1981-1990

A woman’s fight for her identity and freedom as a woman.
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Quote:
A formal 1861 portrait of a Chinese Mandarin and his wife is the starting point for this allegorical investigation of the fantasies spawned in the West about the East, particularly that which associates femininity with the mysterious Orient. ADYNATA presents a series of oppositions-male and female images, past and present sounds-which in and of themselves construct a minimal and fragmentary narrative, an open text of our imaginations, fears and fantasies.

Quote:
“Beautiful and beguiling…mixes Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player with The Bride of Frankenstein, a TV cop show and a Betty Boop cartoon-yielding a complex form of signification run riot.” -Jonathan RosenbaumRead More »

from wiki:
Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar (English title: Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite) is a 1989 Turkish drama film directed by Tunç Başaran. It tells the story of political prisoners in Turkey from the eyes of a child. It is one of the most remembered works in its genre, along with pre-military coup pieces such as Maden.

It won four Golden Orange awards: best film, best actress (Nur Sürer), best screenplay (Feride Çiçekoğlu) and best cinematography (Erdal Kahraman).Read More »

Review: “Halfaouine, Boy of the Terraces” is a charming coming-of-age film from Tunisia that takes a rare look at the inner workings of Arabic culture — the stone- walled streets, alleys, rooftops and households of everyday Tunisia, where traditions seem little interrupted by the modern world.Read More »

Frankenweenie is a short film directed by Tim Burton, and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is a parody of, and homage to, the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s book of the same name.

Originally considered a failure and being put to the side by Disney, it was given a home video release after Burton’s breakthrough success with films like Beetlejuice, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and Batman.

Plot:
Victor Frankenstein is a young boy who creates movies starring his dog, Sparky. After Sparky is hit by a car, Victor learns at school about electrical impulses in muscles, and gets the idea to bring his pet back to life. He creates elaborate machines which bring down a bolt of lightning that revives the dog. While Victor is pleased, his neighbors are terrified by the animal, and when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to them, they become angry and afraid. This leads to a frantic chase that cannot end well…or can it?Read More »

Quote:
Smoke and Blue in the Face director Wayne Wang has made his name by making features (Slam Dance excepted) looking at ordinary Americans and revealing their slightly less than ordinary lives. In Dim Sum, he studies the cultural differences between assorted generations of Chinese Americans, a theme picked up again in Eat A Bowl of Tea and The Joy Luck Club. Here, in his home environment, Wang feels comfortable with his subjects and some charming observations about their lives are revealed in an understated but nevertheless engrossing little picture.

Focusing primarily on the subject of family traditions amongst San Franciscan Chinese and the responsibilities of children in caring for their ageing parents, Dim Sum follows the relationship between a very traditional Chinese woman in her 60s and her thirty-something daughter, the mother trying to marry the daughter off. The difference in attitudes between the two provide much of the humour, but there is a greater depth to the emotions as Wang seeks to reconcile his slight tale to the greater picture of the wane of oldfashioned Chinese beliefs.Read More »

Published by Fontana Paperbacks (Flamingo), 1985 (285p.)
Originally published in France as Mon dernier soupir, 1982

Quote:
‘Covers everything from his Surrealist days with Dali to his method of making the perfect dry martini, and is as elegant, wise and mischievous as his movies’
J.G. Ballard

‘My Last Breath is pure delight… It’s as funny and provocative as the old chien’s best movies: than which there’s no higher praise’
Salman RushdieRead More »

Book Description
This is the best-known biography of the film giant, based on extensive interviews with Ray himself, his actors, collaborators, and a deep knowledge of Bengali culture. This second edition contains extensive new material covering Ray’s final three films made in 1989-1991, a discussion of his artistic legacy, and the most comprehensive bibliography of Ray’s own writings.

Andrew Robinson, who had been a friend of Ray’s, spent a number of years working on this, and his account of Ray’s family and childhood draws upon interviews and conversations, supplemented with material from Ray’s own CHILDHOOD DAYS, MY YEARS WITH APU, and other sources. Robinson paints a portrait of a Calcutta overflowing with creative potential – Ray’s family connections to Tagore are also detailed, as are the accomplishments of his father and grandfather, and the intellectual independence of his mother, who seemed to strongly influence at least a few of his cinematic characters.Read More »

IMDB:
An English couple holiday in Venice to sort out their relationship. There is some friction and distance between them, and we also sense they are being watched. One evening, they lose their way looking for a restaurant, and a stranger invites them to accompany him. He plies them with wine and grotesque stories from his childhood. They leave disoriented, physically ill, and morally repelled. But, next day, when the stranger sees them in the piazza, they accept an invitation to his sumptuous flat. After this visit, the pair find the depth to face questions about each other, only to be drawn back into the mysterious and menacing fantasies of the stranger and his mate. Written by jhaileyRead More »