RUMBA (2008) ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon,
Philippe Martz, Bruno Romy
Dear Ms. Applebaum,
Here's a movie recommendation. It's a Belgian comedy called "Rumba". It's about a husband and wife who teach at the same elementary school, but whose real passion outside work is dancing. One night they're driving home from a dance competition, which they've won, and there's this guy standing in the middle of the road, hoping to commit suicide by getting run over. They swerve to miss him and get into a terrible wreck. She loses a leg. He loses his memory. All of it. No short-term memory. No long-term memory. No memory. The would-be suicide doesn't get a scratch. The movie goes on from there, and it's hard to describe, but it's the funniest thing I've seen in at least a couple of years. It's deadpan, absurdist, almost entirely physical. A couple of songs and some incidental dialogue, but mostly it's done without words. The same people who made it made a movie a few years ago called "The Iceberg" that I also really liked. They've obviously watched a lot of silent comedy and know what makes it work. It's like Jacques Tati meets Buster Keaton, except in this case, one of them's a girl. I just have a feeling you'd really like it. If it ever comes around your way, check it out and let me know what you think.
Nick
