Right. It's time to get serious. I have no less than 22 preview DVDs or what is known in the trade as screeners.
I've deliberately been ticking off cinema releases because we are just about to go on hols for a week and I need to make sure I have no DVDs left to see by the time we return.
It may mean Mrs W laying on her own in the sun for some of the time but she knows the challenge and we are ready to get back on track.
But before we head off for sunnier climes (there is someone in our house, Mr Burglar), I have started to make inroads into the DVDs already.
But before I watched Hadewijch I made a schoolboy error - I looked at what Wikipedia had to say about Bruno Dumont's film.
Unfortunately, its assessment was less of a spoiler and more of a precis of the whole movie, from start to finish.
Thus, there are a couple of twists and a major shock scene which would have stirred my emotions had I not known they were coming.
Celine Hadewijch is the central character, who is tormented by trying to reconcile her deep love of a Christian God with her place in society.
We first meet her at a convent but her devotion is such that the nuns believe she is self-obsessed and chuck her out.
Her meanderings then lead her to resent her well-to-do parents and making friends who are well outside of her family's normal social set.
Hadewijch incisively demonstrates the turmoil young people go through on all sorts of different levels, particularly with regard to faith and relationships.
Julie Sokolowski is quiet but precise and effective as Celine. Her portrayal of turmoil is particularly impressive considering this is her debut film.
Indeed, the whole movie rests on her performance. She is scarcely out of shot for the entire 101 minutes.
Hadewijch is an unusual movie but its quietness suits its subject matter and gives the viewer time for reflection.
Laughs: none
Jumps: one
Vomit: none
Nudity: of course...it's French. Even in a movie about religious devotion, there is a full frontal scene.
Overall rating: 6/10
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