‘Strayed’ is off the beaten path

SUSANNE PEREZ

It is June 1940 and thousands are trying to flee a German-occupied

Paris, and the roads are clogged with cars, trucks, carts and what

precious belongings they can hold.

Suddenly, a German plane passes overhead, and a blue sky is

raining bombs and bullets. A pretty young war widow, Odile

(Emmanuelle Beart), and her two children leap out of their car just

before it is hit and catches fire. A young man scoops up her little

girl and leads them into the relative safety of the woods.

Odile’s pre-teen son senses this guy’s survival instincts can help

his family, and so against his mother’s objections, he bribes Yvan

(Gaspard Ulliel) to guide them. They come across an elegant,

abandoned villa, unscathed by the war, where no one is likely to find

them.

How these people form an unlikely family unit and carve out a

rather nice existence in wartime is the basis for director Andre

Techine’s “Strayed.”

Based upon a short story, it’s an understated, quiet study of what

may happen when you’re cut off from the norm and can live any way you

choose.

A tense, exhausted Odile tries to maintain a semblance of normalcy

within her family, setting the table for each meal, doing laundry and

making the beds. She doesn’t trust this stranger and wants to find a

village where someone else can help her, perhaps believing her

situation is unique. She doesn’t like that the uneducated, mysterious

Yvan has no qualms about breaking the rules in order to survive.

One day, 17-year-old Yvan startles Odile by declaring he wants to

marry her. This triggers a subtle and surprising change in their

relationship, as she becomes ever more protective and reliant upon

this boy-man.

The pacing of “Strayed” is slow, especially for a 90-minute film,

and the ending is sad and somehow unfulfilling. Beart is one of the

leading actresses in her native France and very affecting in her

role. I wouldn’t say this is a bad movie, but it may not be for

everyone’s taste.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company.

‘Shrek’ kingdom

not just for kids

This second installment of the “Shrek” series continues the

rollicking, good-natured fun of the original. The DreamWorks team has

taken the basic idea of the family film and created a virtually new

movie genre. Advancing what began with films like “Babe” and “Toy

Story,” “Shrek 2” is an animated, multi-level comedy satire that has

wide appeal to every age group.

It combines state-of-the- art computer graphics with snappy

dialogue voiced by very hip celebrities. It ripples with dozens of

quick-witted parodies of classic movie and television scenes aimed at

the parents in the theater. Add a fast-paced screenplay to innovative

concepts and you have a mile-a-minute story that will keep everyone

laughing and doesn’t leave any time for getting bored.

Eddie Murphy is hilarious once again as the short-tempered donkey

who sounds like a stand-up comic. This time he has competition for

the role of annoying talking animal from a swashbuckling cat. The

sultry voice of Puss In Boots is provided by Antonio Banderas. Mike

Myers and Cameron Diaz are the well-matched voices behind the

newlywed Shrek and Fiona. Their troubled visit to her parents in a

faraway kingdom sets in motion the many plot developments that

include warped versions of a sinister Fairy Godmother, the Three

Pigs, Three Blind Mice, Red Riding Hood and many other fairly tale

icons of childhood.

But with a plot that moves at lightning speed, “Shrek 2” avoids

being easily predictable. It turns the concept of “Happily Ever

After” on its head before turning it sideways then setting it right

again. This is one of those rare movies where the kids laugh at one

thing in a scene while the grown-ups laugh heartily at something else

that’s over the kids’ heads. With an opening weekend that exceeded

$100 million, we’re sure to see a lot more of the continuing

adventures of Shrek and Fiona.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.