I haven’t been to that many plays and I could probably enumerate the really good plays I’ve seen on the fingers of one hand. Because even though the theatre is a big thing, a lot of the stuff being played there is very mediocre. But, there are good plays from time to time. The problem is that the form of putting them on is terribly outdated. I mean that whole thing where the actor talks to the audience and “noone can hear him”? Noone is buying that. The theatre doesn’t have the possibilities that movies have.

Which is precisely why taking a good play and making a movie of it can really bring out the bright points of that play. Like in the case of Six degrees of separation. I can imagine what it looks like on stage, which is why I like the movie all the more. The strongest point is that the plot is very good. Without trying to give anything away, the plot is very unclear and unexpected. It doesn’t make you guess what’s coming, you don’t feel compelled to. And there’s no way to know either.

It is a bit of a cliché on rich people living hollow lives and having all kinds of petty problems, but it has enough depth to not make that aspect be anymore than a secondary concern. The story is what drives it forward, and it is complex enough to fill 2 hours without boring you at all. The characters are ‘tasteful’ – vivid enough to be palpable, but subtle enough to not make you get sick of them. (This is something I get in theatres a lot – characters that are so dominating that their depth is exhausted long before the play breaks 30 minutes, and if they are annoying too, well..)

Luc Besson strikes again. The guy has a passion for stunts and martial arts, but this movie from 2004 is far better than the Transporters and doesn’t make the slightest effort to be funny or charming, in stark contrast to the Taxis. It is a far more focused effort – focused on long, intense action sequences that stir your imagination.

How often do you see a truly violent movie that ends in a morality tale saying that violence is not the solution to our problems? If you can stand to ignore your instincts for a tight plot, solid casting and a proper escalation of the story, there is a chance you may really enjoy Banlieue 13. The mass killing scenes do get tedious at times, but the movie features some ground breaking stunts, based on parkour, the discipline of running at and jumping over urban obstacles at a high pace. It is a sight to behold, especially considering that most of these scenes were made without any kind of technical aid. So much cooler than yet another car chase.

Then, of course, comes the added benefit of bragging rights for watching classy European cinema “a film, is what it is”, rather than the same old Hollywood productions remade over and over. Until your friends see it and call your bluff, that is.