"L'affaire Nina B." (aka "The Nina B. Affair") (Robert Siodmak, France, West Germany 1961) One of the few movies Siodmak made in France. A story of love and corruption on background of post WWII germany's economic boom. Siodmak directed this story like a film noir. The whole is interresting even if it's not the best Siodmak. 7,5/10
"Cagliostro - Liebe und Leben eines großen Abenteurers" (aka "Cagliostro) (Richard Oswald, Germany, France, Sweden 1929) The life of the well known european adventurer. Adapted from the novels of Alexadre Dumas, a very nice and entertaining movie unfortunatly not complete, parts are lost forever. By the way nice directing, good acting of Hans Stüwe and Renée Héribel. Good directing mixing german expressionism and french avant-garde... Some strongly erotic scenes (nudity!!) with a pretty Illa Meery.... A good silent 8,5/10
"The Face Behind the Mask" (Robert Florey, USA 1941) Certainly one of the best Florey's movie with Peter Lorre as Janos 'Johnny' Szabo a hungarian immigrant, very brave and naive, who is strongly disfigured in the fire of his hotel and who'll become a dangerous chief of gang... But one day he meet a blind girl and fall in love, he wants to leave but his "friends" do not agree... Classic story but nice directing of Florey with great use of ellipsis and nice acting of Peter Lorre in a sympathic character for one time !! 7,5/10
On screen re-watched "Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution" (aka "Alphaville") (Jean-Luc Godard, France 1965) Strange movie about the story of a secret agent (Eddie Constatine as Lemmy Caution) who's in charge to bring back a girl from Alphaville a strange town where computers (personified as Alpha 60) rule the life of people and where words progressively dissappear... A strong reflection about the language, with references to the thinking of people like Heidegger and Barthes. At the begining of the computer age and binary language, the fear of the lose of the culture and society with the lost of the human language... Strongly actual at internet, SMS and facebook age... Huge filming and photography 9/10
"Omoo-Omoo the Shark God" (Leon Leonard, USA 1949) Ultra-poor B movie about the story of sailors who comes to a savage island nhabited by natives who have the cult of the shark god... some huge black pearls are the eyes of the god statue and have disappeared... Some of the sailors may have been here before... Adapted from a Herman Melville novel it's very cheap directed and acted... For B fans only. 5/10
"Waga koi wa moenu" (aka "Flame of My Love") (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan 1949) Strong drama about the fights of a feminist activist in the late XIX century's Japan. Very violent story and strong commitment without any ambiguity against a man's world. very good acting, huge filming. 9/10
"The Damned Don't Cry" (Vincent Sherman, USA 1950) A nice film-noir about the story of a woman Ethel (Joan Crawford excellent) who's ready to do everything to make a success of her life... she will use men and be used by them. Will she get safe from this man's world ? Nice story mixing "Baby Face" and Film-Noir. Nice directing and photography a great Joan Crawford and a terrifying David Brian... 8,5/10
"Der rote Kreis" (aka "The Crimson Circle") (Jürgen Roland, West Germany 1960) Great adaptation of a novel of Edgar Wallace. The story of a man who escaped guillotine and escaped prison and who'll take revenge as a mad killer "the crimson circle" Very nice filming and photography. lot of action and suspence.... 7,5/10
"Tôkyô no onna" (aka "Woman of Tokyo") (Yasujirô Ozu, Japan 1933) Very moving drama of a woman who's a prostitute at night to pay the studies of her young brother. Of course he don't know anything, but one day the rumour gets too strong... Very strong and simple movie where we already can what were the influences of Ozu at that time (the US Silent movies, Lubitsch...) and what will be his unique style : fix shots of objects, empty places, position of the camera, few movements... Very interresting movie 9/10
@fungus: Alas, I don't think the film has found a distributor yet. But it will be shown at the film market of the Berlinale next week - maybe that will help...
"Under My Skin" (Jean Negulesco, USA 1950) Nice mix of melodrama and film noir. The story of a jockey Dan Butler (JohnGarfield) and his son, fleeing from a country to another because Dan is involved in rigged races... they arrive in Paris and Dan meets a nice girl, Paule (Micheline Presle) who accuses him to be responsible of the death of her man... Furthermore some thieves find him back and want get back some money he made them lose... He'll have to lose next race otherwise... Nice story even if with some cliché, very entertaining with lot of action. 7,5/10
"Cannibal Girls" (Ivan Reitman, Canada 1973) "these girls do EXACTLY what you think they do" !! Poor cult gory movie from the 70's... a bit boring (frequent in the genre) and great non sense (frequent in the genre too) and not strongly gory... Some nice shots but too rare... 4/10
"The Nanny" (Seth Holt, UK 1965) A Hammer-Seven-Arts production with Bete Davis as a curious nanny accused by the young joey to have kill his little sister... Of course nobody believe him and he becomes the suspect and and he is put in an asylum... Two years later he comes back... always very hostile with the nanny.... soon his mother is poisened and his aunt dies... Who's really sick ?? Nice filming, great acting by Bete Davis and the children... lot of suspense. 8/10
"Coeur de lilas" (Anatole Litvak, France 1932) Litvak is definitively an underated director. He made movies throughout the world, all genres... And was a good director. Just watch this nice an poorly known movie. A simple story of a policeman who infiltrates downtown to find a murderer and fall in love with a nice prostitute Lilas, but another guy (Jean Gabin) a thief is also in love. Simple story but good acting and huge directing very very inventive and a huge use of camera move, and also some element of french avant-garde... Truely original filming. A movie that make you think sometimes to the poetry of Borzage. Great one 9/10
"Tirez sur le pianiste" (François Truffaut, France 1960) Second feature of Truffaut, this movie is an homage to the US crime cinema of the 30's to 50's with a great dose of irony too. Great acting and directing. But everybody knows this classic... 8,5/10
"Clash by Night" (Fritz Lang, USA 1952) Love triangle in a small fishermen town... Nice melodrama with great casting, Babara Stanwyck, Marylin Monroe, Robert Ryan and Paul Douglas... Great acting. Not the best american movie of Lang but even a small Lang is a good movie 8,5/10
"María Candelaria (Xochimilco)" (aka "María Candelaria") (Emilio Fernadez, Mexico 1944) Wonderfull melodrame about a couple of very poor indians deeply in love but even too poor to get married... Maria Candelaria is the daughter of a prostitute and is banned from the village... One day a famous painter see her and want to paint her... nude. The tragedy becomes inevitable... Wonderful filming and acting of the beautifull Dolores del Rio and a convincing Pedro Armendáriz. The settings (natural location near Mexico city) are huge too. A great movie 9,5/10
"The Creeper" (Jean Yarbrough, USA 1948) A man turns himself in a mat cat-like monster, thanks to a secret serum, to kill people and take revenge... A good and entertaining small B from the vault. Acting is musch better than the usual average (Janis Wilson is not bad at all as the possessed daughter). For B fans. 6,5/10
"The Creature Walks Among Us" (John Sherwood, USA 1956) Last of the sequels of the creature. In this one, scintists capture the creature and discover he can live on earth is they activate his lungs... then he begins to transform and becomes more human. But the evil in men will make him become violent too... A good ending for the serie. Not bad filmed and acted. A good B 7/10
+ Celda 211 // 2009 (7.7/10 with14,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed par Daniel Monzón
Really good "jail movie" with great acting. The story is cool but at start you think that it lacks originality, then you realise you're not watching a Holywood movie but a European one ! Who needs happy ending anyway...
+ Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da // 2011 (8.2/10 with 5,500 votes)
Directed par Nuri Bilge Ceylan
It is the kind of movie, I'm actually happy when "the end" appears... Visually it's really well done but it's way too slow for my taste. During 2h30 you're waiting for something to happen but nope, it never happens. The movie touches different topics which are really interesting but it's just too slow and long. I don't have anything against slow movie (I love Tarkovki and Kubrick) but then it has to have an amazing directing and some deep philosophical topics. Anyway, interesting movie but wayyyyy too slow (at least, in my opinion)
+ In Time // 2011 (6.5/10 with 58,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Andrew Niccol with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Johnny Galecki ("The Big Bang Theory") and Olivia Wilde
Well I had to unplug my brain to swallow the whole concept of the movie (I really cant understand how there's not one murder every 2 seconds in that kind of world..) I liked Justing Timberlake in it. I changed my mind about him after his different episodes of Saturday Night Live and since then, everytime I see him in a movie I think he's doing an okay job. Andrew Niccol is probably the meanest director for making her lead actress run the whole movie in high heels lol Anyway when you get passed the stupid concept, it's a fun movie to watch !
+ A Better Life // 2011 (6.9/10 with 3,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass) with Demián Bichir 1 Nomination to the Oscars
Touching movie about immigration in the US but above all a story about a dad and his son (reminded me of "Ladri di biciclette") The director manages to avoid clichés and political messages. Demián Bichir is really great and totally deserve his Oscar nomination (more than Clooney anyway!) I gotta admit it lacks originality but it is a touching movie with a great lead actor.
@ theoffice911: Too bad you didn't like Ceylan's movie. I've started watching his other films after I saw Anatolia. They are much shorter. ;-) And equally good in my opinion. Indeed not so much about philosophical subjects, but about people struggling with their lives
It was my first Ceylan's movie, I gotta admit it doesn't wanna make me watch more... I've started watching more Turkish movies since a year and this is the only one I didn't like so far.
+ Kick-Ass // 2010 (7.9/10 with 182,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) avec Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) Clark Duke (Sex Drive) Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Stardust) Chloe Moretz (500 Days of Summer) et Nicolas Cage.
It's a crazy movie but damn it's satisfying ! The music is really great and the action scene are awesome (love the stroboscope scene!!) Chloe Moretz is 15 andd already has a nice filmography, she was amazing for that role. Like "Scott Pilgrim" it's a movie made by geeks, for geeks !
Super 8 (2011) 3/10 Recipe: take some nerdy kids, one unattainable pretty girl, a never really visible monster, a single parent family, some parents who fight each other initially but later reconcile, explosions, some tanks that represent 'the army', an army bad guy, more explosions, a lot of night scenes with sound effects for 'suspense', a weirdo who smokes pot for a slight touch of 'alternative', some scenes with kids riding bikes in suburbia, a vague reference to Roswell. Shake well. Et voilà: you have a film entertainment product that will be swallowed by a 'target audience' of 'young males'.
L'Apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close) (2011) 5/10 Bertrand Bonello's film shows life in an expensive Parisian bordello around 1900. We mainly see daily routine, boredom and some anxiety, despite the abundant supplies of champagne. It has a strange mix of romanticism, voyeurism and fatalism that didn't work for me.
Der Räuber [The Robber] (2010) 7/10 Effective and simple (true) crime story about a marathon champion also robbing banks. No unnecessary details, no explanations, just the outcast doing what he does.
Le gamin au vélo (2011) 7/10 The brothers Dardenne in an almost optimist mood. 11-year old boy in search of the father who abandoned him, and his foster mother trying to keep him out of trouble. Great performance by the kid.
Iklimler [Climates] (2006) 8/10 Great portrait of a disintegrating relationship. A remarkable detail is that Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan plays the main character, and his real life wife plays his wife. It's wonderfully shot, the pace is patient, the mood is overwhelming, and there is always a certain uneasiness scratching the surface, as if everything can explode any second.
