When computer programmer, Leo Fang, is passed up for promotion, he feels it is because he is Chinese, and quits. He takes his Chinese-American family to Mainland China to visit his sister and her family for the first time.Read More »
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Peter Wang – A Great Wall (1986)
1981-1990ComedyDramaPeter WangUSA -
Sam Wood – A Day at the Races (1937)
1931-1940ClassicsComedySam WoodUSAQuote:
Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is a veterinarian who masquerades as a lead doctor at Standish Sanitarium to aid the wealthy patient Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont). In order to save the financially failing sanitarium and its beautiful owner, Judy Standish (Maureen O’Sullivan), Hackenbush, employee Tony (Chico Marx) and jockey Stuffy (Harpo Marx) must find ingenious ways to help Gil Stewart (Allan Jones) and his inept racehorse, win the big race.Read More » -
Franz Osten – Achhut Kanya (1936)
1931-1940DramaFranz OstenIndiaAlong with Franz Osten and Himanshu Rai, Niranjan Pal was extremely important in the making of this film. A synopsis from his memoirs:
This story was about “the ill-fated love of a Brahmin boy for a scheduled caste girl. As no equivalent film title could be found for Level Crossing, Himansu agreed to Achhut Kanya much to my disgust. The film was shot, edited and readied for release in just eight weeks and turned out to be an outstanding success. The Congress leader, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, specially came to Bombay to see the film at the Roxy cinema and gave it unstinted praise. Devika was hailed as the Queen of the Indian screen, though Ashok Kumar was to wait for a few years before having a similar distinction.” (Such is Life), ed. Lalit Mohan Joshi and Kusum Joshi, p. 240).Read More »
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Philip S. Solomon – Psalm I: The Lateness of the Hour (1999)
1991-2000ExperimentalPhilip S. SolomonUSAQuote:
A little nachtmusick, a deep blue overture to the series. Breathing in the cool night airs, breathing out a children’s song; then whispering a prayer for a night of easeful sleep.Read More » -
Nikolaus Geyrhalter – 7915 Km (2008)
2001-2010AustriaDocumentaryNikolaus GeyrhalterSynopsis
A motor-sports spectacle that kicks up plenty of dust. On the trail of the 2007 Dakar Rallye ‘7915 KM’ undertakes a search, along the way encountering the variety to be found in Africa’s present in Morocco, Sahrawi Republic, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal. ‘7915 KM’ demonstrates the extent of this distance, which is the result of political and economic conditions, and also the ideas and prejudices to be found in both Europe and Africa. It also makes the closeness tangible, which becomes clear in the stories of everyday life, work, hopes and worries. Keeping the sobering reality in mind, it creates an homage to humanity and slowness which questions deep-seated perceptions and the role of Europeans in numerous, presumably African, problemsRead More » -
Jacques Rouffio – 7 morts sur ordonnance AKA Seven Deaths by Prescription (1975)
1971-1980CrimeFranceJacques RouffioThrillerDr. Brézé and his sons, all surgeons with limited abilities fight any competition on their sector with all means. Especially a well-known operating surgeon Pierre Losseray, which wants to operate again after a cardiac infarct and a longer recovery break. Night for night he is terrorized by the old Brézé with calls, being accused by him of the murder of patients, threatens with measures of the physician chamber.Read More »
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Gilles Grangier – 125 rue Montmartre (1959)
1951-1960CrimeDramaFranceGilles GrangierPascal makes a modest living selling newspapers on the streets of Paris. He may have a surly temperament but he is a good natured soul at heart, always ready to help a fellow creature if he can. Naturally, when he sees a man jump into the River Seine, he does not hesitate to come to his rescue. The visibly distressed man, Didier, reveals he was driven to this desperate act by his family, in particular his wife Catherine who is determined to rob him of his fortune. Moved by this tale of woe, Pascal offers to help Didier in any way he can. Didier suggests that they go back to his house to pick up some money. As he enters the house, Pascal unwittingly falls into a carefully laid trap. Alerted by Catherine, the police suddenly turn up and find the body of a dead man in the house. Read More »
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Nobuhiko Obayashi – Sabishinbô aka Lonely Heart (1985)
1981-1990AsianComedyJapanNobuhiko Obayashi
Lonely and love-struck, high-school student Hiroki pursues one girl but another one mysteriously appears in his life. Is she a figment of his lonely psyche, or real? An intricate triangle develops, and the viewer can’t quite be sure what is happening until the whole story is neatly resolved at the end.Read More »
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Spike Lee – Bamboozled (2000)
1991-2000ComedyDramaSpike LeeUSACriterion wrote:
With this blisteringly funny, unapologetically confrontational satire, writer-director Spike Lee examined the past, present, and future of racism in American popular culture, issuing a daring provocation to creators and consumers alike. Under pressure to help revive his network’s low ratings, television writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) hits on an explosively offensive idea: bringing back blackface with The New Millennium Minstrel Show. The white network executives love it, and so do audiences, forcing Pierre and his collaborators to confront their public’s insatiable appetite for dehumanizing stereotypes. Shot primarily on unvarnished digital video and boasting spot-on performances from Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Mos Def, and Paul Mooney, Bamboozled is a stinging indictment of mass entertainment at the turn of the twenty-first century that looks more damning with each passing year.Read More »








