Synopsis
The vibrancy of gypsy life has been brought to the fore on film by Tony Gatlif, himself of gypsy heritage. Galtif has covered much European territory with films such as his much-loved Gadjo Dilo (1997). Vengo tells a romantically tragic tale of vendetta and sacrifice for family, which is the closest to home of all; it tells of the Andalusian gypsies of southern Spain – Gatlif’s own background.Read More »
Eddie Chapman (Christopher Plummer) is a smooth operator, blowing up safes under the noise of a back firing car outside of the buildings and leaving a calling card before absconding with the pick of the jewels he steals. But whilst in Jersey he is caught and locked up for his crimes on the island which is where he spots the invasion of German soldiers as they marched on to the island. Spotting an opportunity he convinces those in command to let him work as a spy for Germany at which point his execution is faked and he spends time in France being trained by the Germans before being sent to London. But he hands himself in and becomes a double spy working for the British as long as he is pardoned, compensated and receives a wartime commendation for his work.Read More »
Paris. For some months now, a violent gang has been operating with complete disregard for the law.
Head of the Judicial Police, Robert MANCINI lays down a challenge to the two men who work directly beneath him, – the head of the Search and Action Squad, Leo VRINKS (Daniel AUTEUIL) and the head of the Anti-Crime Unit, Denis KLEIN (Gerard DEPARDIEU): Whichever man captures the gang will replace him as the head of the Criminal Investigations Department.Read More »
Mikhaël Hers has been one of France’s most hotly-tipped new directors ever since his medium-length ensemble pieces Charell, Primrose Hill and Montparnasse – films largely about young people walking and talking, but with a magical contemplative atmosphere all their own. Stretching out to full length, Memory Lane confirms Hers’s utterly distinctive signature. Very loosely resembling a slacker take on the Eric Rohmer tradition, Hers’s film follows the events – or spaces between events – of one summer in Paris and its outskirts, experienced by a group of young people and remembered melancholically at a couple of months’ distance.Read More »
Steve Seid writes:
Clouzot’s final foray into features takes us into another tortured love triangle to explore voyeurism and, by extension, the very gaze that so draws us to cinema. Josée (Elisabeth Wiener) meets her artist-lover’s gallerist, the chic but kinky Stanislas Hessler (Laurent Terzieff), whose hobby is photographing female nudes in S&M postures. Naturally, Josée succumbs to the temptation to pose, but finds she needs bonding not bondage. Enter the obsessive kinetic artist Gilbert (Bernard Fresson), and the triangulated trap is sprung. Like Peeping Tom, Woman in Chains uses the camera’s gaze as a substitute for our own voyeuristic impulse.Read More »
Like the unknown woman imagined by the poet – which is never quite the same nor entirely different- this new Glimpse 13 resembles it’s twelve prestigious precedents while having its own distinct identity. Roy Stuart has put extra effort into the design and implementation of the twenty odd sequences that make up this diverse album. All the imagination, energy, expertise, as if making a feature film. Probably because he had been working on a feature film project earlier this year. This is especially true of the brilliant main sequence, which tells the story and contrast of two girlfriends-an inexperienced childlike beauty that recites romantic poetry in the street and a more mature girl who likes to show off in front of her webcam.-The younger girl opposes her friends twisted plan to use her as bait to pick up and rip off a guy -but who will come out on top? …Read More »
One of Hondo’s enduring masterpieces, West Indies is a stunning widescreen musical that takes place entirely on a single set – a giant slave ship that symbolizes the triangular relationship between Africa, Europe and the Caribbean – as it explores the parallels between the forced migration of the Atlantic slave trade and the contemporary migration of Afro-Caribbean subjects to former colonial metropoles. In a breathtaking display of virtuosity, Hondo deftly uses an array of filmic techniques (a vertically oriented mise en scène, dexterous tracking shots, beautifully orchestrated long takes) to explore four centuries of history within his single location, signalling temporal shifts through fluid camera movements and sumptuous staging; meanwhile, the remarkable range of musical styles, witty, poignant, and rousing lyrics, and brilliant choreography dazzle the senses and invite the spectator to join in the struggle to transform the world. –Aboubakar SanogoRead More »
IMDB:
A personal interpretation of Oscar Wilde Salome from three basic elements: the light, the color and the projection speed.
“Ce film n’est pas l’illustration d’un récit historique ou d’une pièce de théâtre mais il est structuré par sa dynamique propre et trois éléments basiques: la lumière, la couleur et la vitesse de projection. Par leur interaction il vise le regard du spectateur.
Le film propose un questionnement sur:
1) ce qu’il génère c’est-à-dire sa propre histoire;
2) l’imaginaire du spectateur et son regard;
3) le seul dehors questionné: le devenir de l’image qui est sa seule possibilité d’être. (…)Read More »
Quote:
Idrissa left Moscow and Ira, who came to this last appointment of lovers to say goodbye. Again, lovers unloved are endless farewell to this house lost in the depths of Moscow. Neighbors who rejected them are also waiting for you outside their door on the night of October.
Ira pregnant. She is worried, doubt and wanders the streets of Moscow. Her lover, Idrissa, an African student, will leave Russia. He finds Ira in his apartment for their last appointment. One last October night that never stops being that of impossible love …Read More »