Üç maymun [Three Monkeys] (2008) 8/10 Four people trapped in complex mutual relations. Beautiful arthouse film by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
"Titanic" (Jean Negulesco, USA 1953) Of course very different of Comeron version, this one is very good, less spectacular but interresting by the very good cast and acting (Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck a young Robert Wagner...) Even the scenes of the sinking are quite good for the time. 8/10
"The Three Faces of Eve" (Nunnally Johnson, USA 1957) Impressive movie about a woman mentaly disturbed with a problem of multiple personality... here three. Directing is not inventive at all but wonderfull acting performance of Joan Woodward. 8/10
"L'équipage" (aka "Flight Into Darkness") (Anatole Litvak, France 1935) Nice love triangle during WWI. A young pilot meets a nice girl Denise (Anabella) just before going to war as a pilot. At the base he meets another pilot (Charles Vanel) who becomes his friend and partner on flights. One day he ask him to give a letter to his wife Hélène... He realise that Denise and Hélène are the same person... Very nice movie very well acted and directed. 8/10
"Lo spettro" (Riccardo Freda, Italy 1963) A strange story of a man the dr Hitchcock who is paralysed and cured by his friend the doctor Livingstone and his beautifull young wife Margareth (Barbara Steele). Of course Livingstone and Margareth are in love. She pushes him to Kill the old Doctor. But then his ghost begins to haunt them. Not the best Freda but interresting and sometime very nice shots and sequences. 6,5/10
"Frisco Jenny" (William A. Wellman, USA 1932) Wonderfull drama about Jenny the dauther of the boss of a San Francisco brothel. She's in love with the pinist of the bar but her father don't agree... The 1906 Earthquake destroy all, her father and lover die. Sh'es alone with a child now... She become queen of the night and the greatest madam in town but she had to abandon her child... Then the boy has grown up and is now district attorney and want to eradicate crime in the town... The drama is inevitable. Great movie, very moving great direction of Wellmann and great performance of Ruth Chatterton... 9/10
"Midnight Mary" (William A. Wellman, USA 1933) Another social pre-code movie from Wellman once more with strong commitment, how powerty leads to crime. Here Mary (Beautifull Loretta Young) a poor orphan tries to leave in the right way, but no job for the poors... So she goes with the chief of a gang Leo (Ricardo Cortez) During a hold-up she meets Tom a rich young man... they fall in ove, he finds her a job... But she's recognized by a cop and goes to jail... Tom marries and then when she comes out the only way is to go back to Leo... But she once more meets Tom always in love with her, Leo very jalous wants to kill Tom... sh kills him first.. Excellent movie buit with many flash-backs, excellent directng and acting. 9/10
"Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N." (Raoul Walsh, USA 1951) Pure entertainment in technicolor !! Adventures of the Captain Hornblower (Gregory Peck excellent) through the seas from South America to france during the war with Napoleon... Wonderfull movie full of adventures, romance (Virginia Mayo is beautiful) fights... Very Good ! Even id the cheracters have few psychologiy it's not impoortant here, it's just what they do... 8,5/10
"Our Town" (Sam Wood, USA 1940) Very nice and touching chronicle of a small american town... Time is passing, people born and die. The last 1/2 hour is especialyy movieng and very well filmed (Influence of W.C. Menziès) when the deads are talking in Emily's dream. The ending is an happy one not like in the play the movie is adapted from... A good one. 8,5/10.
+ We Need to Talk About Kevin // 2011 (7.7/10 with 10,500 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Lynne Ramsay with Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly 1 Nomination to the Golden Globes 3 Nominations to the BAFTA 1 Nomination to the Festival de Cannes
Tough movie. It was a really good idea to mix scenes from old past, less old past and present. I think it's great a woman directed it, pretty sure only a woman can give life on tape to such a situation. Damien of "The Omen" seems like a cute kid now :) Tilda Swinton is really great, awesome actress for a very interesting movie.
"Fanboys" (Kyle Newman, USA 2008) Though the film has been released quite a while I never had the chance to watch it. I was pretty much suprised. As a huge Star Wars Fan I was afraid that this movie is only a lame sequence of cameos. But I think the movie is quite good. The story isn't a masterpiece of course but it is entertaining and the cameos work pretty good (like William Shatner as himself). 8/10
"(Ludwig Thoma's) Lausbubengeschichten" (Helmut Käutner, Germany 1964) Still a movie I really like. Shot in a beautiful landscape with a lot of local colour. About 1886, young Ludwig Thoma (Hansi Kraus, well known in Germany as Pepe of "Die Lümmel von der Ersten Bank") living his life in a bavarian village and playing pranks to the prussians, the local reverend and his horrible aunt. 8/10
"Irréversible" (Gaspar Noé, France 2002) A really hard movie. I wouldn't recommend it to soft souls. The story is telled in reverse chronological order like in "Memento". People who know the movie mostly know too that there are mainly two parties. The one that is scared of by the brutality and explicity of some of the movies scenes like the killing scene in the Rectum or the rape scene of Alex (Monica Bellucci) and the other party that sees these tough scenes as necessary for the authenticity of the movie. I have no problem with such scenes but I think a little less brutality isn't destructiv towards the movies authenticity. Beside this topic, I think the movie is ok. Neither great nor trash. 6/10
"Decision Before Dawn " (Anatole Litvak USA 1951) A strong war movie about a rare subject. The story of a Marines officer and Two German soldiers parachuted beyon the front in german territory to bring back precious informations. The two germans are war prisonners recruited by the Allies. The motivations of the both are very different. The three guys will have a lot of adventures through a country suffering of the war in full rout... Good directing, and a gret photgraphy... A poorly known movie to discover 8/10
"Marat/Sade" (aka "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade")(Peter Brook, UK 1967) During Napoleon's reign, the Marqui de Sade is put in an Asylum. He get the permission to put on a play about the assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday during french revolution. The patients of the hospital are going to be tha actors. To the first aims of the play, the strong opposition between to way of destruction, one collective (the revolution, defended by Marat) and one individualistic and masochist defeded by Sade himself, the play takes it's own existence and a more complex reflexion arises about freedom, madness... The actors sometimes completly escape to the play and show the spectators other darker aspects of life... Adapted by Brook from a famous play of Peter Weiss, the movie delivers a strong and deep reflexion on various subjects (Freedom, Revolution, The People...) sometimes very actual (some allusions are purely for today's spectators...). The direction of actors is of course huge, and the acting too (Patick Magee as Sade and Ian Richardson as Marat are very good). An intellectual movie of course but nowadays it's important to watch movies which have something to say. 9/10
"Death Rides the Plains" (Sam Newfield, USA 1943) Ultra-poor B western from the vault by a king of the B's (He could make 23 movies in one year!!) with a reccuring character the Lone Rider (11 movies) (a clone of the famous Lone Ranger) played here by Robert "Bob" Livingston a star of B western, with his comical sidekick Fuzzy Jones (Al St. Jones). Here the two fellows will have to trap a bad guy and his gang who are selling a ranch to many men who dissappear (and the money with them) as soon as they come to visit the ranch... Simple and budget less this small western is in fact short enough to be entertaining. For B fans only. 6/10
"On purge bébé" (Jean Renoir, France 1931) First speaking movie of Renoir, this is the adaptation of a famous play by Georges Feydeau. The hilarious story of a man who tries to sell bedpans to the army... a representant of the ministry must come home for diner. At the same time the boy of the family is constipated and the mother want to give him ricin oil to purge him !! But he doesn't want it !! By the way the rumour says that the representant of ministry (Michel Simon) who comes with his wife is dupe by the cousin of his wife (Fernandel)... Vitriolic and hilarious point of view on french bourgeoisie, very enjoyable. 8/10
+ Take Shelter // 2011 (7.7/10 with 8,300 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Jeff Nichols with Michael Shannon Critics Week Grand Prize in Festival de Cannes
Amazing movie about fear and paranoïa (Just because you're paranoid. Don't mean they're not after you!) Michael Shannon, is truly great. To me it was the best male performance of the year (with Jean Dujardin) I can't understand how the Oscars missed it... There are some powerful scenes, Hitchcock-style. The directing is wonderful, really good use of the music during the most important scenes. In my opinion, one of the best movie this year.
