1981-1990

  • Guðný Halldórsdóttir – Kristnihald undir Jökli AKA Under the Glacier (1989)

    1981-1990ArthouseDramaGuðný HalldórsdóttirIceland

    This is the story of a spiritual and physical odyssey, comic and strange, made by a young theological student. Our hero is Umbi (an acronym for emissary of the bishop), sent by him to undertake an important investigation at Snæfell glacier. In particular he is to look into the conduct and behavior of Jón Prímus, the old pastor at Snæfell. Fantastic rumours are rife: amongst other things it is said that a corpse is lodged in the glacier! Armed with his tape recorder and notebook, Umbi embarks upon his mission. He tries to question the weird locals, a weird lot, but gets evasive answers. Slowly he is dragged into a quagmire of strange happenings and his efforts to understand only make him confused. If at the beginning he is a chiper, a mere device, by the end of the story he is inextricably involved, a committed participant in the bizarre events.Read More »

  • Michel Deville – Les capricieux (1984)

    Drama1981-1990FranceMichel DevilleTV

    In post-revolutionary France, two neighbouring aristocrats (Nicole Garcia and Jean-Pierre Marielle) embark on a dangerous game when they agree to help a Polish agent.Read More »

  • Shôgorô Nishimura – Kôkô kyôshi: Seijuku AKA High School Teacher: Maturing (1985)

    1981-1990DramaExploitationJapanShogoro Nishimura

    A female highschool teacher (Rei Akasaka) must deal with sexual harrassment from her students and being trapped in a love triangle with two men, neither of whom has any interest in marrying her.Read More »

  • Rogério Sganzerla – Nem Tudo é Verdade (1986)

    Arthouse1981-1990BrazilDocumentaryRogério Sganzerla

    Orson Welles goes to Brazil to shoot his documentary It’s All True.
    Quote:
    A fictional account of Orson Welles’ real passage to Brazil where he was supposed to film a cultural film called “It’s All True”, to present a positive image of Brazilian people and the country’s grandiosity’s to the U.S. government, a project that was part of FDR’s Good Neighbor policy. But Welles got enchanted with everything around him and got distracted from the project, that never got fully made. This movie speculates what really happened to Welles that prevented him from fulfilling his work.Read More »

  • Pierre Sauvage – Les armes de l’esprit AKA Weapons of the Spirit (1987)

    1981-1990DocumentaryFrancePierre SauvageWar

    “Weapons of the Spirit,” Pierre Sauvage’s documentary about the extraordinary French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon during the Nazi rule in World War II, is like a murder mystery in reverse. It’s an examination of crimes that didn’t take place, of atrocities averted, and in such a way that history itself seems to have been subverted by their absence.Read More »

  • Kôhei Oguri – Kayako no tameni AKA For Kayako (1985)

    1981-1990AsianDramaJapanKôhei Oguri

    Synopsis:
    Summer vacation is nearly over and Korean undergraduate SanjunIm (Japanese name: Hayashi) is returning to his school in Tokyo from his home in Hokkaido. On the way he stops in Morimachi, in Hakodate, to visit Sunchun Jong (Japanese name: Akio Matsumoto), his father’s best friend. It has been 10 years since Sanjun has seen Matsumoto, in Sakhalin. He is married to a Japanese named Toshi and has a stepdaughter named Kayako. Kayako is now a junior high school student. Sanjun was born in Japan, the son of Korean immigrants. After Japan lost the war, Sanjun, with his father and brothers, remained in Japan. As a nisei (second generation), Sanjun lacks the sense of his Korean roots that the first generation of Koreans who came to Japan possess.Read More »

  • Jacques Deray – Le marginal AKA The Outsider (1983)

    1981-1990ActionFranceJacques DerayThriller

    Synopsis:
    Fed-up with the inefficiency of the Marseille police, Paris sends drug-enforcement specialist Philippe Jordan to Marseille. He’s supposed to assist the local law enforcement dismantle the drug networks, especially mobster Sauveur Mecacci’s network. So far, Mecacci has managed to elude capture or successful prosecution by local authorities. However, Inspector Philippe Jordan’s unorthodox law enforcement style may prove efficient against Mecacci if Jordan receives a free-hand green-light from the Marseille police bosses and if he survives the frequent attempts against his life, of course. Once at work, Inspector Philippe Jordan’s rough style creates mayhem in the city of Marseille and triggers numerous complaints from the Mayor’s Office, from outraged citizens and from the lawyers of a scared Mecacci who wants to see Jordan dead. These things, in turn, tell Jordan he’s on the right track.Read More »

  • Jean-Pierre Mocky – Y a-t-il un Français dans la salle? AKA Is There a Frenchman in the House? (1982)

    France1981-1990ClassicsJean-Pierre Mocky

    Plot: Based on a novel by Frederic Dard who also co-scripted with director Jean-Pierre Mocky, this satire on French politics is centered around an official whose earlier rise to power had some sordid aspects that are about to be uncovered by the death of his uncle. While he is trying to contain any potential scandal, the man becomes enamored of the daughter of his uncle’s maid. This new romance inspires him to forget worries about a public image and focus on a new life — not any easy objective when unsavory friends and foes have their own agendas in mind.Read More »

  • Jörg Buttgereit – Der Todesking AKA The Death King (1990)

    1981-1990ArthouseGermanyHorrorJörg Buttgereit

    Quote:
    Seven episodes, each taking place on a different day of the week, on the theme of suicide and violent death.Read More »

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