.

The Hmong family is one more time very grateful. Later, Walter will know that it was Thao who tried to steal his car. So, the Hmong boy will have to work for Walter to compensate what he did. Walter gives the boy work to do and the two characters spend more and more time together. Thao is even closer to Walter than Walter's children.

They are getting along very well. Thao is really doing well, and so, Walter buys him new tools and transmits him his passion for DIY. The new relation between Thao and the old man isn't very appreciated by Thao's cousin. One day after the work, Thao is coming back to home, but his cousin and his come to annoy him and start troubles.  They break some of his tools and even burn his face with a cig.


Finally...

After the last incident, Thao doesn't work for Walter any more. Walter notices that the young boy doesn't come any more, so he goes to see him to check what's happening. When the old man see the kid's face, he understands what happened. He decides to venge the boy and break the face of the gansgter who burnt Thao's face. But the gang will also venge himself. They break Sue's face...
To stop this craziness, Walter decide to give his life. He goes to see the gang in their place and provoke them.
Eventually, the gang shot the old man from everywhere. The old man made sure to have witnesses, in order to send the gangsters to jail.  Indeed a lot of people saw what happened, and told all the story to the police.
So, the old man died, and thanks to his death Thao and his family will be in peace.
Walter finally decided to confess just before his final heroic act.

Synthesis


A touching story of an old war veteran, who forgot all the atrocities he lived during the war, thanks to his chinese neighbors. No matter what he said, no matter what he did by the past, he finally accepted God in his heart and finally understand that being alone during the last days of his life is such an horrible thing.

Pulp Fiction, by Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Fiction is an american gangster film which was released in 1994 and received the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes during the same year.
This film is considered as one of the greatest masterpiece of box office of all the times. Great actors ( Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, John Travolta), a crazy scenario, violence and drugs affairs, this film is litteraly an explosive cocktail.

There are several stories all along the film. This is a typical style of Q.Tarantino, he also divided "Kill Bill" in different chapters.

First story: Jules and Vincent

Vincent just came back from Amsterdam and goes to join his friend, Jules. This one is a gangster.
Both of them are sent to a house by their boss, Marcellus Wallas. The reason : kill some guys who had a deal with Marcellus but didn't respect their part of the contract. Once in the house, Jules and Vincent kill the two guys, and suddenly, another one appears. Actually he was in the bathroom, and when he saw Jules and Vincent, he took his gun and tried to kill our two guys. But he isn't a good shooter. Indeed, he shot all his bullets but missed Jules and Vincent, he didn't even touch them. Finally, Jules and Vincent kill the last guy and leave the flat with their third partner who was in the flat before their coming, and whose name is Marvin.                                        
After, in the car, Jules remembers the scene and the fact that the guy  they wanted to kill missed all his bullets. He thinks that God protected them, and wants to retire from his gangster life. Vincent him, just thinks that they were lucky and that Jules is going crazy.
They don't share the same point of view, so they ask Marvin. But at this moment, Vincent kills Marvin from one bullet right through the head. This was totally an accident. The car is a mess, there's blood everywhere. Then, they wash the car and go to a restaurant to eat something. But while they're eating, there's an hold-up in the restaurant. Jules stop the thiefs and let them run away with the money they stole.


Second story: Butch

Butch is a professional boxer. He's going to have a fight, but before, the boss of Jules and Vincent, that is to say Marcellus Wallas came to him to make a deal. He wanted Butch to lose the fight, in exchange of a lot of money. In fact, Butch didn't do what Marcellus wanted, so now, he wants him dead.
Butch decide to run away with his wife. Once safe, in a hidden house, Butch realized that his wife forgot his watch. Thus, he goes back to their house, and meet Vincent. Vincent was there to kill him, but eventually Butch killed Vincent.
Afetr that, Butch see Marcellus. This one pursues him all over the town. This is a crazy story, really.
Finally, Marcellus and Butch are made prisoners by two sado-maso homosexual guys. Marcellus got raped by one of them. Butch managed to break out and take the control of the situation. He saved Marcellus, so this one decided to let him go, but set conditions : Butch mustn't tell anyone what he saw ( about the rape) and mustn't come back to town.

Final story: Marcellus's wife

During a night, Vincent have to care about his boss's wife and entertain her. Before going to take her, he goes to see his dealer, to get some more drugs. Once his business done, he takes his boss's wife to a restaurant, they talk about things and others. After, a dance contest is organized, they dance together and win. Then, they come back to home, Vincent goes to the toilets. While this, Marcellus's wife find the drugs Vincent took before going to take her. She inhales it. When he comes back from the toilet, Vincent find the lady on the floor, close from the OD. He can't take her to hospital, he would get into troubles because of the drugs. So he decides to take her to his friend, the one who gave him the drugs. With an adrenaline shot, they finally could reanimate Marcellus's wife.




End