Jerzy Skolimowski’s 1991 film, set in Warsaw in 1939, stars Crispin Glover as well as Iain Glen who as a 30-year-old suddenly starts being treated by those around him–his former professor, a nymphet, a female cousin–as if he had regressed back to childhood. Closer to a curiosity than to a success–the English dialogue and the period Polish setting make for an odd mesh at times–but a curiosity by Skolimowski certainly isn’t like anyone else’s.Read More »
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An old empty mansion. The ghost of a man who lived there returns to recall the crucial moments of a lifetime. Faced with the proximity of death, the experiences of his past come to the memory of Juan. In a fragmented, sometimes confused way, Juan relives crucial moments of his life and his family, from 1915 to 1966, almost always linked to the names of several women. Memories that remind him of having missed numerous opportunities to be happy.
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The Deer is a typical Kimiai-style tale of friendship and honour. When a good man fallen on hard times meets his erstwhile protégé, fate puts their relationship to the ultimate test: will you die for me?
Wounded by the police, a thief looks up his old friend in order to leave the proceeds of his theft with him. Instead, he finds that his friend is a drug addict. He sticks around to try and help his friend kick the habit; instead, both men are caught in a shootout with the police…Read More »
Paul Bartel directed this film version of a performance art piece by O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner, who play Tina, Pam, and Scotty — three grown-up kids who have spent the last thirty years sealed off in a backyard family bomb shelter. A prologue explains what happened: in 1963, when John Kennedy is assassinated, a typical middle-class family from Anaheim retreat to their backyard bomb shelter, afraid that the commies are coming. In 1993, they are still there — even Mom and Dad, who have since died, but the bones are laid out nicely on their bed. The brother and two sisters, in worn-out clothing, amuse themselves by playing silly little games (something called “Egyptian Fantasy” with Ken as the Pharaoh), engaging in absurd rounds of role playing (Tina as a high-school tease), and hurling senseless rebukes at one another (“I can’t hear you. I’ve got a set of encyclopedias up my butt” ).Read More »
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Is it a nightmare or an actual view of a post-apocalyptic world? Set in an industrial town in which giant machines are constantly working, spewing smoke, and making noise that is inescapable, Henry Spencer lives in a building that, like all the others, appears to be abandoned. The lights flicker on and off, he has bowls of water in his dresser drawers, and for his only diversion he watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator sing about finding happiness in heaven. Henry has a girlfriend, Mary X, who has frequent spastic fits. Mary gives birth to Henry’s child, a frightening looking mutant, which leads to the injection of all sorts of sexual imagery into the depressive and chaotic mix.Read More »
Four mediocre existences are on an increasingly desperate quest for love and sexual satisfaction in the urban jungle of West Berlin.
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In this low-budget film, underground director Lothar Lambert explores longings and sexual fantasies that link the main characters – namely, Berlin couple Rüdiger and Helga, their butcher colleague Kurt, and his sister Klara, who is visiting. In a mix of voyeurism, porn flick, and group sex, the film depicts stereotypes and clichés but also questions them. This humorous and provocative look behind the façade of ‘normality’ provides an unvarnished examination of exoticized fantasies and projections about society.Read More »
Italian oddity on violent influences in society, at times somewhat Godardesque. A strangely apathetic and mute mother watches on as her children develop disturbing behaviour. They torture the nanny, accuse each other of Communism, build dangerous rockets that tend to blow up and kill whoever is nearby, read medical details about death, and seem to be involved in a series of deaths and accidents. The mother joins a strange revolutionary group that preaches violence against the bourgeoisie, builds bombs, and takes part in odd didactic presentations, while another mother buys her children books by De Sade. Eventually the mother decides to fight fire with fire and put a violent end to the madness.Read More »
In early 2023, a Madrid film archivist made a startling discovery: the uncut camera negative of COUNT DRACULA, in pristine condition and untouched for over 50 years. This gothic masterpiece from writer/director Jess Franco can now be experienced like never before, from its brilliant performances by Christopher Lee as the Count, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, Soledad Miranda as Lucy, Maria Rohm as Mina and Klaus Kinski as Renfield to its sumptuously unnerving cinematography and eerie Bruno Nicolai score.Read More »
