Comedy

  • Juliusz Machulski – Vabank (1981)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJuliusz MachulskiPoland

    Set in Warsaw in 1930’s. After six years in jail, framed for bank robbery by an accomplice, the legendary Kwinto has only revenge on his mind. He is a safecracker in the old style, a thief with a sense of pride and loyalty. Upon leaving the jail he learns that his friend with whom he played in the jazz band has been murdered by the same guy – now a bank president – who sent him to prison. Kramer hopes to keep Kwinto’s mouth shut by paying him off, but at the same time he hires a paid gun to kill him. Meanwhile, some young, petty crooks hearing that Kwinto is free want to join forces with him for a job. Kwinto, employing a retired professional and two young admirers, pulls his last job to get even with Kramer…Read More »

  • Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones – Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

    1971-1980ClassicsComedyTerry GilliamTerry JonesUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    History is turned on its comic head when, in tenth century England, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) travels the countryside to find knights who will join him at the Round Table in Camelot. Gathering up the men is a tale in itself but after a bit of a party at Camelot, many decide to leave only to be stopped by God, who sends them on a quest: to find the Holy Grail. After a series of individual adventures, the knights are reunited but must face a wizard named Tim the Enchanter (John Cleese), killer rabbits and lessons in the use of holy hand grenades. Their quest comes to an end however when the Police intervene – just what you would expect in a Monty Python movie.Read More »

  • Beatriz Flores Silva – En la puta vida AKA In This Tricky Life (2001)

    2001-2010Beatriz Flores SilvaComedyDramaUruguay

    Quote:
    Montevideo, Uruguay. In this comedic drama, Elisa, 27, dreams of opening her own hairdressing salon in one of the rich districts of the Uruguayan capital. A bit of a rebel, one day Elisa moves out of her mother’s house with her two children and breaks up with Garcia, her boss and lover who has infuriated her by not wanting to get married. So, in the space of twenty-four hours, Elisa finds herself without a roof over her head, without a man, without a job and without money. Her best friend Loulou finds her a job – in the brothel run by Dona Jacqueline. And without really being aware of it, Elisa slides into prostitution, which leads her to Barcelona. She falls in love, she is exploited, she gets involved in transvestite gang wars, and meanwhile just dreams of earning enough money for her little beauty salon back home.Read More »

  • Aki Kaurismäki – Mies vailla menneisyyttä AKA The Man Without a Past (2002)

    2001-2010Aki KaurismäkiArthouseComedyFinland

    Quote:
    The second part of Aki Kaurismäki’s “Finland” trilogy, the film follows a man who arrives in Helsinki and gets beaten up so severely he develops amnesia. Unable to remember his name or anything from his past life, he cannot get a job or an apartment, so he starts living on the outskirts of the city and slowly starts putting his life back on track.Read More »

  • Aki Kaurismäki – Kauas pilvet karkaavat AKA Drifting Clouds (1996)

    1991-2000Aki KaurismäkiArthouseComedyFinland

    Synopsis:
    A married couple struggles with the repercussions of unexpected unemployment in this wry comedy drama from Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki. Ilona, the wife, works as restaurant hostess and her husband Lauri drives a tram. Though the couple has recently lost a child, they both seem at peace and happy. One night Ilona comes home and finds that Lauri has purchased a beautiful television on credit. Shortly thereafter disaster strikes when Ilona’s workplace closes and Lauri gets caught in a maelstrom of downsizing. Neither is able to find suitable work right away and as time crawls by, they become humiliated and testy with each other. Read More »

  • Bertrand Blier – Buffet froid (1979)

    1971-1980Bertrand BlierComedyCrimeFrance

    Black comedy about solitude and dishumanization of the modern world, through the adventures of three men. First introduced is Alphonse Tram, an unemployed young man. His only neighbour is the police chief-inspector Morvandieu. Then a third man appears : he is Alphonse’s wife’s murderer… Bizarre and unreal.Read More »

  • Aki Kaurismäki – La vie de bohème AKA The Bohemian Life (1992)

    1991-2000Aki KaurismäkiArthouseComedyFrance

    Quote:
    Based on the same 19th-century novel (Henri Murger’s Scenes de la Vie de Boheme) that inspired Puccini’s opera, the story is about three down-and-out losers doomed to penury and artistic obsession. There’s Albanian painter Rodolfo (Matti Pellonpää), playwright Marcel (Andre Wilms) and composer Schaunard (Kari Väänänen). Their problems are exactly the same: no rent or food money and the futile struggle to be recognized.Read More »

  • Boaz Davidson – Shablool aka Snail (1971) (DVD)

    1971-1980Boaz DavidsonComedyDocumentaryIsrael

    A collaboration from popular Israeli composers and rockers Arik Einstein and Shalom Hanoch, this film is a campy, offbeat romp along the lines of the Beatles’ films. Part musical, part mockumentary, the film centers on the making of a great rock album titled “Shablool.” Einstein and Hanoch star in multiple roles in their cinematic creation, which reflects the energy of Israel’s popular music scene in the 1960s. The great Uri Zohar also appears in the film’s highlight as a yiddish speaking nutcase vagabond/karate teacher.Read More »

  • Norman Z. McLeod – Monkey Business (1931)

    USA1931-1940ClassicsComedyNorman Z. McLeod

    Quote:
    On board a ship to America, four stowaways get involuntarily pressed into service as toughs for a pair of feuding gangsters while trying desperately to evade the ship’s crew. Prior to this, the film has no real plot, just the brothers causing unending uproar. Except in the credits and in the screenplay, the Brothers’ characters have no names in this film. They are referred to simply as “the stowaways”. After arriving stateside one of the gangsters kidnaps the other’s daughter, leaving it up to the brothers to save the day.Read More »

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