+ Sin City // 2005 (8.3/10 with 333,000 votes on IMDb) --> 124th Best Movie on IMDb
Directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino with Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy et Elijah Wood 1 Nomination to the Festival de Cannes
Really light scenarios but a great atmosphere. I'm not a big-fan of the 40's noir genre, mostly because I find them too slow-paced. Here in 2h you basically have 3 noir movies. No need to say that you barely have time to catch your breath ! Visually this is candy for the eye (seems it was made for WTM ! You can pause anytime and have a SotD lol) It could have been a 10 for me if the 3 stories could have had a link or maybe just more depth.
+ The Sunset Limited // 2011 (7.4/10 with 7,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones with Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson
In the same style as "Tape" and the awesome "Man from Earth" this is a in camera movie. Two people, a man of faith and a depressed atheist are talking to each other for 1h30. This is clearly not a pop-corn movie ! It's interesting and there are a coupel of really smart and deep dialogues. I really liked the ending.
+ J. Edgar // 2011 (7.0/10 with 15,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Clint Eastwood avec Leonardo Di Caprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench and Armie Hammer (The Social Network)
Big disappointment from one of my favorite director. The movie is 2h15 but I found the half hour really boring. Di Caprio is good but honestly the masks they used to make the actors look old are really annoying. It looks too fake. The story is interesting but we dont learn much more than what we already know about Hoover. I liked all the investigation about the Lindbergh baby. Technically it's well done, but nothing really captivating.
"Titanic" (Herbert Selpin, Werner Klingler), Germany 1943) Strange movie indeed about the famous shipwreck of the Titanic. The anti-capitalism is the main argument of the movie which of course is full of nazi's propaganda, the only positive characters are the german officer and a rich russian girl who becomes poor... The wreck is here clearly caused by the cupidity and the blindness of the rich owners of the ship and all the speculators. The movie was banned in Germany cause of the scenes of panic but distibuted in France. The director Selpin, was arrested by gestapo just before he finished the movie and was found hung in his cell the day after (a helped suicide). The scenes of the sinking are well made. A strange movie indeed. 7/10
"Die Bande des Schreckens" (aka "Hand of the Gallows") (Harald Reinl, West germany 1960) Another nice Krimi, adapted from Edgar Wallace novels. A dangerous criminal is hung but promise to come back and kill all the people responsible of his death. Soon after those people become to die one by one... Good story, a movie well directed with lot of action, nice photgraphy too. 7/10
"Nijûshi no hitomi" (aka "Twenty-Four Eyes") (Keisuke Kinoshita, Japan 1954) The story of a young teacher who comes for her fisrt job in a small village... She get a class of 12 8-years old children. One day she's hurt by thier fault (a bad joke). She must stay home for a wile. The children decide to visit her 8 kilometers away from their home. They take a picture of them all. Then all the movie's centered on this pictures. Time passes by some of the children go away, some come back, war comes some will die... Extremly moving movie, wonderfull acting and directing.... A masterpiece 10/10
"She Freak" (Byron Mabe, Donn Davison, USA 1967) Said to be a Z remake of "Freaks"... indeed 80% of the movie is a documentary about fun house. 1,5/10
"Jungle Girl " (John English, William Witney, USA 1941) A nice serial about a girl Nayoka and her father a doctor who live in the jungla in Africa in a tribe of... indians of course. But the evil twin brother of the doctor kills him and takes his place to streal the diamonds hidden in the secret caves of Nakros... Nayoka and her friends (a native child, an elephant and two pilots) will have to face many dangers !! Very entertaining it's not the best Serial of Witney/English, the masters of the genre, but Frances Gifford is pretty good and gives a lot of energy, and Tom Neal is convincng... For B fans 7,5/10
"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (Joseph M. Newman, USA 1952) Remake of a movie made 4 or 5 times, the story of "bad" people banned from a town after a bank robbery, they are thrown away in the winter, during a tempest of snow... they find a caban in the woods but the robber of the bank comes too... an oppressive whodunit begins... Excellent western very dark. The photography is huge. 8/10
"Fury at Furnace Creek" (H. Bruce Humberstone, USA 1948) Another great poorly known western about the massacre of an convoy of settlers and the sodiers of a fort by indians due to an order given by a general... But the general in martial court says he did not give such order, and die... Sometimes later his two sons comes in the town just near the fort and try to rehabilitate the honnor of thier father but for very different reasons... A good western showing how corruption led to chase indians away from thier territories, here to give access to silver mines to corrupt people. Very interresting screenplay, nice directing and acting of Victor Mature. 8/10
"Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" (Andy Fickman, USA, Germany, Canada 2005) Watched on screen this very funny musical, remake of the mythic movie "Tell your Children" (Louis J. Gasnier, 1936) (I've watched it too it's amazing...) Very good choregraphy even if the music is a bit repetitive !! The dialogs are often funny, and a frigthening ending in a Night of the Broken Glass way. Nice one 8/10
"The Fast and the Furious" (John Ireland, Edward Sampson, USA 1955) One of the early Corman production, a poor B made in 9 days for 50.000$. The story of a thief wrongly accused of muder who kidnap a pretty girl with a race car and who'll join a race to reach Mexico. They fall in love too... Cheap road movie, for B fans only 5/10
"Hot Rod Girl " (Leslie H. Martinson, USA 1956) Another movie for teenagers with cars, rock'n roll and spoty love stories... Those movies present as usual "clean" young rebels to reassure the parents. Indeed those movie are made for the parents who worry about those children they don't understand. Pure products of a lost time and a lost cinema. The directing and the acting are poor... 4,5/10
"Nabonga" (Sam Newfield, USA 1944) Another ultra-poor PRC jungle movie with the great star of the B Larry 'Buster' Crabbe as a young man who tries to find back the jewels the associate of his father stole (it pushes Crabbe's father to commit suicide) but unfotunatly the thief's plane crashed in the jungle, he survived with his little daughter. They get adopted by a huge gorilla... Now, the little girl is a beautifful white sorceress and Buster will need to have lot of diplomacy with the girl and the gorilla to get back the jewels... Completly broke movie, another so bad that it's good... 4/10 for Z fans 8/10 at least....
