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Tortu (2024)
Pretty to look at, okay to watch
Poor Adam, nicknamed Tortu, can't catch a break. He loses two jobs within the space of several months and his apartment. Despite having two men in his life who want to help (as well as sleep with) him, he decides he might be better off with his French great-uncle in an admittedly pretty village. The latter has been embroiled in a long-running feud with another expatriate (perhaps an ex-lover?), who dies early on and leaves his sprawling estate to his handsome son. This sets up the romance which forms the bulk of this slender, agreeable film. Tortu's main virtue is that it frequently seems like real life, where characters face life choices whose consequences aren't clear. Making one choice doesn't necessarily lead to perfect happiness, nor does making another result in inevitable disaster. This ambiguity, combined with a leisurely pace and a fair amount of untranslated French dialogue, will no doubt drive some viewers crazy. Others will enjoy copious shots of the beautiful French countryside and the understated, finely shaded performances of the cast, particularly Daniel Tararre as the crusty great uncle. As jowly and wrinkly as Walter Matthau, he succeeds in creating a complete character without a whole lot to work with.
The Chair (2021)
A bit hit or miss, but worthwhile
The Chair chronicles the trials of Ji-Yoon Kim, deftly played by Sandra Oh, newly installed as the chair of the English Department at tony Pembroke University, the first woman and first person of color to hold the position. Of course she immediately has her hands full with restive departmental colleagues, woke students, intractable administrators and trustees, troubled adoptive daughter, uncomprehending Korean father, etc.
Given all these elements it's not surprising that The Chair seems early on to go in every direction at once, some of it not particularly convincing, particularly her maybe-romance with troubled departmental "star," author Bill Dobson. Still, enough rings true that this academic kept watching to the end of the first season. The way a thoughtless classroom misstep can escalate to a full-blown crisis in this age of social media is uncomfortably close to real life, as is the tendency to simultaneously exalt and undermine promising minority professors. The first season ends with many plot threads left hanging, with even Oh's continuance as chair up in the air. Let's hope there's a sequel!