Drama

On his fifth attempt at boarding school, young Benni has one last
chance to prove to his parents he can function in the academic world, and, most importantly, pass math. But Benni has other concerns; he is partially paralyzed and struggling with typical teenage issues – making friends, falling in love and having sex. When his mother decides to move him to yet another school, Benni must decide whether to make a stand for what truly matters to him. Based on an autobiographical novel by Benjamin Lebert, Crazy has earned Schmid great praise for its honest portrait of teenage life.Read More »

Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène’s Borom Sarret tells the story of a poor man trying to make a living as a cart driver in Dakar.

Borom Sarret or The Wagoner (French: Le Charretier) is a 1963 film by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène, the first film over which he had full control.

It is often considered the first film ever made in Africa by a black African. It is 18 minutes long and tells a story about a cart driver in Dakar. The film illustrates the poverty in Africa, showing that independence has not solved the problems of its people.

It was shown as part of the Cannes Classics section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. [Wikipedia]Read More »

A large, somewhat dilapidated house in the country. Although Niki, a doctor living and working in Munich, manages to arrive at his father’s deathbed just in time, the man who spawned him fails to give him the belated acknowledgement and love for which he so longs. Shortly after the father dies, his other grownup children arrive. These include Vito, an extrovert, and idealistic drifter; Mizzi, who is much younger and suffers from a neurophysical disorder and – although nobody expected it, even Kyra, who is the product of the father’s heady days of alternative living and free love. Niki and Vito haven’t seen this sister since their parents’ acrimonious separation twenty-three years ago.Read More »

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Colin has a very pleasant life: he is rich, he loves the food his cook makes (Nicolas), he loves his pianocktail (contraction of piano and cocktail, a word invented by Vian) and his friend Chick. One day while having lunch with Chick, Chick tells him that he met a girl named Alise with whom he has a common passion: the writer Jean-Sol Partre (an spoonerism of Jean-Paul Sartre who was Boris Vian´s friend). Colin meets Chloe at a party Chick invited him to. They fall in love, marry, but Chloe becomes ill during their honeymoon. As time passes, Chloe’s condition deteriorates while the relationship between Chick and Alise turns sour …Read More »

The title Forty Square Meters of Germany refers to the shabby apartment where 90% of the film takes place. Ozay Fecht stars in this emotionally-charged drama as an impressionable Turkish girl named Turna, who is taken in by the tall tales spun by migrant worker Dursun (played by Yaman Okay), whom she marries and follows to Germany. But the young bride’s hopes for a better life in Germany are abruptly dashed.Read More »

Alan, the assistant manager of the Rocket electrical store, is finally given a chance to prove
himself when he is left in charge on a busy bank holiday. What he wasn’t counting on,
however, was Frank, a sixty year old trainee who knows nothing about the retail, or
electrical, businesses…Read More »

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Dust in the Wind is a remarkable film, and one which will, no doubt, reward multiple viewings. Like most of the films of Hou Hsiao Hsien, viewers will be divided into two, sharply opposed camps.

The main characters in the film are two high-school students. The first is Wan, who – seeing his village as a dead-end career-wise, decides to leave their home town to go to Taipei to find work, intending to complete his education via night-school. His girlfriend Huen also leaves for Taipei after graduation. The other personages are family members, employers, friends and co-workers.Read More »

In WW2, a Romanian Gentile peasant is denounced by the village gendarme and sent to a concentration camp for Jews where, due to an error, he’s drafted into the SS.Read More »

Ladybird, Ladybird
BY ROGER EBERT / January 20, 1995
Ladybug, ladybug, Fly away home.
Your house is on fire, And your children will burn.

Nursery rhyme This is the story of a troublesome woman. A woman with a big heart and a big temper, who has had four children by four different fathers, and lost custody of all of them because she cannot function responsibly. Or, looking at it differently, it is the story of a woman persecuted by British social workers who slap her down every time she almost has her life together. The strength of the film is that there is truth to both interpretations: Yes, she is treated cruelly by social workers – and, yes, she is her own worst enemy.Read More »