"The Last Days of Pompeii " (Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, USA 1935) A poorly known adaptation not very faithfull to the famous novel but once more great use of the huge settings, huge special effects for the time (the destruction of the town is very good). The story introduce a stong religious part making the life of the upstart Marcus crossing many times Jesus one... And the final redemption of course at the end. Despite some clichés a nice movie to discover 7,5/1
A Perfect Getaway (2009) 5/10 What should have been a lovely honeymoon on a Hawaiian island turns into a nightmare. Your average thriller (i.e. a bag of plot holes), but at least it has a surprise.
Milk (2008) 6/10 A biopic about a man with a mission, which, as a film, is not so exciting. Fine acting by Sean Penn, though.
Take Shelter (2011) 7/10 A man is plagued by apocalyptic visions. Is it prophesy, or is he going mad? I found the first 119 minutes too slow because they are lacking tension: everything moves inevitably towards a predictable conclusion. And when things turn upside down, in the last minute of the film, as a sort of afterthought, there is no time left to profit from the new opportunities this opens. Nevertheless, acting, dialogues and music are all fine.
Apflickorna [She Monkeys] (2011) 7/10 This Swedish debut film has been compared to My Summer of Love and Naissance des pieuvres, and it has been remarked that it's considerably weaker. Both observations are right. There's a lot of potential in the story, the acting, the cinematography and the music, but the tension never really builds up to anything.
Hodejegerne [Headhunters] (2011) 7/10 Nothing special, but it's a stylish, energetic and good-humoured Norwegian thriller.
Hugo (2011) 5/10 Poor characters, poor acting, stupid, far-fetched, childish story, and an overdose of pseudo-artistic silly smoke in half of the sets. It would be a joke if this wins any Academy Awards. Trying to make a homage to film history does not mean your film deserves a place in that history.
The Artist (2011) 6/10 It's fun, brave and goofy on many levels, but it also has the same weaknesses as the old silent movies had: characters remain totally flat due to the limited means of expression and the stories are utterly simplistic.
Darbareye Elly [About Elly] (2009) 7/10 The film Iranian director Asghar Farhari made before last year's Jodaeiye Nader az Simin is a story about a young woman disappearing while on a trip with a group of friends. Like his later film it shows how life in Iran is a balancing act within a web of complicated moral dilemmas, resulting in lies and more lies to cover up the previous ones.
+ Tower Heist // 2011 (6.3/10 with 21,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Brett Ratner with Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Téa Léoni, Gabourey Sidibe
What a pleasure to see Eddie Murphy again! I mean see Eddie Murphy good again ! Everytime he appeared on screen he made me laugh or smile. Nothing original in this comedy, but overall it's fun.
"Affair in Trinidad" (Vincent Sherman, USA 1952) A dark story under the tropics with the mythic couple of Gilda (Glen Ford, Rita Hayworth). It looks a bit like "To Have or To Have Not" but in Trinidad. A man is assassinated by secret agents working for an evil country to get secret weapons. The wife of the guy, a nightclub dancer (Rita Hayworth) fall in love with the brother of her husband (Glen Ford) but is also coveted by the chief of spy and murderer... She's secretly recruited by the police to find clues... Interresting movie even if the direction of Sherman is a bit static. Not Bad 7/10
"Jules et Jim" (François Truffaut, France 1962) Re-watched this classic on TV, but everybody knows it 9/10
"Trog" (Freddie Francis, UK 1970) It's sad to see Joan Crawford finishing her great career in this ridiculous horror movie... Some spéléologists find a caveman living for centuries under the earth, Trog. The Dr. Brockton (Poor Joan Crawford) try to communicate with the "missing link" But the mayor of the town doesn't agree and make Trog becoming mad and blood thirsty... then there is only one way... destroy Trog... Poor movie.... sometimes becomes funny. for Z fans. 5/10
"La guerra di Troia" (Giorgio Ferroni, Italy/France/Yugoslavia, 1961) The story of the capture of Try par the Greek army thanks to the malicious Ulysses. Steeve Reeves plays here the trojan Aeneas who try to save Try despite the cowardness of Paris (Warner Bentivegna) Helen is cute (Edy Vessel) the whole is very entertaining even if brad Pitt's not there... and perhaps more funny indeed... 7,5/10
"The Walking Dead " (Michael Curtiz, USA 1936) A small B movie by Curtiz who directed some indeed. In this one a man is wrongly accused of murder by mobs and corrupted lawyers and is killed on electric chair. He's saved by a scientist who bring him back to life just after he died. But know he seems to have strance power and can guess who is responsible of his death... he will take revenge. Very nice small horror movie of the golden age with a great Karloff as usual... Just note the white hairs on the back-to-life Karloff, you''l fin the same on Bogart head in the return of Dr. X !! A good one 7,5/10
"Stranger on Horseback" (Jacques Tourneur, USA 1955) One of the less known Tourneur's movie. This western is very good indeed. Filmed in the strange Asco-color it gives sometimes, especiallyon the outside a strange poetry to the movie, for example the sequences at night, or the stranges colorsof the sky (green, yellow somtimes). The story is more classical with a judge who comes in a small town controled by the richest man of the region who makes is own law... His son is a med killer and the judge put him in jail and want to judge him... Nice directing and acting of Joel McRea and John Carradine in a great composition of corrupted procecutor and who's the kingpin of the story between the judge and the Riche Rancher. A good movie 8/10
