Basically a good murder mystery, ‘The Right Distance’ brings in contemporary issues like anti-foreign prejudices, marriages arranged with Eastern European women online, kids with computer smarts adults lack, and how these changes disrupt life in a little town. A beautiful young woman named Mara (Valentina Lodovini) comes to replace a schoolteacher in the Po Valley. Trouble ensues. One person in town doesn’t miss a trick: 18-year-old Giovanni (Giovanni Capovilla). He is highly motivated to become a journalist and has persuaded Bengivenga (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), an editor at a big city paper, to allow him to work as a low-profile stringer in the town. His job is to keep his eyes and ears peeled without anybody finding out that he’s a reporter. Naturally, he’s good with the Internet. He helps Mara set up her connection and in the course of dong so finds out her email password. Giovanni checks in on it from home and starts reading the accounts of day to day experiences she emails to her best girlfriend back home. Thus over time he finds out that she’s attracted to the local bus driver, Guido (Stefano Scandaletti), and that Hassan (Ahmed Hefiane), who runs the garage he himself works in, is attracted to her–and is stalking her outside her house in the dark. He also knows that Amos (Giuseppe Battiston), the tobacconist who’s making a fortune taking people fishing, went out in his boat with Mara and made some moves on her. It’s Amos who has the Romanian wife chosen from an online “catalog.” Hassan is an older (but handsome) Tunisian man. He has family members in the area but isn’t married. He has been in Italy a long time.Read More »
Crime
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Carlo Mazzacurati – La giusta distanza AKA The Right Distance (2007)
Drama2001-2010Carlo MazzacuratiCrimeItaly -
Hal Hartley – Amateur (1994)
USA1991-2000ComedyCrimeHal HartleyIsabelle is an ex-nun waiting for her special mission from God. In the meantime, she is making a living writing pornography. She meets Thomas, a sweet, confused amnesiac who cannot remember that he used to be a vicious pornographer, responsible for turning his young wife, Sofia, into the world’s most notorious porn queen. Sofia’s on the run, convinced she’s killed him. Together, Isabelle and Thomas set out to discover his past, a past waiting to catch up with him.Read More »
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Arthur J. Beckhard & Joseph Lee – Girl on the Run (1953)
1951-1960Arthur J. Beckhard and Joseph LeeCrimeUSASynopsis:
“A hootchy-kootchy whodunit set at a small seedy carnival where a reporter tries to discover who killed his boss while his girlfriend inexplicably joins the burlesque show! Pure carny-noir. And see if you can spot a young Steve McQueen as one of the carnival’s customers.” – from the dvd packagingRichard Coogan, our hero, was TVs “Captain Video.” “Little person” Charles Bolender was later a regular on the Jackie Gleason Show and performed on Broadway as well. Director Arthur J. Beckhard wrote Shirley Temple’s classic vehicle, Curly Top eighteen years before this film was made.
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Rouben Mamoulian – City Streets (1931)
Drama1931-1940CrimeRouben MamoulianUSANan, a racketeer’s daughter, is in love with The Kid, a shooting gallery showman. Despite Nan’s prodding, The Kid has no ambitions about joining the rackets and making enough money to support Nan in the lifestyle she’s accustomed to. Her attitude changes after her father implicates her in a murder and she’s sent to prison. During her incarceration, her father convinces The Kid to join the gang in order to help free Nan. When Nan is released, she wants nothing more to do with the mob and tries to get The Kid to quit, but she may be too late.Read More »
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Frank Tashlin – The Alphabet Murders (1965)
1961-1970ComedyCrimeFrank TashlinUSAThe Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials. The first victim is A.A. the second B.B. and so on. Poirot is assisted in his investigations by Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp. Written by Mike HatchettRead More »
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William Tannen – Flashpoint (1984)
1981-1990ActionCrimeUSAWilliam TannenTwo Texas border guards find a jeep buried for 20 years in the desert, with a skeleton, a scoped rifle, and a box with $800,000 in cash. They decide to keep the money, but quietly check up on the info they find. Soon the Feds are running all over the place, and it looks like jeep maybe linked to the JFK assassination. But the Feds are trying to cover it up, and eliminate anyone involved with the jeep.Read More »
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Robert Gordon – Damn Citizen (1958)
1951-1960CrimeDramaRobert GordonUSABased on a true story, this film tells of a police chief hired to wipe out corruption in the Louisiana State Police. Read More »
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Neil Jordan – Angel aka Danny Boy (1982)
1981-1990CrimeDramaIrelandNeil JordanIMDB user comments
Remarkable debut feature from Neil Jordan. Reminds me of Point Blank (Boorman was the executive producer). I really didn’t expect Angel to be so good. Many familiar locations including Bray. Good sparse dialogue. Usual Irish cast including Rea (who resembles Jordan), Lally and McCann. Every scene in this movie works. I particularly liked the brass band behind the van.Read More » -
Auli Mantila – Pelon maantiede (2000)
1991-2000Auli MantilaCrimeDramaFinlandIMDB:
When her sister is mugged and raped, Oili, a young female forensic dentist, meets a group of abused women who have taken matters to their own hands to make the living in fear and just letting it happen stop.
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