• Carl Junghans – Takový je zivot aka Such Is Life (1930)

    1921-1930Carl JunghansCzech RepublicDramaSilent

    Quote:
    The heroine of the film is a proletarian wife and mother. Her husband, a coalminer, seeks solace in alcohol and neglects his work. After he is sacked, he spends most of his time in the pub with his friends and his lover, a waitress. He wastes the money his wife earns as a washerwoman. The woman, with her work and her worries, doesn’t even remember it is her birthday but her neighbours come to visit her to wish her happy birthday. Even this happy day ends in sadness: her husband comes home drunk. When he starts destroying their meagre furniture in a fit of rage, she throws him out. The man moves in with his lover. One day the wife badly scalds herself while washing some linen and after a few days she dies. The man comes home and prepares her a simple funeral which is attended by all the neighbours. After the funeral the husband holds a wake in the local inn. Then they all return to their homes as if nothing had happened. Such is life.Read More »

  • Fred H. Berger – Blood Countess [Propaganda Videozine: Volume 2] (1992)

    1991-2000ArthouseEroticaFred H. BergerUSA

    This video contains the short film Blood Countess with soundtrack by Foetus Inc., followed by music videos by gothic groups Requiem in White and The Shroud.Read More »

  • Cheryl Farthing & Ian MacMillan – It’s Not Unusual: A Lesbian and Gay History (1997)

    1991-2000Cheryl FarthingDocumentaryIan MacMillanQueer Cinema(s)TVUnited Kingdom

    “Documentary series charting the change in attitudes to homosexuality during the 20th century.. Archival footage and interviews with 22 lesbians and gay men give an overview of gay history in the UK from the 1920’s. Clause 28, the Well of Lonliness, AIDS, the Pet Shop Boys, it’s all there in some form or another.”Read More »

  • Kar-Wai Wong – Ah fei zing zyun AKA Days of Being Wild (1990) (HD)

    Kar Wai Wong1981-1990ArthouseDramaHong Kong

    A man tries to find out who his real mother is after the woman who raised him tells him the truth.Read More »

  • Yervant Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi – Su tutte le vette è pace (1998)

    1991-2000Angela Ricci LucchiExperimentalItalyWorld War OneYervant Gianikian

    Quote:
    Their Trilogia della guerra (War Trilogy) consists of Prigionieri della guerra (War prisoners), Su tutte le vette è pace (All’s Quiet on the Mountain Peaks), and Oh! Uomo (Oh! Man). The trilogy explores armed conflict from a variety of perspectives: from the relationship oppressor/oppressed and psychological warfare to the meticulous preparations undertaken by soldiers before battle, the plight of the wounded, and the realities of the battlefield. In their unusual and deeply individual method, Gianikian and Lucchi take old archival footage as the basis for their creations. They then set about reworking and transforming in ways that recontextualize and call our attention to the old film—marked, quite literally, by the passage of time—as a visual, historical document. Their work has been presented in many of the world’s most prestigious international festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Paris and New York.Read More »

  • András Kovács – Hideg napok AKA Cold days (1966)

    Drama1961-1970András KovácsHungary

    Set in 1946, this movie deals with the planning and execution of the January, 1942 Novi Sad massacre of 4,000 Yugoslavian Serbs and Jews by Hungarian army units. It was undertaken as a reprisal for a partisan ambush (in which 17 soldiers were gunned down). And it is mainly explored through the reminiscences of four participants–Major Buky, Lieutenant Tarpataki, Ensign Pozdor, and Corporal Szabonow–cell-mates awaiting trial. Ultimately, however, what you get is an extended debate over issues of individual responsibility.Read More »

  • Joanna Kos-Krauze & Krzysztof Krauze – Papusza (2013)

    Krzysztof Krauze2011-2020ArthouseDramaJoanna Kos-KrauzePoland

    Synopsis:
    ‘Papusza’ is a film based on a dramatic story of Bronislawa ‘Papusza’ Wajs – the first Romani poet, who wrote down their poems. It is also a story about the meeting between two poets: Papusza and a Polish poet Jerzy Ficowski, who noticed her great talent, encouraged to record her works and who then translated them into Polish. In 1956 Papusza’s first poetic book was published. It wouldn’t be possible without the help of a third poet, Julian Tuwim. Papusza’s songs permanently enriched Polish culture, providing it with an insight into the Roma soul.Read More »

  • Cheng-sheng Lin – Ai ni ai wo AKA Betelnut Beauty (2001)

    Cheng-sheng Lin2001-2010AsianDramaTaiwan

    Betelnut Beauty is the english for 槟榔西施 (bīnláng xīshī). It refers to women selling betel nuts and cigarettes along the roads in Taiwan.
    The betelnut beauty is usually half naked, waiting for customers in a small glass-fronted kiosk. It’s a very common sight in Taiwan.
    Betel nuts (binlang in chinese) is popular among a certain population (truck drivers, taxi drivers, construction workers…). You chew it, spit the red juice and it makes you somehow stoned.

    This film is, in my opinion, a very average drama, not the best film from director Cheng-sheng Lin. But its background shows a realistic image of Taipei’s street life.Read More »

  • Zhao Dayong – Fei cheng AKA Ghost Town (2009)

    2001-2010ChinaDocumentaryZhao Dayong

    A remote village in southwest China is haunted by traces of its cultural past while its residents piece together their existence.

    Zhiziluo is a town barely clinging to life. Tucked away in a rugged corner of Yunnan Province, Lisu and Nu minority villagers squat in the abandoned halls of this remote former Community county seat. Divided into three parts, this epic documentary takes an intimate look at its varied cast of characters, bringing audiences face to face with people left behind by China’s new economy. A father-son duo of elderly preachers argue over the future of their village church. Two young lovers face a break-up over harsh financial realities. A twelve year-old boy, abandoned by his family, scavenges the hillside to feed himself.Read More »

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