• Pawel Lozinski – Nawet nie wiesz, jak bardzo cie kocham (2016)

    2011-2020DocumentaryPawel LozinskiPoland

    Relationships with the people you love most are often the most complicated. This is the problem Hania and her mother Ewa face during their sessions with a psychotherapist, filmed intimately and with the utmost respect by director Pawel Lozinski. The camera always focuses on one person at a time, revealing every emotion hidden behind the words and silences. The empathetic therapist carefully but purposefully peels away the hard layers under which mother and daughter shield themselves. Little by little, the personal tragedies that hamper their communication rise to the surface, as well as the source of the longing for love and acknowledgement that they find so hard to fulfill. The documentary takes place within four walls and a tight framework, yet at the same time it makes a long and fascinating journey to the inner recesses of the human mind: sometimes dark, sometimes warm, always familiar.Read More »

  • Juliusz Machulski – Vabank II, czyli riposta AKA Point of No Return (1985)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJuliusz MachulskiPoland

    In this sequel to the hit comedy Vabank, Poland’s most popular screen actor (Jan Machulski) returns as legendary bandit Kwinto. When the suave thief’s long-time enemy Kramer escapes from prison to get even, Kwinto calls upon his old gang to meet the threat. Set in the 1930s, the sequel features Kwinto and the gang matching wits against everyone from crooked bank managers to Nazi border guards.Read More »

  • Juliusz Machulski – Vabank (1981)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJuliusz MachulskiPoland

    Set in Warsaw in 1930’s. After six years in jail, framed for bank robbery by an accomplice, the legendary Kwinto has only revenge on his mind. He is a safecracker in the old style, a thief with a sense of pride and loyalty. Upon leaving the jail he learns that his friend with whom he played in the jazz band has been murdered by the same guy – now a bank president – who sent him to prison. Kramer hopes to keep Kwinto’s mouth shut by paying him off, but at the same time he hires a paid gun to kill him. Meanwhile, some young, petty crooks hearing that Kwinto is free want to join forces with him for a job. Kwinto, employing a retired professional and two young admirers, pulls his last job to get even with Kramer…Read More »

  • Penelope Spheeris – The Boys Next Door (1985)

    Drama1981-1990CrimePenelope SpheerisUSA

    When Bo and Roy, 18-year-olds fresh from school and seemingly normal, decide to hit LA for one last fling before settling into factory jobs, neither they nor the audience are prepared for their sudden descent into committing a series of brutal, apparently motiveless murders. Whereas Spheeris’ The Wild Side was weakened by sentimentalising its disaffected punk heroes, her second feature presents a tougher and more balanced view of teen violence; while we’re allowed a glimmer of understanding into the murderers’ feelings, we never indulge them with misplaced sympathies: these boys are monsters.Read More »

  • Djordje Kadijevic – Praznik AKA The Feast (1967)

    1961-1970Djordje KadijevicDramaWarYugoslaviaYugoslavian Cinema under Tito

    Quote:
    Set in the mountains of Serbia, the film takes place during the Christmas time in 1943. Chetnics (yugoslav army in the homeland) are stationed in the village and they deal with two American pilots who have crashed in the mountain nearby. Initially welcomed, the Americans believe they have found allies who will get them to the Partizans (communists) very soon. It does not work out that way, and while they are dined and wined at first, later on they are detained. During the night, however, the two captives escape…Read More »

  • Yusup Razykov – Voiz AKA The Orator (1998)

    1991-2000ArthouseDramaUzbekistanYusup Razykov

    Iskander, a gentle Uzbek man, is convinced by a Russian friend to give an impromptu speech praising the Communist Revolution. Impressed by his eloquence, the Soviets make Iskander a spokesman – a precarious position in a turbulent time.Read More »

  • Louis Malle – Black Moon (1975)

    1971-1980FantasyFranceLouis MalleSci-Fi

    Synopsis:
    Louis Malle meets Lewis Carroll in this bizarre and bewitching trip down the rabbit hole. After skirting the horrors of a mysterious war being waged in the countryside, beautiful young Lily (Cathryn Harrison) takes refuge in a remote farmhouse, where she becomes embroiled in the surreal domestic life of an extremely unconventional family. Evocatively shot by cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Black Moon is a Freudian tale of adolescent sexuality set in a postapocalyptic world of shifting identities and talking animals. It is one of Malle’s most experimental films and a cinematic daydream like no other.
    — Criterion Collection.Read More »

  • Shinsuke Ogawa – Nihon Kaiho sensen: Sanrizuka no natsu AKA The Battle for the Liberation of Japan: Summer in Sanrizuka (1968)

    1961-1970DocumentaryJapanPoliticsShinsuke Ogawa

    Quote:
    In 1968, Ogawa decided to form Ogawa Productions and locate it at the newly announced construction site of Narita International Airport in a district called Sanrizuka. Ogawa chose to locate his company in the most radical of the villages, Heta. Some farmers immediately sold their land; others vehemently protested and drew the support of social movements across the country. Together they clashed with riot police sent in to protect surveyors, who were plotting out the airport. Summer in Sanrizuka is a messy film – its chaos communicating the passions and actions on the ground.Read More »

  • Yoshishige Yoshida – Amai yoru no hate AKA Bitter End of a Sweet Night (1961)

    Drama1961-1970AsianJapanYoshishige Yoshida

    Plot: An ambitious department store worker endeavors to improve his station in life
    by manipulating women to get what he wants – money that is.Read More »

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