Arthouse

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Varda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.Read More »

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Four chapters based on the birth of a ‘secret child’, or a film, with chapter titles: “La séction Césarienne” (Caesarian section: a descriptive detail introducing the mother); “Le dernier guerrier” (the last warrior: how the father sees himself); “Le cercle ophydique” (the serpent’s closed circle: the couple reunites at the psychiatric ward); “Les forêts désenchantées” (unfairy forests: the film in the making).Read More »

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Film director, Joong-rae is preparing for his next movie but is unable to finish his script. So he pleads his friend, Chang-wook, a production designer, to go with him on a trip. Chang-wook brings his girlfriend Moon-sook along and they all go on a trip to the west coast to visit Shinduri Beach Resort. There, Joong-rae makes advances on Moon-sook. Already a fan of his films, Moon-sook doesn’t hide her interest. So later, while avoiding Chang-wook’s eyes, the two spend a heated night together. But the next day He and Moon-sook then part awkwardly. Few days later, Joong-rae is back again in Shinduri and runs into a young woman named Sun-hee. They end up spending a night together. Moon-sook arrives at the scene with the intent to be with Joong-rae. But seeing him being with Sun-hee, Moon-sook goes to drink on her own out of anger…Read More »

Hong San-soo’s comic rendezvous Turning Gate is built on a series of repetitions that mirror the South Korean director’s fascination with reincarnation. Out-of-work actor Gyung-soo (Kim Sang-kyung) leaves Seoul to visit his friend Seong-wu (Kim Hak-sun) in the country, and it is there that Gyung-soo learns of the Turning Gate myth: A young princess scorns the love of a snake, the reincarnation of a commoner killed by her father. Oblivious to Seong-wu’s affections for Myung-sook (Yeh Ji-won), the indecisive Gyung-soo embarks on a heated affair with the sexy dancer, and when he rejects her love, the actor unknowingly begins to live out the legend of the Turning Gate. Haunted by regret, he wraps himself around a married woman, Sun-young (Chu Sang-mi), familiar with his stage performances. Hong San-soo’s use of repetition (not one but two kisses to break the ice; the regurgitation of dime-store mantra; and Myung-sook’s various dances that end on the same beat) evokes a karmic connection between a secular world and a bygone spiritual one.Read More »

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A million miles away from ‘Camelot’ or ‘Excalibur’, this film ruthlessly strips the Arthurian legend down to its barest essentials. Arthur’s knights, far from being heroic, are conniving and greedy men who, just before the film starts, have failed miserably to find the Holy Grail. Aimlessly resentful at first, the developing relationship between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere focuses their rage, leading to inevitable tragedy…Read More »

A dramatic depiction of the life of Hussain, with allegorical references to the history of the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants. It is prophesied that Young Hussain will one day lead the impoverished masses to a better life. It is his brother, Hasan, however who gains in prominence and when the government is overthrown in a military coup, he tries to adapt. Hussain in the meanwhile gets married and leads a small band of rebels in an attempt to fight the military dictatorship.Read More »

From filmjournal.net and torinofilmfest.org

One of the most impressive Hungarian directorial debuts, Ten Thousand Days offers clinching proof that Miklós Jancsó wasn’t the only mid-1960s master offering breathtaking widescreen compositions featuring hundreds of men and horses. Shot by Sándor Sára, then well on his way to cementing his reputation as one of Hungarian cinematography’s greatest visual artists, the film routinely throws up stunning shots: mass wheat scything, dozens of horses crossing a bridge to market (followed shortly afterwards by train wagons crossing the same bridge heading in the opposite direction, a neat visual gag on technological progress), prisoners doing hard labour on a rocky hillside, numerous public festivities crammed with local colour. The aesthetic impact alone makes it’s easy to see why this once had a considerable international reputation, even achieving a commercial release in Britain.Read More »

An essay film about the urge to find meaning and imaginative truths in life.Read More »

The protagonist finds out that some children were left behind in a sinking school, and is slowly driven mad as he tries to save them. A parable on the theme of the Last Judgment, numerous catastrophic events reveal a certain ambiguity in their origins, accompanied by the terrible suspicion that the things going on are some kind of a performance or theatrical production.Read More »