Closed-door-and-stuff-inside-the magazine Syndrome: a documentary film
from India

Synopsis: For nearly six decades he has existed only through his
voice, and writings having no biography, no official photograph, the
so-called interview(s). A rare species in today's much-hyped literary
world, and that too in the present market-driven economy!

An indeterminate portrait of Saurav Kumar Chaliha, a face-less fiction-
writer of Assam, India.

Director: Altaf Mazid

click to watch this wonderful online:

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/771/Closed-door-and-stuff-inside-the-magazi\
ne-Syndrome

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Many, many years ago, I watched some footage in black & white of a
European actress, acting out a scene, again and again. I think it was
on The Film Programme. This is a long shot, but it was an
extraordinary scene of the actress getting truely lost in her role. It
may jolt someone's memory;

Norman was not showing a piece of finished, promotional material, or
clip. It was someone at work, under direction, and there were several
takes involved. (Did the Film Programme show this kind of thing?)
There was a scene in a kitchen, and the actress was backwards and
forwards, in some kind of domestic row. Someone with Jeanne Moreau's
fire and temperament maybe? She was so lost in the part, that a door
she had to furiously fling open, she repeatedly mistook, and each time
went for a door that was just a cupboard,I think, or the wrong one.
There must have been two adjacent doors. It was an extraordinary
scene, primarily one of someone who drove herself. There were tears I
remember, and she was possibly consoled by a sympathetic director.
Eventually she may have got the take, I can't remember!

I would appreciate any help or pointers. It could've been
France,Italy, probably not Spain, at that time.

Thanks
Robin

'Let Him Have It'

--- On Wed, 10/12/08, Joe <jrio@...> wrote:

From: Joe <jrio@...>
Subject: [filmtalkuk] looking for name of old movie from UK
To: filmtalkuk@...
Date: Wednesday, 10 December, 2008, 5:48 AM






I am hoping that someone can help me with a title to this movie.

This is a true story and the setting was in the 50's or early 60's.

There was an older man who these punk kids wanted to harass.
There was a group of about 5 kids all between the ages of 18 and 23.
When they approached the house, only two stayed and the rest left.
The two guys went to the roof top where there was a large glass sky
light. By this time, the police had been called and caught one of the
guys in the stair well. The other guy on the roof top had a revoler
with him. His friend who was caught tried to get him to surrender.
When one of the police officers came out of the stairwell and tried
to get the guy with the gun to surrender, he was shot in the forehead.

Both of guys were arrested and went to court. The person who shot the
police officer went to jail and the other person who was caught in
the stair well was sentenced to hang and was hung shortly after the
trial.

The shooter was eventually released from prision and now has a family.

This movie really teaches a very good lesson and I want to teach this
to my kids. I just don't know the name of the movie.

If anyone knows the name of the movie and even some of the actors,
please let me know .

Cheers !

Joe


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am hoping that someone can help me with a title to this movie.

This is a true story and the setting was in the 50's or early 60's.

There was an older man who these punk kids wanted to harass.
There was a group of about 5 kids all between the ages of 18 and 23.
When they approached the house, only two stayed and the rest left.
The two guys went to the roof top where there was a large glass sky
light. By this time, the police had been called and caught one of the
guys in the stair well. The other guy on the roof top had a revoler
with him. His friend who was caught tried to get him to surrender.
When one of the police officers came out of the stairwell and tried
to get the guy with the gun to surrender, he was shot in the forehead.

Both of guys were arrested and went to court. The person who shot the
police officer went to jail and the other person who was caught in
the stair well was sentenced to hang and was hung shortly after the
trial.

The shooter was eventually released from prision and now has a family.

This movie really teaches a very good lesson and I want to teach this
to my kids. I just don't know the name of the movie.

If anyone knows the name of the movie and even some of the actors,
please let me know .

Cheers !

Joe

Thank you....


       Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/

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Hi All,My name is Michael DeRuchie from Commodity Films.
My company is assisting with the distribution of the new movie
"UnEarthed", a thriller in which an idealistic archeologist digs up
the remains of what she thinks is an ancient Indian burial ground on a
undeveloped housing site in Tampa, Florida. However, not everybody
wants her on the site as problems escalate and she is forced to leave
by both a murder on the dig site and a restraining order. The movie
evolves into a race against time to get back the impounded artifacts
as murder evidence bringing unearthly consequences on everyone.
History, Suspense, and Mystery weave together to form a movie that
gets inside your head and stays there for days afterward. Please go
here: http://www.commodityfilms.com/unearthed and view the trailer and
leave some feedback for our distributors, we appreciate your time

According to common wisdom, if you like Napoleon Dynamite you'll like
this.  As NP does very little for me, I didn't hold much hope for Eagle
vs Shark.  Thankfully, there's an underlying warmth to this film which
I find quite endearing.  In particular, the performance of Loren
Horsley as the thoroughly decent Lily rescues the story from a simple
caricature of nerds being stupid, and gives it a touch of humanity.

Not a film I would rave about, but one that I found surprisingly
enjoyable.

