Adieu Godard<\/em><\/strong> (VOD August 26):<\/strong> There isn\u2019t really anything Godardian about this Indian drama, other than how infuriating it can be to watch. The premise sounds like fodder for light comedy: A man in a rural Indian village accidentally gets Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s French New Wave classic Breathless<\/em> instead of his expected porn on a bootleg DVD, and he discovers that he loves the work of the cantankerous filmmaker nearly as much as he loves porn. Ananda (Choudhury Bikash) decides to spread the gospel of Godard by putting on a Godard film festival in his village, to the bafflement and frustration of his neighbors. Writer-director Amartya Bhattacharyya shoots in a half-hearted black and white that looks like someone has just turned down the color settings, aside from awkward full-color framing scenes of Ananda\u2019s daughter (Sudhasri Madhusmita) recounting the story. It seems meant to be playful and self-reflexive like Godard, but it\u2019s alternately heavy-handed and inscrutable, with annoyingly broad performances and a lumbering, disjointed narrative. Grade: C-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Root Letter<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and select theaters September 1):<\/strong> In terms of video game movies, Root Letter<\/em> is a pretty far cry from the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog<\/em> and Uncharted<\/em>. This loose adaptation of a Japanese mystery-solving game moves the setting to the U.S. and connects the story to the opioid crisis, while retaining the central concept of a character investigating the disappearance of a former pen pal. Carlos (Danny Hernandez) and Sarah (Keana Marie) start writing to each other as a high school assignment, forming a bond over time until Sarah\u2019s letters abruptly stop. Carlos travels to her hometown to look for her, and the movie clumsily switches between his efforts and the details of what happened to Sarah. The actual mystery is wispy and confusing, and the connection between the two characters who never meet is nebulous, despite the actors\u2019 best efforts. Director Sonja O\u2019Hara aims for contemplative and haunting, but mostly ends up with a ponderous bore. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Book of Delights<\/em><\/strong> (VOD September 2):<\/strong> A schoolteacher experiences lots of sexy ennui in this languid Brazilian drama, adapted from the Clarice Lispector novel. Lori (Simone Spoladore) gazes longingly out her window at the beach, reads existentialist poetry to her seven-year-old students, and picks up various anonymous sexual partners. She\u2019s grieving the death of her mother and searching for meaning in her life, and Spoladore makes that internal quest compelling, without the need for explanatory voiceover. The moody visuals and sometimes impressionistic editing add to that sense of disconnection. Lori has repeated encounters with philosophy professor Ulisses (Javier Drolas), who challenges her to break out of her stupor and make a commitment. He\u2019s occasionally a bit overbearing, but the characters are matched in their penchant for musings about the nature of existence, and in their sexual chemistry. Director and co-writer Marcela Lordy delivers genuine eroticism and genuine personal engagement, making Lori\u2019s journey emotionally satisfying\u2014and totally hot. Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/book-of-delights-1024x683.jpg\")
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