• László Lugossy – Szirmok, virágok, koszorúk AKA Flowers of Reverie (1985)

    1981-1990ArthouseDramaHungaryLászló Lugossy

    Quote:
    A beautiful, melancholy film set in the nineteenth century but with obvious contemporary reverberations, Flowers of Reverie recently won the important Silver Bear (Special Jury Prize) at the Berlin Film Festival ’85. The story tells of a family divided by political antagonisms and allegiances in the years following the defeat of the 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence against imperial Austria. Ferenc Majlath, an ex-soldier who participated in the revolution, now allies himself with his exiled commanding officer to the dismay of his uncle, the family patriarch who is a supporter of the Emperor Franz Joseph. In a country littered with secret police eager to ferret out supporters of the failed rebellion, Ferenc is soon jailed; when he refuses to sign a confession and exhibits signs of extreme depression, he is committed to an insane asylum. Read More »

  • Frank Tashlin – Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyFrank TashlinUSA

    Carla Naples ran away from her small town life, her small town family, and a small town boy with a crush on her to become a big star. But while on a shoot in Mexico she got secretly married and turns up pregnant with no proof of marriage her agent suggests a little bit of help keeping her babies and keeping them secret, he suggests family but Carla knows there’s only one person who’ll do anything for her and that’s small town crush Clayton Pool. Carla’s little sister has had a crush on Clayton as long as Clayton has had a crush on Carla. Clayton agrees to find the baby on his doorstep and keep it for Carla until…. Carla fails to tell him it’s not one baby, but three..and the laughs go on from there.Read More »

  • Abbas Kiarostami – Five: Dedicated to Ozu (2003)

    2001-2010Abbas KiarostamiDocumentaryIran

    Quote:
    Five sequences : 1) A piece of driftwood on the seashore, carried about by the waves 2) People walking on the seashore. The oldest ones stop by, look at the sea, then go away 3) Blurry shapes on a winter beach. A herd of dogs. A love story 4) A group of loud ducks cross the image, in one direction then the other 5) A pond, at night. Frogs improvising a concert. A storm, then the sunrise.Read More »

  • Stanislav Látal – Dobrodruzství Robinsona Crusoe, námorníka z Yorku aka Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a Sailor from York (1982)

    1981-1990AdventureAnimationCzech RepublicStanislav Látal

    IMDB:
    A full-length picture based on the famous novel by Daniel Defoe. The picture, unlike the other film adaptations of the story, focuses much more on Crusoe’s life before and after his stay on the island. Following the principle of setting the novel right, it describes Crusoe’s experiences with delicate irony and understanding.
    —KrátkýFilmRead More »

  • Nadine Trintignant – Défense de Savoir aka Forbidden to Know (1973)

    1971-1980CrimeFranceNadine TrintignantThriller

    Synopsis
    The very modest lawyer (Jean-Louis Trintignant) in this case of murder finds much more than he is looking for and then must decide what to do with the unwelcome information. He is defending a woman who is accused of killing her lover. It turns out that the lover was actually killed during a holdup, and was a member of a gang which did bullying favors for local politicians; and the trail doesn’t end there.

    Un avocat est commis d’office pour défendre une prostituée chez qui a été découvert le cadavre d’un amant. L’avocat s’applique, face au mutisme de sa cliente, à faire toute la lumière sur l’affaire…Read More »

  • Jean Yarbrough – The Devil Bat (1940)

    1931-1940HorrorJean YarbroughSci-FiUSA

    Dr. Carruthers feels bitter at being betrayed by his employers, Heath and Morton, when they became rich as a result of a product he devised. He gains revenge by electrically enlarging bats and sending them out to kill his employers’ family members by instilling in the bats a hatred for a particular perfume he has discovered, which he gets his victims to apply before going outdoors. Johnny Layton, a reporter, finally figures out Carruthers is the killer and, after putting the perfume on himself, douses it on Carruthers in the hopes it will get him to give himself away. One of the two is attacked as the giant bat makes one of its screaming, swooping power dives.Read More »

  • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang – Fun Bar Karaoke (1997)

    1991-2000AsianCultPen-Ek RatanaruangThailand

    Quote:
    Pu, a young girl, has been dreaming that her mother, who had died some years before, is building a house. A fortune teller advises her that, should she continue to have this dream, her father will die when the house is completed. Her father, a playboy, is a karaoke regular. He eventually becomes involved with Yok who has connections with the Chinese Mafia. Noi, son of an American soldier who dreams of saving money, is learning English and wants to leave for America. He is in love with Pu, but too shy to reveal his love for her. Pu cannot stop dreaming about the house. Her father’s relationship with Yok brings him nothing but bad luck… ..Read More »

  • Chetan Anand – Neecha Nagar (1946)

    1941-1950Chetan AnandClassicsIndia

    IMDB says:
    The films takes an expressionist look at the gulf between the rich and poor in the society. The film centers on a wealthy and capacious landlord, Sarkar (Rafi Peer) who lives in a palatial estate high up on a mountain while the poor toil and starve in the valley below. The villagers of ‘Neecha Nagar’ harbor hate for Sarkar and their hatred is fueled even more by the fact that Sarkar plans to direct all the sewage into the village in order to make way for his housing project. The villagers protest this move with their head, Balraj (Rafiq Anwar) leading a movement against Sarkar’s plan. Sarkar’s daughter Maya (Uma Anand) joins the movement against her father and falls in love with Balraj. With the sewage flowing through the village, epidemic starts to spread and the lives of the villagers comes under threat. Can poor people of ‘Neecha Nagar’ survive the greed and wickedness of the rich? Can Sarkar and his malicious ways be put to an end?Read More »

  • Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche – Dernier maquis (2008)

    2001-2010DramaFranceRabah Ameur-Zaïmeche

    Au fond d’une zone industrielle à l’agonie, Mao, un patron musulman, possède une entreprise de réparation de palettes et un garage de poids-lourds. Il décide d’ouvrir une mosquée et désigne sans aucune concertation l’imam…

    Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche has a way of framing shots that can make an industrial landscape look like an art project. The dominant images in Dernier Maquis are of rows of carefully stacked red pallets towering in a truck yard located on the outskirts of Paris, where most of the film takes place. Under the direction of Ameur-Zaïmeche, these unaesthetic objects become fascinating to contemplate. Since his visual approach exhibits so strong a sense of control, it is fitting that he cast himself as the company boss. The yard workers call the boss “Mao,” as his leadership style feigns benevolence to keep them from organizing for better wages.Read More »

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