Oh, and I loved the strange stop-motion episodes.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494222/

Certainly a very strange film, and one that has some quite brilliant
moments.  But it never really comes together as a coherent whole.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445161/

Surprise Film: Rescue Dawn [Werner Herzog, 2006]

A safer choice compared to last year's Heart of Gold.  And with
Herzog as director there was a possibility of something really special.
However, although Rescue Dawn is interesting, and somewhat engaging, it
feels very much like Herzog goes to Hollywood.  It's a conventional
film that has flashes of inspiration but ends unforgivably with a
nauseous all American hero (or rather German American hero) flourish.

More like Herzog is the central character: the single-minded, driven,
almost crazy man, fighting for survival against all the odds.  The
character never has that Herzog edginess, that sense of the dangerous
and unexpected.  Even though based on a true story, the character has
little sense of the real; he is more the vehicle of a familiar plot.

OK, but slightly disappointing.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462504/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462504/>

----------

Tengers [Michael Rix, 2007]

It's a rough old place, Johannesburg.  And the people look even
rougher; or at least the clay figures in this film.  These figures have
been rescued from Aardman's dustbin, and a weird mouth stuck on
their slapdash faces.

There aren't rough edges to this film, it's all rough.  In a
way, this anti-aesthetic works with the grim subject matter.  It depicts
an anarchic world, where it's a matter of maintaining sanity to try
and rustle up a laugh from somewhere.  There's plenty of grim and
tasteless humour in Tengers, some of it is very funny.

An interesting curiosity.

Festival Link: http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/Tengers/
<http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/Tengers/>



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The Kid Brother [Ted Wilde, 1927] / Get Out & Get Under [Hal Roach,
1920]

These are the first complete Harold Lloyd films that I've seen, and
I'm very impressed.  There is an inventiveness and ingenuity that
make them exiting and effortlessly funny.  It helps, of course, when you
have such a warm audience, who readily join in with laughing.

What I particularly noticed about the Lloyd films was the importance of
story.  There is never the sense that the gags are just strung together
in a convenient narrative – the comic tricks and turns seem to arise
naturally from the story itself.

Very enjoyable.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018051/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018051/>

----------

Waitress [Adrienne Shelley, 2007]

Another highlight from this year's festival – just delicious.

It has the kind of style which you get in good graphic novels –
sharp witty dialogue, characters established quickly with bold strokes,
and an eye for visual comedy.  Waitress has a seductive lightness of
touch on the surface that belies its subtle depths.

Great performances, beautifully shot, paced to perfection, tone spot on
– this film has everything.  It looks, feels and tastes great.  I
can even forgive the ending.

Wonderful stuff.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473308/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473308/>

----------

The Hoax [Lasse Halstrom, 2006]

A completely implausible story that is apparently true.  Or rather based
on truth.

One stand out moment – Irving "confessing" to his wife.
Otherwise, quite engaging, but not outstanding.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462338/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462338/>



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The Seventh Seal [Ingmar Bergman, 1957]

It's the first time I've seen this landmark film on the big
screen, and it's a special treat to see it in this new digital
restoration.

Fifty years, and the film has lost none of its power or relevance.  The
primal fear of a world without god, the dread realisation that this is
not all laid out for our convenience, still troubles the world: that
sucking leech Religion still corrupts the blood.  And yet, when the
world finally grows up and rids itself of all its gods, this film was
still have relevance: it will still speak of existential angst; the
horror and beauty of existence.

The images still have their intoxicating potency: the game of chess with
death; the procession of the doom mongers, with their incense and grim
crucifix; the merry dance of death on the horizon.

What is so easy to forget about this film, though, is its humour and joy
and goodness.  The wit and kindness of some characters, their sheer
decency, shines through the gloom.  In a strange way, the film is filled
with hope as well as despair.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/>

----------

Private Fears in Public Places [Alain Resnais, 2006]

This adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn's play works very well on the big
screen.  Resnais knows about the power of restraint.  He has a sure
sense of the underlying pulse of the scenes, and an eye for the colour
palette which will enhance rather than overwhelm.

It's refreshing to have a film that deals in loneliness and
separation with such a warmth of feeling towards the characters.  So
often a cold cynicism is paraded as profundity; here it is the maturity
of empathy.

This film remains with you long after it's finished.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498120/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498120/>

----------

Syndromes and a Century [Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006]

Don't be put off by the clumsy English title; this film is certainly
worth watching.  It may reject the neat orderly structures of
conventional plotting, but it has a poetic logic of its own.  Like
music, it's about the development and contrasting of motif; about
graceful modulations; about texture and rhythm.

It's funny, tender, unsettling, and joyous.

It may be very strange, but a rewarding experience.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477731/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477731/>



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Every Step You Take [Nino Leitner, 2007]

Some good arguments made on both sides of the debate in this documentary
about the proliferation of CCTV in the UK, but not dealt with in
sufficient depth for my liking.

The patronising voice-over should be ditched.

Interesting, but flawed.  Could do better.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990429/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990429/>

----------

Priceless [Pierre Salvadori, 2006]

It's good to round the day off with a good quality romantic comedy.

Understandably, it's hard to take your eyes off Audrey Tautou in
that dress (at least if you're a man), but the actor who really
steals the show is Gad Elmaleh.  His comic timing is superb, and he has
the kind of expressive face and physical grace that mean he would be
funny even with the sound turned off.

Nicely shot with some good set-pieces –an very enjoyable film.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482088/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482088/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Testosterone [Tomasz Konecki, 2007]

It started OK.  A promising set-up, and some mild amusement.  But then,
slowly but surely, it sank into tediousness.