"Born to Be Bad" (Lowell Sherman, USA 1934) Great bitter social drama with to great stars Cary Grant and the beautiful Loreta Young. The story of a woman Letty, who's a prostitute (Loreta Young) trying to educate her son alone. But he's becoming more and more tough. One day is injured (not badly) by a truck driven by a rich guy Malcom (Cary Grant). She tries to extort him money during the trial but she's discovered and justice take her child from her. Malcom who can't have child with his wife want to adopt him... A nice pre-code movie with some stong moments. 7,5/10
"The Big Cube" (Tito Davison, USA/Mexico 1969) Another sad movie where you can watch Lana Turner and George Chakiris lost in this terrible movie. The story of a naive rich young heiress (Karin Mossberg) who is abused by an attractive young man (Chakiris) who's also a LSD dealer... He just want to marry her for money... After her father's death in an accident he convinces her that her stepmother is responsible. With the use of drugs they'll try to push her to comit suicide... well, terrible movie with a boring directing, acting is poor too... sad. 5/10
"Against All Flags" (George Sherman, USA 1952) Nice pirate movie with a great cast : Erroll Flynn, Maureen O'hara and Anthony Quinn. Lot of adventures in this film even if it's not Flynn best pictures (he was in big trouble at that time and we can see it as he always look drunk on screen). The final fight with Quinn is good and Maureen O'Hara is pretty as a female pirate... 7,5/10
"The Garment Jungle" (Vincent Sherman, Robert Aldrich, USA 1957) Surprisingly good film noir (not a true one but very like) about the corruption and the fight between unions and the mobs in the garment industry. People compare it often with on the waterfront and find this movie less good. But in fact the comparison is useless because the only thing in common is the unions otherwise it's a very different movie, very violent and made in a documentary style (see Karlson's Phenix City Story for example) and adapted from a true story. The acting is very good especialy Lee J. Cobb and it's also an occasion to watch the beautifull and tragic Gia Scala on screen. A nice one 8,5/10
"The Lone Rider Crosses the Rio" (Sam Newfield USA 1941) The Lone Ride and his sidekick Fuzzy, running from a corrupted sherrif, cross the Rio Grande from Texas into Mexico. Then he's arrested as being the notorious bandit, El Puma, as charged by Jarvis an ally of the corrupted sheriff, but he's realised by the mayor an old friend. Later, at a fiesta at Torres' hacienda, Tom learns that the mayor is angry and objects to his son Francisco to marry with cantina-dancer Rosalie. The mayor asks the Lone Rider to 'kidnap' his son to keep him away from Rosalie, and they do and then Francisco is re-kidnapped for real by the real El Puma, who's in fact Jarvis... Follow me ? Incredible B western from the vault, third adventure of the Lone Rider (there will be 17!) this one is very entertaining. All that story in 57 minutes !! A tour de force ! Nowadays it would need A 2 hours movie with a sequel ;) for B fans 6/10
"Born to Be Bad" (Nicholas Ray, USA 1950) The story of Christabel (Joan Fontaine) a poor girl who'll do everything to marry a riche man Curtis (Zachary Scott) even sacrifice is true love with a writter (Robert Ryan). Nice drama on a classic story very sad and disenchanted. Very nice performance of Joan Fontaine and a touching Robert Ryan. Nice Meledrama not the best Ray's movie but good. 7,5/10.
+ Gone Baby Gone // 2007 (7.8/10 with 90,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Ben Affleck with Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and Amy Ryan 1 Nomination to theOscars
I last saw this movie 4 years ago and since then thought a lot about the ending... and I still have no answer on what I would do in Casey Aflleck's situation. Ben Affleck may not be a great actor, but he's a good director (confirmed with "The Town") I gotta admit I like his little brother too, everytime I see him he plays well ! Amy Ryan is really great and deserved her Oscar nomination that year. I really like this movie, great actors, clever story and long hours of internal debate afterwards.
+ Puss in Boots // 2001 (6.8/10 with 26,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Chris Miller (Shrek 3) 1 Nomination to the Oscars
I know it's hard to make an original movie for children but this one lacks way too much of innovation. In terms of story, you can throw away everything. Rest the cool voice of Banderas, a couple of jokes that makes you smile but that's it.
Decided to re-watch all Tarkoswski's movies So I begin with the begining "Ivanovo detstvo" (aka "Ivan's Childhood", Soviet Union 1962) What to say except it's great. How to make a monster... Tarkowski's cinema is more than cinema... it's metaphysics. 10/10.
It happened one night - beautiful comedy, with brilliant performances, no surprise it took all the most important Oscars that year. 8/10 The Descendants - nice drama about troubles in one family. The storyline is excellent and very interesting, the only thing is I didn't get emotional about their destiny, maybe because of their relationships and lack of mutual feelings. 7,5/10
Empire of the Sun - 9,5/10. Let alone the wonderful story of this movie and its strength and beauty, Bale's performance is the best performance by a child actor ever, in my opinion. I don't know what the Academy was doing in 1988.
Les anges exterminateurs (2009) 1/10 Apparently an autobiographic film in which French director Jean-Claude Brisseau - charged and fined for sexual harassment during auditions of his previous film, Choses secrètes - tries to regain his reputation. With this arty-farty soft porn, however, he only underlines that he is a dirty old man.
Pandorum (2009) 4/10 Very poor variation on a variety of older science fiction thrillers. The film is an assault on one's sense of logic, we endlessly see the main character moving through similar dark corridors, there are numerous fights with evil creatures that happen so fast that it's impossible to see what's going on, there's a bimbo to fill in the need for a bimbo, etc. Even the CGI is worthless: check out the monumentally ridiculous waterfall in the concluding scene...
