A rich widow, nostalgic for the lavish parties of her youth, embarks on a journey to reconnect with the many suitors who once courted her. In doing so, she sets off on a course of discovery, both of herself and of how greatly the world has changed in two decades. Julien Duvivier’s smash hit is a wry, visually inventive tale of romantic pragmatism that deftly combines comedy and drama.Read More »
Four short stories are set along the roads of Donbass during the war. There are no safe spaces and no one can make sense of just what is going on. Even as they are trapped in the chaos, some manage to wield authority over others. But in this world, where tomorrow may never come, not everyone is defenceless and miserable. Even the most innocent victims may have their turn at taking charge.Read More »
Quote:
Fahrije’s husband disappeared during the war in Kosovo. Years later, the bees he kept stop producing honey. Forced to find a new source of income, Fahrije gets a driving licence and sets up her own small business to provide for her kids. But her resourcefulness is met with aggressive resistance from the patriarchal village community. Ignoring criticism, Fahrije joins forces with other women in the village to empower each other and gain independence.
The film was a sweeping success at Sundance, winning the Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award and Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.Read More »
A sculptor hires young college girls to take care of his elderly mother and his supposedly insane sister, both of whom live in the old family mansion with him.Read More »
Quote:
Opening with torch-wielding villagers and a wall bleeding oil, this experimental film attaches vivid scenery and strange characters to the wonderful melodic wavelengths of the band Animal Collective, revitalizing the lost form of the “visual album.”Read More »
Quote:
María Sabina is a Mexican indian. She was born in 1894 according to the church records Huautla, Oaxaca.
Huautla is inhabited by Mazatecan indians. They preserve the ancient religious ritual of eating mushrooms in nocturnal ceremonies.
These are provided by a shaman. Shamanism has existed in Mexico since pre-Colombian times. María Sabina is a shaman. She uses mushrooms to communicate with tribal gods.
The ethnobotanical R. Gordon Wasson knew her in 1955. She has given rise to a new discipline: ethnomycology.
This is the only documentary on María Sabina, an intimate portrait of the world-renowned Mazatec curandera and her extensive use of Psilocybe mushrooms as a healing aid. Narrated by Maria’s biographer, Alvaro Estrada; directed by Nicolas Echevarria.Read More »
Synopsis: Frédérique leaves her family’s small-town trout farm to embark on an journey taking her to Japan and into the arms of a man. Irritations concerning her actions and present state of feelings begin to fill her mind, forcing her to come to terms with innermost self.Read More »
A Jewish WWII survivor revisits the ruins of a hellish concentration camp, and the memories are still vivid. How did she escape the humiliation, the tortures, and the destruction of human flesh? How did she flee from Gestapo’s last orgy?Read More »
Based on old slovak ballads, it tells of fiddlers who with their magic violins spread evil and destruction all over the world.
From Skritek’s film journal:
A girl is transformed into a maple tree by her impulsive and angry mother. Three poor wandering musicians come by the tree and create instruments from it. Walking around the country instead of happiness they bring death everywhere with their cursed instruments. However they cannot get rid of them, unless they bury the wooden instruments at the place of the tree. The three are anything but harmonious, each taking in their disputes various stances. In the end they are enlisted to go to war, because they hardly survive as unlucky musicians and bring the instruments back. That’s when the story takes an even more tragic turn for all.Read More »