Interest was briefly sparked, two thirds of the way though, by the film
breaking down.  But this was only a brief respite.

Harmless but dull.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865951/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865951/>

----------

4 Minutes [Chris Krauss, 2006]

It's the familiar storyline of older teacher taking promising young
tear-away under their wing, nurturing a formidable talent, and viola
– redemption!  There is some reliance on the customary, well trodden
plotting conventions, but thankfully the film avoids over
sentimentality, particularly in the central relationship between the two
leads.  Veteran German actress Monica Bleibtreu gives a carefully
controlled and powerful performance as the teacher, while young actress
Hannah Herzsprung is remarkable in the role of the musically talented
prison inmate.  Herzsprung's portrayal is terrifyingly realistic
– an aggressive tension between feral ferocity and restrained
vulnerability.  And the relationship between the two leads is gripping
and truly moving.

The ending is the final masterstroke of the film: brilliantly executed,
thrilling in its drama, and devastatingly poignant.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461694/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461694/>

----------

Valerie [Birgit Moller, 2006]

A confident and well-polished first feature from Birgit Moeller.  A tale
of a confident young woman who is gradually divested of the trappings
and securities of the modern world.  Agata Buzek is very impressive in
the daunting lead role.  The film strikes a nice balance between its
seriousness and its lighter moments.  It also, thankfully, remains
focussed on character, rather than opting for dramatic hyperbole.

Worth seeing.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841182/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841182/>



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Longing [Valesca Grisebach, 2006]

Here is filmmaking of the highest order.  A simple story of infidelity
is revealed gradually through a skilfully structured narrative - there
are many examples of the method of plot development contributing to the
emotional journey of the film.  And Longing is all about the emotional
connection with the characters.  I find it astonishing that the film
achieves the depth of characterisation it does with an entirely
non-professional cast of actors.  The three leads in particular give
truly incredible performances, lending the film a directness and
authenticity that cinema often struggles to attain.

The actors are helped by the absolute mastery of the director, Valeska
Griesebach, who meticulously controls the pace and tone of film
throughout.  Each nuance of feeling, each undercurrent of passion and
longing, is patiently observed; there's a brooding quiet intensity
that threatens to explode.

And then the wonderful ending, with the children.  The abrupt change of
tone is initially a surprise, but it quickly becomes clear that this is
the perfect conclusion to a very impressive film.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416213/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416213/>

----------

Among Adults (Entre Adultes) [Stephane Brize, 2006]

A modern-day "La Ronde" that's perfectly constructed and
sharp as a razor.  Every scene, linked by a character from the previous
one, is a beautifully formed miniature drama: witty, perceptive, and
with the kind of charged pauses that Pinter would be proud of.
Everything comes together in this film: brilliant writing; powerful,
sensitive acting; restrained, but forceful direction.

Each character is beautifully realised; each relationship exquisitely
examined.  And it's not just an exercise in cruelty – in
demonstrating what shits these people are.  Stephane Brize takes pains
to bring out the nuances of character, the vulnerabilities as well as
the deceptions.

Absolutely superb.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847733/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847733/>

----------

Lunacy [Jan Svankmajer, 2005]

What I fool I was to say that Taxidermia would be prime contender for
strangest film at this year's festival - when there's a
Svankmajer on the bill!

Right from the start.  White screen.  Then the supremo of the surreal
himself pops up and tells us that Lunacy is, surprise surprise, a film a
about madness, and that it's NOT art.  He pauses to glance down, and
notices a severed tongue crawling across the ground.  He registers mild
interest, continues his introduction, and promptly disappears.  Then the
film turns weird.

In Lunatic the lunatics are running the asylum, even when the doctors
supposed to be in charge get their chance.  Unrestrained freedom or
strict control, both breed cruelty and excess.  It's a mad,
forbidding and frightening world. Svankmajer says it's a world
inspired by Poe and de Sade: a horror story world.

And one that's a glorious blasphemy against the conventional.  It
revels in subversion; in the darkness and fertility of the unfettered
imagination.  It sneers at the conventional.  It gets its hands well and
truly dirty – and loves it.

And it's pretty funny as well.  An enjoyably dark experience.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407236/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407236/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Taxidermia [Gyogi Palfi, 2006]

This must be prime contender for the strangest film likely to be shown
at this year's festival.  And the sickest.

Grotesque.  That's the word.  Repulsive characters doing repulsive
things; and Gyorgy Pilfi shoots it all with loving care, with an eye for
the beauty in what's repugnant.  The calm tearing of flesh, the
squelch of lovingly handled internal organs – all realised in a
perverse choreography.

It's all much too much, of course.  An excess of excess.  Lust, and
glutony, and vomit – humanity as self-destructive consumer.  But
it's hard not to laugh with the blacker than black humour; to be
seduced by the breathtaking audacity of Pilfi's surreal visual
imagination.

The film may not be a success, but it is an interesting failure - if you
can stomach it.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410730/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410730/>

----------

Approaching Union Square [Marc Meyers, 2006]

An interesting chamber piece: various individuals on a bus who we are
acquainted with through a series of monologues.  Each separate scene is
nicely judged, a skilful revelation of character with just the right
tone of humour.

