Plot
Alisa Seleznyova and her father professor Seleznyov are traveling in space. They meet their old friend archaeologist Gromozeka, who’s just discovered a planet all inhabitants of which died. It became known that they discovered a virus of hostility, got infected and killed each other. Gromozeka also discovered that they had left the virus on Earth 26000 years ago, and the virus is about to become loose. The only chance to save the Earth is to travel 26000 years back in time – to the epoch when witches, dragons and magicians lived along with usual people.Read More »
Fantasy
-
Pavel Arsyonov – Lilovyy shar AKA The Purple Ball (1987)
1981-1990FantasyPavel ArsyonovSci-FiUSSR -
Sergei Bodrov – Bear’s Kiss (2002)
2001-2010DramaFantasyGermanySergei BodrovA dramatic fantasy romance film directed by Sergei Bodrov.
A German, Swedish, Russian, Spanish, French, and Italian co-production, it tells the story of the circus girl Lola, who raises a bear from cubhood. When she discovers that the bear, named Misha, can transform into a young man, a secret romance between the two ensues. The film stars Rebecka Liljeberg (Fucking Amal) as Lola and Sergei Bodrov Jr. as Misha.Read More »
-
Janusz Majewski – Lokis. Rekopis profesora Wittembacha AKA Lokis: A Manuscript of Professor Wittembach (1970)
1961-1970FantasyHorrorJanusz MajewskiPolandLokis is a dark Gothic romance, a faithful (though expanded) adaptation of Prosper Merimee’s famous story, and the creme de la creme of the small horror niche dealing with the Eastern variant of the werewolf – the “werebear”.
Reverend Wittenbach, clergyman and bibliophile, travels into the eastern regions of Polish-Lithuanian forests – the “kresy” – in order to explore the vast library owned by a rich family of noblemen. Hosted in their luxurious mansion, the reverend learns the strange secrets of the surroundings and discovers the dark and disturbing secret of the family – there are whispers that his host, the enigmatic young count Michal Szemiot, may be something other than a man… that he was born of an unholy union of a woman and a bear…Read More »
-
Emir Kusturica – Dom za vesanje AKA Time of the Gypsies (1988)
1981-1990DramaEmir KusturicaFantasyYugoslaviaIn this luminous tale set in the area around Sarajevo and in Italy, Perhan, an engaging young Romany (gypsy) with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime, which threatens to destroy him and those he loves.Read More »
-
Jaromil Jires – Valerie a týden divu AKA Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
1961-1970Czech RepublicFantasyJaromil JiresA girl on the verge of womanhood finds herself in a sensual fantasyland of vampires, witchcraft, and other threats in this eerie and mystical movie daydream. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders serves up an endlessly looping, nonlinear fairy tale, set in a quasi-medieval landscape. Ravishingly shot, enchantingly scored, and spilling over with surreal fancies, this enticing phantasmagoria from director Jaromil Jireš is among the most beautiful oddities of the Czechoslovak New Wave. (Criterion)Read More »
-
Stephen Quay & Timothy Quay – The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes (2005)
Drama2001-2010FantasyGermanyStephen Quay and Timothy Quay
Plot Outline: Dark fairytale about a demonic doctor who abducts a beautiful opera singer with designs on transforming her into a mechanical nightingale.Read More »
-
Andrew Kotting – Ivan and the Dogs AKA Lek and the Dogs (2017)
2011-2020Andrew KottingExperimentalFantasyUnited KingdomSynopsis
In his adaptation of Hattie Naylor’s play Ivan and the Dogs, experimental filmmaker Andrew Kötting travels to the Chilean desert to recreate the life of the young boy who left his Moscow apartment to live with a pack of wild dogs. A crossover between narrative film and contemporary art piece.
Read More » -
Sogo Ishii – Mizu no naka no hachigatsu AKA August in the Water (1995)
1991-2000DramaFantasyJapanSogo IshiiQuote:
Taking in the whole spectrum of pre-millennial new age phenomena, the bizarre August in the Water (whose English language release title is a direct translation of the Japanese, though is not to be confused with Yoichiro Takahashi’s identically titled Mizu No Naka No Hachigatsu, a 1998 coming of age drama which did the Festival circuit under the English language title of Fishes in August) is a bit of a mixed bag. Thematically, it’s a real inspiration. The X-Files notwithstanding, this sort of imaginative pseudo-scientific fantasy stands fairly uniquely amongst contemporary cinematic output. Visually the film is also a wonder, with impressive use of natural lighting in the bright exteriors, and beautifully composed Zen-like static shots of the assorted esoteric ephemera alternating with rapid multiple-angle edits and abstracted close-ups of the natural phenomena.Read More » -
Daniel Asadi Faezi – The Absence of Apricots (2018)
2011-2020Daniel Asadi FaeziDocumentaryFantasyPakistanA village in the mountains of Northern Pakistan. One day, a landslide congested a river. Thousands of homes and fields were inundated. Villages vanished. What is left are the people and their stories, passed on from one generation to another. And the ghosts, that are still roaming the region.
Quote:
A documentary fairy-tale about the struggle for identity in the Hunza Valley set in a village located in the Northern-Pakistan somewhere between the past and the future. A magnificent turquoise lake in between rough, steep cliff surrounds the small village. But the lake hasn’t been always there. One day, an enormous landslide blocked a river. In a few months, this river turned into a huge lake, which is now up to 30km long. Thousands of homes and fields were flooded. Entire villages disappeared forever. Thousands of people got dislocated and had to look for different places where to live. What is left are the stories of those that once used to live there which are passed on from generation to generation. Weaving together the past and the future, myths and sketches of everyday life, director Daniel Asadi Faezi creates a rich tapestry of images that create a sensual and textured dance of death and resurrection. And the ghosts that still roam the cliffs and the valley, join the humans in their dance.Read More »