Sleeping Beauty (2011) 6/10 In this Australian debut film directed by Julia Leigh, university student Lucy (Emily Browning) has many jobs and likes to take risks: her newest job involves being sedated and selling her sleeping body for fetishistic fantasies. On the one hand it's an intriguing and stylish film about an unfathomable character in a perverse business. On the other hand it doesn't deliver on plot and motivations, making it a rather pointless voyeuristic thing. (One infuriated female critic wrote: 'A movie like Sleeping Beauty would be infuriating if it came from a male filmmaker. From a woman, it feels like betrayal.')
Sykt lykkelig [Happy, Happy] (2010) 6/10 Debut film by director Anne Sewitsky shows two unhappy couples, neighbours in a remote part of Norway, struggle to get their lives (back) together. Partly black comedy, partly absurdist drama, it's entertaining but not really gripping.
Ha-Hov [The Debt] (2007) 6/10 The Debt (2011) 6/10 Israeli espionage thriller, and its American remake, about three Mossad agents looking back on their mission to capture the 'Surgeon of Birkenau', thirty years earlier. An interesting case of a Hollywood remake, because it shows the difficulty of 'improving' or 'adapting' a film. In some aspects the remake is better, in others the original is better. But it's funny to see that the biggest improvement is also the biggest weakness. The remake introduces a new character, the daughter of two of the secret agents, who is plot-wise a convincing improvement. But it also means that a romance needs to be inserted into the story, which only messes things up. And it means that the title, and thus the entire film, gets a subtle, but essential new meaning: being in a daughter's debt, instead of in a nation's debt.
Violeta se fue a los cielos [Violeta Went to Heaven] (2011) 6/10 Biopic about Chilean singer and artist Violeta Parra (1917-1967), directed by Andrés Wood. The portrait is beautifully made, jumping effortlessly back and forth in time and avoiding hagiography. The problem, at least for me, is that Parra's work and performances are not so exciting.
The Descendants (2011) 7/10 Nothing special, but a well made and entertaining casual tragicomedy with George Clooney's Hawaiian shirts in a starring role.
Carnage (2011) 8/10 Maybe a bit too theatrical, but Polanski's deconstruction of good manners is great fun to watch.
So I dedicated this week end to Poverty Row Movies, and B products from Majors.
"Murder by the Clock" (Edward Sloman, USA 1931) A rare small B movie from the paramount at the golden age of horror. In this one an old and rich lady Julia Endicott is owner of a castle and a cimetery She has a son Phillip very strong buf simple minded. She also has a nephew she don't like, Herbert, because he married a cupid girl Laura. But she decides to make him her heir when she'll die... And the day after the signature she's found dead. All accuse Phillip the desinherited son. In fact Laura pushed Herbert to do that and then she helps Phillip to escape and tells him to kill Herbert but indeed it's Thomas her lover who does it... The inspector begins to have some difficulies to solve these murders... Furthermore Herbert is not dead and may be able to speak if he recovers... Very entertaining small B with twisted script, a typical whodunit but a good one. 7/10
"Charlie Chan in Honolulu" (H. Bruce Humberstone, USA 1938) Charlie Chan was a recuring character of the Warner with many episodes in this one the detective is played by Sidney Toler. The famous detective, father of 13 children, is going to be grand'pa for the first time but the day his daughter must deliver a murder is commited on a boat on the waterfront. His son, who want to be a detective, goes first without telling him but is quickly in great trouble... fortunately the true Charlie Chan will come and solve this very difficult investigation. People who likes series like "Columbo" (Peter Falk did certainly watch those movies!!) will love those small movies, very funny and clever the chinese detective with all his family and his famous ancient proverbs... very entertaining one with a great George Zucco 7,5/10
"So's Your Aunt Emma! " (Jean Yarbrough, USA 1942) The old "aunt" Emma (Zazu Pitts) an old spinster had in her youth a love affair with the famous boxer "Gentleman Jim" she never forgot it. Now Jim's dead for some years. When she reads in the paper that Jim's son will give a great combat she decides to go to the big town to watch it and support him... But she meets the world of boxing, with rotten coatches, tricked fights, bookies, mobs... and decides to help the young guy. She will use her resemblence with a famous gangster Ma parker and the help of a journalist and a cabaret singer to defeat the vilains... Very funny and gentle comedy with a touching Zazu Pitts who fights to save the son she never had... This small Monogram comedy is not bad at all. 7/10
"Klondike" (Phil Rosen, USA 1932) A famous surgeon kill accidentaly a patient at the trail he's said not guilty but the public opinion is against him... He decide to quit and go to Alaska by plane with a friend. They crash. He's recued by a charming girl Klondike who work in a tavern lost in Alaska... They fall in love. But they soon discover he's a surgeon and ask him to operate Jim Klondike's fiancé... Now it's the great dilema will he lose his love ? Conventional Monogram B with some improbable parts but not bad indeed. 6/10
"Lady from Chunking" (William Nigh, USA 1942) Certainly one of the best PRC movies (it's to say!!) and one of the best William Nigh movies (It's to say too). The story of two amarican pilots who crash in china occuped by japanese. One is caught the other proteced by a group of chinese resistants whose leader is the beautifull Kwan Mei (Anna May Wong excellent) She will use her charms to seduce a Japanese Genral to get information to stop japanese offensive in China but the game is very perilous... Surprinsingly good for a movie from the brokest production company of the era, this movie avoid all clichées (as possible during war) and the resistants are treated with ùany sympathy and respect. Ana May Wong is excellent as usual and we allway will regret the discrimination she faced in the US that make impossible for her to get the great leading roles she deserved exept in poverty row...7,5/10
"Dark Mountain" (William Berke, USA 1944) A Pine-Thomas Production distributed by Paramount. A classic story of a Woman who discover her fresh husband is a mob and a killer. She ran away to an ax-boy friend (still in love of course) who's a guard in a national park. He proposes to hide her in a chalet in the mountain. But the hubby find her... A pursuit in the mountain begins. Classic script fot this entertaining B without any surprise 6/10