The 9/11 framing, though, just felt like a cheap trick.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818739/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818739/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tribute to Andi Engels: Melancholia [Andi Engels, 1989]

Tony Jones' relaxed introduction to Engel's only film, was a
warm and sincere personal tribute to the recently deceased founder of
Artificial Eye – a company responsible for encouraging the cinematic
education of many in the UK by ensuring the  distribution of such a
feast of world cinema.  Thank god for people like Andi, with an
overriding passion about films that puts quality before the bank
balance.  A category that must also include Tony Jones himself, someone
who through his infectious enthusiasm for cinema, has amongst other
things, developed the Cambridge Film Festival into an invaluable
showcase for a rich variety of films from all corners of the globe.

What of Melancholia, the film, though?  Unfortunately, in all honesty, I
couldn't describe it as particularly high quality.  But in a way,
that's what festivals are all about.  The chance to give films an
opportunity, films which you might not otherwise see.  Sometimes, as
with this one, they don't do anything for you.  Other times, you
discover real treasures.

Despite the film, thank you to people like Andi Engels.  And let's
hope the Tony Joneses of this world never lose their dogged
determination to bring us films that stimulate rather than deaden.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097861/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097861/>

----------

The Singer [Xavier Giannoli, 2006]

The late great Dennis P said "Strange how potent cheap music is" and
"Would someone with a hard face please protect me from those sickly and
sugared old tunes?"  And so with the second-rate songs and second-rate
venues in this delightful film, they have a strange capacity to enchant.
They, like Gerard Depardieu's lead character, Alain, are rather old
and faded, but with an endearing charm and old-fashioned integrity of
spirit.

The potentially cringe-making clich้ story of old man falls for
beautiful young woman, is thankfully handled with sensitivity and care;
with good script, skilled direction, and some lovely performances.
Depardieu is brilliant: he lacks any pretension, never goes for
over-statement, and brings real depth to his character; and C้cile De
France, in a difficult role, gets the tone just perfect.  The supporting
actors, especially Christine Citti, are also very good.

It's a film that celebrates some of those faded old sentimentalities
that bypass the brain and go straight to the heart.  The lyrics, on
paper, might make you wince, but when carried by one of those sickly
sweet tunes, they can give voice to our deepest feelings.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464828/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464828/>

-----------

Me, The Other (Io, L'Altro) [Mohsen Melliti, 2007]

On a small boat at sea is played out the drama of our times: how the
"war on terrorism" gives rise to doubts and suspicions amongst
friends and neighbours – opens up the faultiness between our
cultures.  The two protagonists are like brothers, but one seed of doubt
slowly grows into a state of open hostilities between the two.  From
seeing the things that bind them, they can only see the things that
divide.  It's a salutary film that may be a little too message
driven at times, but mostly develops its theme through development of
character.

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0827183/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0827183/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Under The Mud [Sol Papadopoulo, 2007]

The pre-film shenanigans were pretty entertaining.  First swapping
cinemas, and then being entertained by the producer, director, and some
of the cast as we waited and waited for the various technical
difficulties to be sorted out.  Thankfully, after all that, the film
itself wasn't a disappointment.  Well, OK, the style leaned a little
more towards television than cinema, and the jokes and plotlines were
mostly recycled, but somehow it charmed its way past your critical
faculties.  Much of this was down to some very good performances.

CFF Link: http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/Under+the+Mud/
<http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/Under+the+Mud/>

----------

Once Upon Tomorrow [Sandrine Veysset, 2006]

An interesting idea – the child meeting it's older self –
which never really adds up thematically in this ambitious film.  The
film never makes any intellectual or emotional justification for its
bizarre premise.  The best that can be said of Once Upon Tomorrow is
that it's a curious, atmospheric tone poem.

Interesting, but unconvincing.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436419/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436419/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Transylvania [Tony Gatlif, 2006]

Ah, yes – here is the first real gem of the festival for me; a truly
fantastic film.

From the first few bars of the stirring music, I was already disposed to
like it.  After the opening scene – a blur of passing scenery,
intercut with spilt-second stationery shots of people – I was
beginning to think that this could be good.  Within 20 minutes I was in
love.

Transylvania takes you on an intoxicating impressionistic journey across
a strange, beautiful, joyful and deeply sad landscape – which I
suspect has very little to do with the real Transylvania, and everything
to do with an Eastern Europe of the imagination.  Along with the lead
character we journey in search for love.  It's a tale of Romance; a
journey that intoxicates the senses, and stirs the emotions; a journey
of breathtaking landscapes, eccentric characters, miserable poverty, and
the richness of culture.  It may not stimulate the intellect, but it
enthrals the heart.

Tony Gatlif's direction is fresh and inventive, a sumptuousness of
style without the banality of ostentation.  Beautifully crafted shots,
and a camera that dances with the music; the patient observation of
faces, and the giddy swirl of the emotions.  It's simply
exhilarating.

One of the best films I've seen this year.

----------

Anna M. [Michel Spinoza, 2007]

This film faces a difficult task from the outset.  It has to add
something fresh to a sub-genre that has already been explored a number
of times before, with some success (e.g. `Enduring Love',
`He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not…'*).  Anna M may not escape
the familiarity of plotting, but it does have a depth of character
analysis that definitely makes it worth watching.

