The Cakemaker and Leave No Trace on Monday Morning Diary (July 16)

by Sam Juliano

Yes I adore France for their films, literature, music, food and history as much as I do any other country in the world. However, on Sunday my heart was with the Fairview, New Jersey and area Croatians and the Cinderella soccer team who have captured the hearts of the world with their inspirational, improbable run! The silver medal and the top player in the World Cup tournament is no small achievement for a small nation of four million and fans have every reason to cheer!

The long-running Greatest Television Series Countdown Part 2 will conclude in a few days.  I’d like again to thank all the writers, followers and those leaving comments.  It really has been quite a ride and a learning experience.  We will be breaking from any further polling countdowns for quite some time, though we do have a proposed Greatest War Films Countdown shaping up for April or May of 2019.

We saw two films in theaters over the weekend. Both were extraordinary. The first – an Israeli production “The Cakemaker” thematically recalls Lubitsch’s ‘Broken Lullaby” and Ozon’s “Franz” but the love triangle examined in a quietly enveloping style is the best of its kind since “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and the culture class (Israel and Germany) is finely delineated as passions simmer in a culinary-attuned work that re-imagines the delectable prowess of “Babette’s Feast.” Tim Kalkhof, the German baker and lover of the Jewish man married to Sarah Adler are exceptional in a film that eschews the grief experienced by the two to examine instead a primal instinct that fuels an unlikely association. The sublime piano-laden score by Dominique Charpentier is one of the best of the year. The film competes for my own favorite of the year ***** (5 of 5)

As to “Leave No Trace” this haunting woodland tale, devoid of manipulation builds to a potent emotional coda as it showcases people stretched to their limits in a story fueled by a spiritual intensity in a naturalist terrain. Ben Foster and Thomas Harcourt McKenzie deliver unforgettable performances in a film helmed by the director of “Winter’s Bone.” **** 1/2 (4.5 of 5) We watched the Israeli film at the Quad and “Leave No Trace” at the Edgewater multiplex on Saturday and Sunday.