Atlantic Flight" (William Nigh, USA 1937) Dick Merrill-Holder of the World's Round Trip Atlantic Record plays is own role. In this fiction his best friend lays dying after a plane crash during a race due to a sabotage. The only way to save him is to cross atlantic to England and come back with a new serum. Merill and his co-pilot will succeed despite a very violent storm... A curiosity, this movie was made the same yeat of the record (1937) with the two pilots who did it. They'll never do another movie being better pilots than actors, although in the world of the B's they were not as bad as many... Only B company like Monogram could produced realized and edit a movie about an event which happened only two months before... They even uses the sam plane and footage of the true travel !! To discover 6,5/10
"Law of the Jungle" (Jean Yarbrough, USA 1942) I love B jungle movie, they are very funny and full of cliché. This one is excellent. Nona Brooks (Arline Judge), former member of a stranded theatrical troupe, earns a temporary living singing in a café in Duakwa, British Rhodesia, Africa. The café owner is secretly in league with two foreign agents (Nazis of course) with a goal of making the natives restless. American explorer Larry Mason (John 'Dusty' King) leaves for the jungle with his servant, Jeff (the inevitable Mantan Moreland) and a safari. Nona escapes the café into the jungle but is followed by the agents as, unknowing to her, she is carrying a report of the agent's activities and also the british police. She joins the safari just as all hands are captured by a tribe of natives. Non sense adventure comedy funny indeed with enormous dialogs for example this one " Nona : And what is doing your boss ? Jeff : he's digging skulls and bones, seeking for the missing link! Nona : And he's an american ? Jeff : Who's that ? the missing link ?" and that goes on... Funny and never boring 7/10
"The Flying Saucer" (Mikel Conrad, USA 1950) No aliens in this strange movie but a scientist hidden in Alaska who create a flying saucer Russian and American are on the run to get the invention. Acted, produced and directed by Conrad this movie takes place in beautiful Alaskan landscapes and is filmed on a strange tempo, almost poetic. The long nature sequences make you think more to a touristic movie than a Sc-fi one but the results is not as bad as expected. 6/10
"The Cosmic Man" (Herbert S. Greene, USA 1959) A Futura Productions Inc. this obscure opus is "The Day the Earth Stood Still" of the poor with the huge John Carradine as an alien with big glasses and a hat who gives a warning message to stupid soldiers who only want to get his spacship to avoid the russian to get it and pure scientist naive and thisty of knoledge... Like in the original things are going wrong... A pale copy but for B fans and remake lovers a movie to discover 6/10
+ Polisse // 2011 (7.6/10 with 1,400 votes on IMDb)
Directed by Maïwenn with Karin Viard, Joey Starr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle (Braquo) Karole Rocher (Braquo) and Sandrine Kiberlain Prix du Jury at the Festival de Cannes 13 Nominations to the Césars // 2 Césars
+ Le dernier métro // 1980 (7.4/10 with 5,000 votes on IMDb)
Directed by François Truffaut with Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu and Jean Poiret 1 Nomination to the Oscars 12 Nominations to the Césars // 10 Césars
Under the Tuscan Sun - ah, when I watched it few years ago I found it much more entertaining. Some things are still pretty nice, especially beautiful Italian landscape and some relations to old Italian movies, but all in all, still pretty American and typical, 5/10 A Very Long Engagement - my second movie by Jeunet (after Amelie) and once again I'm completely thrilled with everything in it. This is a very well put drama, with a lot mystery and humour in it, wonderful!!! 9/10 Delicatessen - third one :) what a ride through all sorts of wacky characters and their misdemeanors. The story itself is again very interesting and imaginative. 8/10
The Switch - a funny comedy, with a great performance by the adorable Thomas Robinson. There's not much to remember it by, but it's a nice morning flick - 6/10
"Nostalghia" (Andrei Tarkowski, Italy/Soviet Union, 1983) I continue the re-watch of Tarkowski's movies. A russian writer Gortchakov with his guide and translator Eugenia travel through Italy and come to a small half destroyedn and abandoned village. He misses his homeland and often dream to it... He meets a simple-minded man Domenico and get drawn to him... his nostagie, Domenico, the attraction for Eugenia and Italy will push him in a fatal spiral. Huge directing, lot of sense adn poetry in this mong meditation. The beauty of the shots is incredible. 9,5/10
"The Artist". Well, it is a good movie. It won the Oscar. However, I found it a bit pretentious. It seems that the movie wants to be better than anything that Charlie Chaplin made ( although being not even a shadow of any of the movies of that Master). At the start, it was almost a copy of Singing in The Rain. If we replaced Jean Dujardin by Gene Kelly we wouldn't notice.
Stranger than fiction - what a nice surprise, the movie truly touched me, I loved it really very much. All the characters are so loveable, with all their imperfections. It's so realistic, nevertheless its slightly fantastical touch. 9/10
Bienvenue à Bord - Fun French comedy with Franck Dubosc - 7/10 Watchmen - First time I watch the "Ultimate Cut" and I gotta say I loved it even more than the Director's Cut ! - 9/10 (and the best intro ever made!)
Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, Hungary/Germany/Switzerland, 1994) Well, what can I say? I finally managed to watch this cult and (already) classic movie. Thank's to a Bela Tarr retrospective in a Zurich cinema I could enjoy the the full 450 minutes in a cinema with another 100 people. Luckily, I got a place in one of the comfy sofas in the front and they served Hungarian goulash soup during the second intermission. The movie is about the collapse of a collective farm in Hungary near the end of Communism. They are expecting a large cash payment for the work of one year and plan to leave as soon as they have the money. Some plot against the others and try to leave with more than their share. However, when the smooth talking Irmias, whom they thought to be dead, returns everything changes. They willingly give all the money to Irmias for the hope that he somehow can keep the community going. My expectations were very high for this movie, since I wanted to watch it for quite some time, now. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed. It took me about an hour to really get in the mood of the film but since then it was just like being in a world of it's own and I wasn't bored for a single minute. Yes, the movie is incredibly slow (the opening shot showing some cows lasts for almost nine minutes), but it is a strong way to show these monotone lives. Bela Tarr is not only a master of pictures but also of sounds. Most of the times I was amazed how much he told by only letting the right noises come from outside the picture range and repeating them over and over. Together with the slow camera movements and the minimalistic music by Mihály Vig the movie gets in some places hypnotic qualities. The movie also has a great cast. Peter Berling as the doctor is one of the best performances I ever saw in a movie. All in all it just was a fantastic experience. The movie is a true masterpiece. 10/10