In this film the emphasis is not on the victim, but the perpetrator.
Michel Spinosa carefully develops our understanding of Anna in a way
which means we are deeply unsettled by her actions while feeling sadness
for how she is consumed by her illness.

An interesting film.

Cut the last scene, though.  Complete waste of time.

*In fact, I notice on IMDB that the lead actress, Isabelle Carr้, was
in the latter film.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Flanders [Bruno Dumont, 2006]

In the post-screening Q&A, the Director said that the story unashamedly
focussed on the male perspective.  This may provide some explanation for
the lead female character (Barbe – who Dumont described as a male
fantasy figure) being so irritatingly unrealistic (despite the
actress' admirable efforts to make the most of her role).  It also
suggests that in Bruno Dumont's view men fantasise about sex which
is utterly joyless, without passion, and takes place as briefly as
possible.

This caricature of human relationships is a serious flaw in a film which
otherwise has great power.  The war scenes certainly have a gruesome
impact, especially in contrast to the quiet rural scenes at the
beginning and end of the film.  Dumont pointed out that his aim is to
expose the true horror of the news stories we casually view while eating
our dinner, and he does so with an unflinching directness.  There is not
only a desire to shock, though; there is a wish to delve into the male
psychology that sustains men in such hellish circumstances.

The portrayal of the lead character (Demester) is one of the strongest
elements in the film.  The camera patiently watches his every
expression, observing the doubts and fears which momentarily surface
from beneath his passive expression, the jealousies that torment him,
and the ever present need for love.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450680/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450680/>

----------

Lady Chatterley [Pascale Ferran, 2006]


This is a story which can so easily become shallow and puerile when
adapted for the big screen, but thankfully Pascale Ferran manages to
produce something that is restrained and subtle.  The sexual encounters
- scenes which are always the most likely to descend into farce –
are approached with real sensitivity, and beautifully capture the
developing self-awareness of the unlikely couple at the heart of the
film.  The sense of exhilaration and liberation unleashed by the
couple's erotic discoveries stand in stark contrast to the dry and
constricting world of Lady Chatterley's home surroundings.  The
humble cottage in the woods becomes a kind of Eden, a retreat from the
outside world and a place where two people can develop the kind of open,
honest, and to some extent emotionally equal, relationship that is not
readily found in the outside world.

The film is not without problems.  It's far too long for a start.
It could easily have been trimmed by a third, if not a half.  Also, the
drama of the narrative sometimes feels awkward and contrived.  In fact,
the attempt to make an explicit link to the book through voice-over
narrative and textual commentary, is not entirely successful.

On the whole, though, if you stand the almost 3 hours running time,
it's a film that's worth watching.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459880/
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459880/>



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My vote for most underappreciated actor has to go to the Great Albert
Finney - nominated for 5 oscars but cruely overlooked, please check out
this petition that my frind sent me - http://afinney.epetitions.net/
lets see if we can get the man the Oscar he deserves!

Saw Paradise Lost last night in London! It's finally out in the UK.
Nerve-jangling stuff! Check out the trailer at
www.paradiselostmovie.co.uk/ - there's a cool game too!

I thought it was a great looking film and shooting in actual South
American rainforest locations was a brilliant move. People should see
the film to see how awesome the jungle looks. Maybe it will help to
stop it getting chopped down.

Anyway this kind of film only works where you have an environment that
drives the story and the Brazilian jungle does that stunningly. The
lost young backpackers storyline works and the production values seem
to be way up on other films in this genre that I have seen. . The
jungle and cave locations were incredible and I loved the way the film
kept cranking up the tension right to the end!

I like my shockfests to be stylish and this film delivered bigtime. My
girlfriend loved the shocks and she screamed a lot too!

As always when looking back at so-called favourite films of the year,
the interminable list of movies not yet seen makes the exercise seem
even more pointless that it already feels.  And yet, there is a rather
sad compulsion to go through with the process, since it provides a short
lived, if insubstantial, satisfaction.  So, having completely undermined
the whole justification for this yearly movie sugar-rush, here it
goes...

(All films have been released in the UK in 2006 - films only shown at
festivals have been excluded)

For me, there have been three top films in 2006:-

Hidden [Michael Haneke]: powerful, perfectly formed; one of Haneke's
best.
Volver [Pedro Almodovar]: another great director on top form.
Tony Takitani [Jun Ichikawa]: first seen at the Cambridge Film Festival
in 2005, this was at last released this year; a beautiful, precise but
lyrical tone poem.

