For my entire school days, and for most of my adult life, I would have said that movies requiring sub titles were not worth watching. My belief was that they were pedantic and overly "artistic" and just plain hard to understand and downright boorrring!!.

I was wrong, at least in the case of these two movies. They have things in common. They are both French, have a Gay plot or subplot and are fairly easy to understand. In fact, in both cases, but particularly with "Times", one almost forgets that there are sub titles being used.

I saw Times Have Been Better at a screening at a local bookstore/cafe here in Nashville and found it a delight. It reaches far beyond the "gay film" designation and gives a good picture of an entire family in France. The older brother is gay and comes out to his left wing parents. Should be a breeze, right? Well it isnt. During the course of their coming to cope with this new information, we get to see the inner workings of the entire family. Will the husband and wife grow closer of further apart? How will they deal with their younger, less "focussed" (at least conventionally) son. Will they (or one of them especially) try to force him into a mold that they want him to fit into, or let him go find his own path throught life. These are basic human questions and the Gay subplot seems almost a sideline to the deeper exploration of what, precisely, it means to be a family and how a family negotiates change. I strongly suggest seeing this movie, but if you get it on DVD, do make sure that the sub titles are "on". Altought you may forget all about them during the movie, unless you speak French, you will be lost without them.

I liked the second movie, altought my raves about it are a bit less wild. It is basically a coming out/relationship story as well, but more specific and yet a little less certain. There are lots of questions left unanswered. Mathieu is the protagonist and while on "vacation" with his ailing mother and bitchy sister, manages to find a love interest. There is all sorts of uncertainly in the movie. I was left wondering WHY he and the love interest were no longer together at the end and why he was talking to Cedric's ex, at the very end of the movie. I wanted to believe either that Mathieu would go back to Cedric or get with this other guy. Uncertainty about the future, I understand. What bothered me a bit more was the uncertainty about what had happened in the story as "told". It did occur to me, however, that perhaps there is a message there about how our lifes really are experienced when it gets down to it. We often dont know what causes breakups, even of our own relationships, much less other peoples. Was Cedric "guilty" of something we arent told about, or was Mathieu having some sort of emotional upheaval, perhaps a genetic disposition to depression, etc

While Times is readily findable on the internet with sources for purchase available online, I was unable to find Come Undone again when I tried to find more information (beyond the picture). Thusly I am unable to say whether it would be hard to find or not. However, if you are able to find it online or happen upon it, I recommend seeing it. It is not a bad way to spend an hour and a half. If you see it and have any clearer understand of "how things happened as they did" give me a hint. (LOL)