• Imunga Ivanga – Dôlè AKA Money (2000)

    1991-2000African CinemaArthouseDramaGabonImunga Ivanga

    Plot Synopsis:
    Dôlè offers a Gabonese perspective on the global crisis facing today’s youth. This film reveals that, whether in Libreville or in our own inner cities and suburbs the underlying causes of youthful disaffection can be remarkably similar.
    Dôlè provides one of the most affectionate and affecting portraits of African youth poised precariously on the cusp of modernity. It has already been widely compared to François Truffaut’s iconic coming of age film – a kind of ‘Le quatre cents coups’ in Gabon.Read More »

  • Martin Scorsese – Boxcar Bertha (1972)

    Martin Scorsese1971-1980CrimeExploitationUSA

    Quote:
    ‘Boxcar’ Bertha Thompson, a transient woman in Arkansas during the violence-filled Depression of the early ‘30s, meets up with rabble-rousing union man ’Big’ Bill Shelly and the two team up to fight the corrupt railroad establishment. Based on “Sister of the Road,” the 1937 pseudo-autobiography of fictional character Bertha Thompson, written by anarchist physician Dr. Ben L. Reitman.Read More »

  • António de Macedo – As Horas de Maria AKA Maria’s Hours (1979)

    António de Macedo1971-1980ArthouseDramaPortugal

    A young girl with an undisclosed ailment is comforted by a nun who is her aunt in this symbolic, slow-moving drama. The action takes place in a clinic where the head doctor regards Christ as a subversive and a revolutionary. The victim’s religious faith remains intact, even when she is on the verge of death as her aunt prays for her salvation. ~ Dan Pavlides, RoviRead More »

  • Howard W. Koch – The Last Mile (1959)

    Howard W. Koch1951-1960DramaFilm NoirUSA

    Plot Synopsis:
    A late ’50s upgrade of the 1931 film by the same title, this version of trouble on death row by Howard Koch is more violent than its predecessor — a hint of the trend toward shock for its own sake that would one day dominate action films and thrillers. The setting is a cell block of nine inmates scheduled for execution and the first half of the drama focuses on the horror of that last walk. A grim death in the electric chair is in no way glossed over. All nine prisoners are more appealing than any single guard, giving rise to the question of whether or not the men should exchange places. Then “Killer” John Mears (Mickey Rooney) comes along. His vicious attitude infects the environment and his plans to break out of prison are the catalyst for tragedy. by Eleanor MannikkaRead More »

  • Klaus Härö – Postia pappi Jaakobille AKA Letters to Father Jacob (2009)

    Drama2001-2010FinlandKlaus Härö

    With few options, newly pardoned convict Leila agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor. Father Jacob spends his days answering the letters of the needy, which Leila finds pointless. But when the letters stop, the pastor is devastated and Leila finds herself cast in a new role.Read More »

  • Aleksey Balabanov – Ranshe bylo drugoe vremya AKA There used to be another time (1987)

    Aleksei Balabanov1981-1990DramaShort FilmUSSR

    This story, that takes place during one day, tells about male meanness and ever-hard female destiny… The action takes place against the background of the first hits of the young group “Nautilus Pompilius”…

    The first professional work of the director Alexey Balabanov, who at that time worked as an assistant at the Sverdlovsk Film Studio. The film was a teaching work, filmed while studying at the Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Directors.Read More »

  • Paul Sharits – Word Movie (1966)

    1961-1970ExperimentalPaul SharitsShort FilmUSA

    Synopsis
    Single frame exposures of words, color.(imdb)

    Cinema of the signifier
    When we watch films we see and hear representations of things, sights and sounds not present at the moment of viewing. However, we choose to take part in the illusion of cinema limited by its rules and technical deficiencies. Word Movie is just a little joke of a film that makes us aware of this.

    On the screen you see words, another type of signifier, flashing and on the soundtrack you hear those same words read out loud. The only point this film makes is that there really is no difference between the photographic signifier, or in other words the image on the screen, and words flashing.(imdb)Read More »

  • Edwin L. Marin – Mr. Ace (1946)

    Edwin L. Marin1941-1950DramaPoliticsUSA

    Margaret Wyndham Chase wants to run for governor and approaches Eddie Ace, local political kingmaker/fringe gangster, to get his support. Ace’s belief is that “beautiful women and politics do not mix” and he declines to help. She decides to play the game rough-and-tough without him, but he shows he is even rougher-and-tougher, and she gives up and withdraws from the race. But Ace has fallen in love with her at about the 45-minute mark and, with his new-found ardor for clean politics, he makes some (unclean) manipulations behind the scenes, and she is picked to run on an independent good-government ticket.Read More »

  • Kimberly Peirce – Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

    1991-2000DramaKimberly PeirceQueer Cinema(s)USA

    Based on actual events. Brandon Teena is the popular new guy in a tiny Nebraska town. He hangs out with the guys, drinking, cussing, and bumper surfing, and he charms the young women, who’ve never met a more sensitive and considerate young man. Life is good for Brandon, now that he’s one of the guys and dating hometown beauty Lana. However, he’s forgotten to mention one important detail. It’s not that he’s wanted in another town for GTA and other assorted crimes, but that Brandon Teena was actually born a woman named Teena Brandon. When his best friends make this discovery, Brandon’s life is ripped apart by betrayal, humiliation, rape, and murder.Read More »

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