Other excellent films were:-
The Death of Mr Lazarescu [Cristi Puiu]
L'Enfant [Dardenne Brothers]
Extrano (Strange) [Santiago Loza]: first shown at the Cambridge Film
Festival in 2003!
Happy Feet [George Miller]
Krisana (Fallen) [Fred Kellerman]
Junebug [Phil Morrison]
Mon Ange (My Angel) [Serge Frydman]
Lady Vengeance [Chan-wook Park]
Pusher III [Nicholas Winding Refn]

Mention must also be made of these impressive films:-
Be With Me [Eric Khoo]
A Cock and Bull Story [Michael Winterbottom]
Good Night, and Good Luck [George Clooney]
Little Fish [Rowan Woods]
Lost Embrace [Daniel Burman]
Syriana [George Clooney]

These were pretty good too:-
Capote [Bennett Miller]
The Departed [Martin Scorsese]
The Forest For The Trees [Maren Ade]
Grizzly Man [Werner Herzog]
Gypo [Jan Dunn]
Heading South [Laurent Cantet]
The History Boys [Nicholas Hytner]
The New World [Terrence Malick]
Shanghai Dreams [Xiaoshuai Wang]
Shortbus [John Cameron Mitchell]
Thank You For Smoking [Jason Reitman]
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada [Tommy Lee Jones]
Three Times [Hsiao-hsien Hou]
Unknown White Male [Rupert Murray]

Worst film I've seen this year was: The Roost [Ti West]: just plain
dull.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Satirical show RIAot was cancelled because it wasn't funny.  It
happened to not be funny about Burlusconi.  Many if not all those
who engineered its cancellation  were allegedly affiliated in some
way to Mr B.  They clearly had no conflict of interest because their
primary concern was that the satire could be libellous, and in
endlessly discussing what exactly satire was.

They also said that no one wanted to watch such a cruel show.
People so didn't want to see it that thousands gathered outside the
theatre when they couldn't get in to see the stage version specially
put on by the comedian behind the show.

Viva Zapatero! paints a frightening picture of a European country
apparently run by a man who wants to act the media mogul dictator,
aided and abetted by an apparently ineffective and quite possibly
corrupt opposition.  It's a documentary that details the easy slide
into misuse of power, and the bizarre Orwellian world of doublespeak
and fear that naturally arises to explain and support the inevitable
curtailments of freedom.  It's a world like something out of Pinter -
  language used as weapon: everyone knows what is being said is not
what is really being said; everyone knows the consequences of
ignoring what is not being said.  Those who point out the obvious
find they no longer have a job, and/or are suddenly in the middle of
a massive lawsuit.

The subject of the film is fascinating, disturbing, and bleakly
funny.  Unfortunately, the film itself is rather amateurish:
repetitive and lacking real narrative coherence.  Rather than having
a clear argument, it is a collection of interesting and sometimes
not so interesting points, assembled in a rough and ready fashion.
This serves to undermine its argument and cast doubt on the
authenticity of its depiction of Burlusconiland.

It also doesn't help that the excepts from RIAot suggest the satire
is not particularly funny: simplistic sketches with lots and lots of
canned laughter.

This film is still worth watching - but wait till it comes on TV.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0482633/]

Shanghai Dreams [Xiaoshuai Wang, 2005]

In one of the funniest scenes, the local teenage main man, with a
look clearly inspired by Elvis, impresses the girls at the local
dance with his attempt at cool dancing.  This so-
called `underground' dance plays `Rivers of Babylon'.  Western
influence is felt even here in this south-western hinterland of
1980s China.

The talk amongst the local men is of the money to be made in
Shanhai – where many of them originate, and where many wish to
return.  The tension between change and tradition is manifest
everywhere.  Wu Zemin is an authoritarian father who also wants to
escape back to the more modern homeland.  His daughter Quinghong
just wants to be to be a teenager, and is happy in the town she has
always known as home.

The film opens with a slow tracking shot down a hallway towards a
window at the end.  A red flag outside can just be seen occasionally
fluttering into view at the edge of the window frame.  This is a
film of the small scale made epic.

Impressive.

[IMDB link:  http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0456658/ ]

Gambler [Phie Ambo, 2006]

Kurt is known affectionately to his friends as C***.  Refn explains
to him that the character he is to play is a psychopath with
charm.  `I can do that' says Kurt.  He's had so much dope over the
years that he finds it hard to remember the lines.  Kurt is an actor
in Pusher II, the film which Refn is relying on to get him out of
his unbelievable debt.

Publicity before Pusher II makes much of the fact that some of the
cast have a criminal past – and so are acting themselves.  Kurt says
he is not playing himself.  He has never hit anyone with a baseball
bat.  Well, only once - and it was a broom handle.

Refn is obviously a gambler.

He spends a lot of time dosing up on indigestion remedies.

You watch this film and can only conclude that you need to be a
little mad to be a film director.  As well as being that, Refn is
also a pretty decent guy.  This film paints an affectionate but
revealing film about Refn's tribulations: his journey from crippling
money problems, to solvency and artistic success.

I remember Refn sitting regularly in the Arts Picturehouse bar last
year, when he was over for the screening of Pusher II and a number
of other films.  Having seen this documentary, you wish he was still
around – just to go over, shake his hand, and say "Well done,
mate".  And then ask him why the hell he hired Kurt…

Tideland [Terry Gilliam, 2005]

Tideland is like stepping into a Hopper painting, and finding a
world of beautiful fantasies and gruesome nightmares.

This dark film is seen through the innocent eyes of a nine year old
girl, played brilliantly by Jodelle Ferland.  It's a film which
implants disturbing images into your head.  Yet, as well as its
sinister and provocative scenes, it also has a strange beauty – a
lost world of wonder and limitless possibilities.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0410764/ ]

Renaissance [Christian Volckman, 2006]

As I left the cinema I heard several people saying the film
was `visually stunning'.  That's almost an understatement: I think
it is the most impressive `animation' film I've seen – to look at,
anyway.  And there's the problem – the story is mediocre and
clich้d, leaving just a beautiful husk.

