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- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya MihashiReiko DanJunko Ikeuchi25 July 2015. Missed the first 20 mins due to NDP rehearsal traffic jam from hell .Beautiful shots like French New Wave and the frequent doublecrossing and changes of allegiance are suitably confusing and destabilising.
- DirectorGeorges GachotStarsRachel BalassianoJoão DonatoMarc FischerWhere are you, João Gilberto? sets out in the footsteps of German writer Marc Fischer who obsessively searched for the legendary founding father of Bossa Nova, Brazilian musician João Gilberto, who has not been seen in public for decades. Fischer described his journey in a book, Hobalala, but committed suicide one week before it was published. By taking up Marc Fischer's quest, following his steps one by one, thanks to all the clues he left us, we pursue João Gilberto to understand the history, the very soul and essence of Bossa Nova. But who can tell whether we will meet him or not?30 May 2023. Things don't add up, pacing feels off. Deeply flawed.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsChaisiri JiwarangsanShe paints her nails by the swimming pool. He waits lying on the sofa. The boat leaves.4 June 2023. Doggo on film, talking about your dreams, and fireworks - always fireworks - light and heat, combustion and irreversible chemical changes
- DirectorFellipe BarbosaStarsMarcello NovaesSuzana PiresThales CavalcantiExploring issues of class privilege among Rio's decadent elite, Casa Grande depicts a teenage boy's struggle to escape his overprotective parents as they covertly spiral into bankruptcy.6 Jun 2023. Sensitive realism - the family driver bringing his employer's son to a sex worker to lose his virginity, impending bankruptcy necessitates the son taking the public bus and preparing him for the trip involves $10 in the pocket in case of robbers. This is a film which suspends judgment, shedding light on difficult aspects of Brazil - class, privilege and income disparity, race, quotas and revolutionary anger - but seen largely from the perspective of budding adulthood
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.11 Jun 2023. Rewatching this two decades later. I remember Ben being blown away by this and me less so. On second viewing, I still don't find it to be as masterful as it's been made out to be, but I appreciate the epic storytelling. As with the first time, the evil of children in the slums remains the most chilling image of all.
- DirectorLarry ClarkJonathan VelasquezStarsGabrielle SonierEnzo CamelliniVincent MacaigneParis. Gabrielle and Enzo, two teenagers from the same gang, meet in front of the school. Cigarettes, the affirmation of sexual desire and the discovery of new drugs punctuate their day. Each one, in his own way, celebrates or laments childhood that is slipping away.14 Jun 2023. Couldn't locate meaning in the cliched cycle of youthful cigs, coke, sex
- DirectorDavy ChouStarsPark Ji-minOh Gwang-RokGuka HanA twenty-five-year-old French woman returns to Korea, the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple, for the very first time. She decides to track down her biological parents, but her journey takes a surprising turn.9 Jul 2023. Great, if somewhat predictable soundtrack with Shin Jyun Hyung. I thought this was quite a sensitive take on the difficulties of navigating self and family as a cross-cultural adoptee, though something also feels missing
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.12 Jul 2023. What can I say that I haven't said before about this? It's a film about friendship, wine as a metaphor for life, middle-age crisis, recurrent struggles of romantic relationships. The humour is easy and gentle, the characters displaying their flaws authentically. This would have to be at least my third viewing - I, revisiting an easy film at different junctures of my life, learning different things each time. This time - I've largely stopped drinking, am comfortably middle-aged, and recurrently in tumultuous relationships
- DirectorAhmed El MaanouniStarsLarbi BatmaNass-El GhiwaneAbderrahman PacoThe very popular Moroccan group Nass-El Ghiwane are filmed, in performances, meetings, interviews, and collaborations with other musicians.26 Jul 2023. Watching this after day 1 of the IOHA conference in Rio. The subtitles are a godsend - their lyrics are poetic salves to oppressive life. Their vast audiences are stirred - in a trance - they run up to hug the band, there is commotion behind while the security tries to maintain some kind of order.
- DirectorVicente AmorimGuillermo ArriagaStephan ElliottStarsBasil HoffmanEmily MortimerRodrigo SantoroThird installment of the Cities of Love series (Paris, je t'aime / New York, I Love You / Rio, Eu Te Amo), this collective feature-film is made of 10 stories of romance set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.11 Aug 2023. Vapid, inauthentic, boring.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames WoodsDebbie HarrySonja SmitsA programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.2 Sep 2023. I can't believe this used to be shown on late night TV. The censorship department must have had their work cut out for them in the 80s and 90s. I'm so glad to watch this three decades later and recognise Cronenberg's brilliant analysis of our relationship with the recorded image, virtuality, neuroplasticity and more.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTetsuya WatariTatsuo UmemiyaYumi TakigawaA self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the Japanese mafia but quickly loses his self control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.3 Sep 2023. I first watched Miike Takashi's remake of this two decades ago. I loved the brooding nature of that film and it remains one of my favourite films from Miike. Finally watching the original now by Fukasaku, I find the film to be still intriguing on the level of the individual anti-hero, and with more undercurrents of the history of post-war Japanese society at play. I feel Miike's remake to be even more valuable in the way it departed from the original and extended the conversation.
- DirectorLawrence Ah-MonStarsKit Man TamWing Yin CheungMan Sze AuThe film depicts the story of four troubled teenage girls in Hong Kong. The story revolves around a young pregnant girl and her friends embarking on a journey of drug use, suicide, betrayal, and growth.8 Sep 2023. This Y2K relic is a time capsule of such specificities: dial-in programmes on FM radio, pirated VCD stalls in Mongkok, cornucopia of convenience store childhood snacks.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsKim Sang-kyungMoon So-riYoo Joon-sangTwo friends, while having drinks together, share their memories of visiting the seaside resort of Tongyeong.13 Sep 2023. Lightweight.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsUlrich ThomsenHenning MoritzenThomas Bo LarsenAt Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.21 Oct 2023. Finally watched this classic Dogme 95 film. Absolute Kingdom (Lars von Trier) vibes - with similar idea of the back room kitchen staff having the type of knowledge that the guests in the front have no idea of.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.23 Oct 2023. Distracted rewatch.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsBanlop LomnoiSakda KaewbuadeeHuai DessomA romance between a soldier and a country boy, wrapped around a Thai folk-tale involving a shaman with shape-shifting abilities.23 Oct 2023. May be my favourite Apichatpong. Love the two halves. Easy naturalism in the first, primal mythicality in the second.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJordan GelberSelma BlairChristopher WalkenRomance blooms between two tricenarians in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.11 Nov 2023. Good Solondz isn't that great. Bad Solondz is quite the pits. I really don't know what the film is trying to convey - the plot of a nearing middle-aged man who is selfish and never found a real purpose in life. Hm ok.
- DirectorPenny LaneStarsJex BlackmoreChalice BlytheNicholas CroweA look at the quick rise and influence of the controversial religious group known as The Satanic Temple.12 Nov 2023. Great docu about the Satanic Temple (TST), which glorifies Satan as a metaphor for anti-Christian supremacy and minority rights. When TST made US news in 2014/15 for challenging the constitutionality of publicly installed 10 Commandments monuments by asserting their right to installing a Baphomet statue, I don't think anyone fully understood how important their fight was. Watching this today in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade is grim.