A wasted opportunity.

[IMDB link:  http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0386741/  ]

A Scanner Darkly [Richard Linklater, 2006]

As with Renaissance, here is an animated film which looks good, but
which is badly let down by its content.  At least in this instance
the story has some potential, but it's a lost opportunity: Philip K
Dick's source material is somehow turned into something bland and
unconvincing.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/ ]

Little Fish [Rowan Woods, 2005]

On the way home, I read a rather damning review of Little Fish that
complained how long it takes for the characters to be fully
explained in the storyline.  I couldn't disagree strongly enough.
The great strength of this film is the manner in which it gradually
reveals the characters to the audience.  This means that the film
becomes as much a journey of understanding and empathy for the
audience, as an emotional journey for the characters themselves.

Cate Blanchett is brilliant in the lead role; but this is a story
which is as much about the network of people surrounding her.  The
supporting cast are fantastic, in particular Hugo Weaving and Sam
Neill.  These are performances of great conviction and authenticity.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0382810/ ]

4: 30 [Royston Tan, 2005]

It is amazing what can be conveyed with so little: a look, a stance,
the movement across a room.  The camera spends a lot of time in this
film just watching faces, and in particular that of the 11 year old
protagonist (played with great subtlety).

There is minimal exposition, just the briefest sketch to explain any
back story.  And yet the connection with the audience is as great as
if we knew the boy's whole story.

A sad tale, told with some warmth.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0497877/ ]

The Science of Sleep [Michel Gondry, 2006]

It's like a Jan Svankmajer for the multiplex.  It's certainly a lot
of fun – a visual feast of invention; a riff on the fantastical.
And something in its bold simplicity impresses: the stop-motion
water; the cardboard TV studio.  Gondry fashions a slightly surreal
world where the line between dreams and reality becomes less and
less distinct.

The weakness of the film, however, lies in the subservience of
plotting to visual showmanship.  There is little coherent purpose or
underlying seriousness - unlike in Gondry's magnificent `Eternal
Sunshine'.  Mind you, it's still great to just sit back and enjoy a
filmmaker who is clearly having so much fun.  And if the visuals are
not enough, then there is always the comedy to keep you on board.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0354899/ ]

Summer In Berlin [Andreas Dresen, 2005]

A crowd pleasing comedy drama that has much to recommend it.  The
friendship between the two leads characters is beautifully realised
by Inka Friedrich and Nadja Uhl, and the director goes for a quietly
observant style which leaves plenty of room for subtlety.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0477877/ ]

Krisana (Fallen) [Fred Kelemen, 2005]

Along with `The Death of Mr Lazarescu' this, for me, is one of the
great finds of the festival.  Shot on DV in high contrast black and
white, it is a captivating contemplation on guilt and love.  This is
cinema that takes its time – that completely immerses you in its
world.  It unfolds in long slow takes with imagery both seductive
stark, and a prominent, claustrophobic soundscape.

The story is simple but emotionally complex, with a genuinely
affecting twist in the finale.  But there is also a wry humour –
particularly in a scene stealing moment featuring one character who
is surely destined to become one of cinema's classic world weary
detectives.

Kelermen proved to be engaging and articulate in the Q&A following
the film.  It was mentioned that there will be a retrospective of
his work in London in September.  It would be wonderful if the
retrospective could come to Cambridge as well.  I'm sure that there
are many like me who are not familiar with Kelerman's work and who,
on the evidence of this film, are hungry to see more.

[IMDB link:  http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0470840/ ]

Co/Ma [Mike Figgis, 2004]

In CO/MA you can't trust anything.  Apparently it's a documentary
about a group of filmmakers attending a workshop where they have to
make a film in a ludicrously short time.

The only parts of this film you can pretty sure about are the
excerpts shown of the awful soap the `students' are filming.  The
rest of the time it is never clear whether this is a real
documentary or mock documentary, whether the people are genuine or
acting.  Normally this sort of experiment becomes excruciatingly
tedious, but for some reason CO/MA maintains an interest.  It is
first of all good fun, a kind of piss take of all the reality TV
genre, but it does also work on a more serious level (manipulation
of the audience, etc).

Whatever you do, though, don't believe anything in it real.  I even
have my doubts about the whole workshop thing.

And what ever happened to Max von Sydow?

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0457307/ ]

Edmond [Stuart Gordon, 2005]

Edmond just wants an honest deal.

He leaves his wife and sets out for a night on the town, a bit of
freedom from his miserable life.  Every encounter along the way
seems like someone out to cheat him.  Every transaction has a price,
and it's usually too high.  Everyone has an angle.  He just wants to
explain how he feels; and he ends up with someone else's blood on
his face.

This is a powerful film, fizzing with Mamet's sharp, stylised
dialogue.  William H Macy's wonderful performance renders the
transition from the naive to the murderous both credible and very
frightening.  The camera constantly studies his face – finding
someone in desperately need of genuine connection; someone who is
raging at the injustices of life; someone who spouts vicious racism
and wants to preach in church.

Edmond is not necessarily a very likeable man, yet he becomes a
sadly tragic figure.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0443496/ ]

The Roost [Ti West, 2005]

A mildly amusing mock TV horror introduction is about the only thing
of interest in this clich้ ridden film.  It's a horror film that is
not very frightening, just tediously long: the 80 minute running
time seems like 180.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0387549/ ]

Berlin Stories [Irene von Alberti / Miriam Dehne / Esther
Gronenborn, 2005]

Apparently, this consists of three `challenging tales' where `Berlin…
is the main character'.  For `challenging' read unimaginative and
falsely profound.  For `Berlin' read any number of western cities.

No, that's a little harsh: the first story (of an acting student
coming to terms with a new role – in a somewhat pretentious sounding
play – and becoming lost in the city) has some interest, and has the
advantage of featuring a character that has at least some depth.

The other two stories just try too hard to make an impression –
looking for meaning in histrionics and clich้.

[IMDB link:  http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0448130/  ]

Humphrey Jennings: Listening To Britain (Spare Time – 1939 / London
We can Take It – 1940 / Words For Battle – 1941 / Listen To Britain –
  1942 / A Diary For Timothy - 1945)

The camera observes two women talking together in an empty street.
A woman plays a piano and a group of men gather round to sing.
Armoured vehicles move in convoy through Parliament Square.  All
these beautifully photographed scenes are examples of Jennings' keen
eye for the symbolic, which make these `poetic documentaries' such
fascinating and resonating films.  Many of the scenes are clearly
staged, and frequently designed to showcase a simplistic – but
during those terrible war years, forgivably necessary – patriotism.
But there is also a desire to show the dignity of ordinary people,
and a genuine wish to celebrate the resilience of a nation stoically
enduring the hardships and horrors of war.

It is hard to watch these films without constantly making
comparisons with contemporary life.  In the last film shown – `A
Diary For Timothy' – we follow the first year of Timothy's life,
which crosses the divide between a wartime and peacetime Britain.
The film questions how Timothy's generation will deal with the many
social problems that existed at the end of the war.  Little Timothy
represents all the post war generations, and asks us to question how
our society looks in comparison with the one captured by Jennings.

Eros [Wong Kar-Wai, Steven Soderburgh, Michaelangelo Antonioni, 2004]

Three films by some A-list directors, all dealing with the erotic.
Eroticism as a theme is one thing, but a film being erotic is
another entirely.  All of these three films are to some extent the
former, but only one of them comes anywhere close to the latter.

And that's Wong Kar-Wai's `The Hand', where there are moments of
muted eroticism.  However, even in this film the more appropriate
description is probably sensuousness; it's a mesmerising,
beautifully meditation on longing and thwarted desire.  Just magical.

The Soderbergh film is very different – clever and witty, with
Robert Downey Jr and Alan Arkin on top form.

The last of the trilogy – Antonioni's effort – can only be described
as drivel.  It is of embarrassingly poor quality.  It chooses to use
the most nudity of the three, and is completely without any
eroticism whatsoever.

[IMDB link:   http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0343663/ ]

Magic Eye [Kujtim Cashku, 2005]

There are some interesting ideas here about the manipulation of the
image, and the relationship of the image to reality.  I liked the
grainy photography, the performance of the male lead (Bujar Lako),
and I felt drawn into the nicely judged finale; but much of the rest
of the film never really came together into a satisfying whole.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0419934/ ]

Colonel Bunker [Kujtim Cashku, 1998]

The madness of totalitarian rule is here manifest in the lunacy of
installing bunkers across the whole of Albania.  The metaphor for
the mentality of the regime works well, especially when conveyed by
moments of surreal humour.  However, the imagery and performances
were sometimes a little too forced: the inner machinery of the film
a too much on display.

[IMDB link:  http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0115923/  ]

Gypo [Jan Dunn, 2005]

I've always been attracted to Dogme style films; this first UK
addition to the Dogme canon does not disappoint.  It helps, of
course, that it has such a good cast.  Pauline McLynn is a
revelation, proving that she is much much more than Mrs Doyle; Paul
McGann gives a bold performance as an unlikeable character; and
Chloe Sirene is a revelation as a Czech refugee girl.

The film is structured around one story, but seen from the view
point of three different characters in succession - a technique used
in films such as Lawless Heart.  I particularly like the way, in
this film, the same scene is often significantly different when
looked through the eyes of each character, so that we get a vivid
insight into their perspective on events.  Just watch how different
the viewpoints of Helen and Paul are on their crumbling marriage.

As well as the comically bleak, and at time brutally disturbing,
disintegration of this marriage, the other big theme is introduced
through the character of Tasha, the Czech refugee.  The film is at
pains to dispel many of the Daily Mail type myths about such people,
but importantly, does so in a way that naturally emerges from the
storyline.

Shot on a miniscule budget, I think this film has more immediacy and
poignancy than many a big budget feature.  And the gripping finale,
which is brilliantly shot, makes for a fittingly powerful and
uplifting close to a good quality film.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0443526/ ]

H6: Diary of a Serial Killer [Martin Garrido Baron, 2005]

It's described as a `shocker', and I can't argue with that.  There
are extreme scenes of carnage here, photographed with voyeuristic
sadism in a rich artistic style.

There is little meaningful story, just bucketfuls of psycho-babble.
And no interesting denouement to give the whole enterprise some
semblance of meaning.

No, its pretty much gratuitous violence, if that's your thing.  Not
for me, though.

[IMDB link: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0455115/ ]