One of the most critically praised and provocative films of last year, described by one critic as “the most deliriously entertaining, hottest erotic thrillers in ages”. Nicole Kidman has the role of her career in this one, and is ably supported by Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson.Read More »
An annual family Christmas get-together that sees the usual tensions rise.
Mummola begins with a door that keeps on opening to let its characters into a house surrounded by nature that will be the setting of much of the film, and welcomes the audience into a small world that is portrayed with fierce tenderness and surprising rigour. Three generations come together for the holidays and re-enact a seasonal ritual of traditions, conversations and household chores. These elements would seem to indicate the return of the Nordic family drama, but Tia Kouvo’s debut is more of a “comédie humaine” that opts instead for an analysis of behaviour, relationships and private spaces that is both ironic and harrowing. In between meals around the table, anecdotes, TV programmes and, yes, saunas, there are no secrets or traumas to be revealed, but above all gestures to observe and silences to interpret.Read More »
Humiliated by gambling king Lo eight years ago, Yen Li Shan returns to Shanghai with one thing on his mind: revenge. He acquires casino and nightclub Endless Night, and forces Lo to his death. Not even Lo’s son Chi Feng (Chin Siu Ho) can escape Yen’s vengeance, but he manages to barely escape with the help of a club singer. Forced to leave everything behind, Chi Feng jumps town and becomes an underground boxer, all the while biding his time. When he encounters the former owner of Endless Night again, Chi Feng knows the time for revenge has come.Read More »
In this 1980 documentary, originally in three parts but presented here in its entirety, Vittorio De Seta presents the drama of the Vietnamese refugees who arrived in the great Asian metropolis.Read More »
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.Read More »
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Eliú is incarcerated in a minors’ center in the heart of Colombian forest, for a crime he committed with his friend El Mono. The teenagers perform manual labor and intense group therapy. One day, El Mono is transferred to the same center.Read More »
In Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel, two people meet whose lives could hardly be more different. Monika is in her mid-forties and belongs to the city’s cultural scene as a curator.Read More »
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Harshly treated by the critics on release, of Pedro Almodovar’s work, Kika is perhaps the one that most benefits from re-viewing and re-assessment.
The story of Kika (an astonishing Veronica Forque), a Madrid makeup artist whose relationship with Ramon (Alex Cassanovas) leads to criminal schemes involving Kika’s maid Juana (Rossy DePalma), Jauan’s amorous, criminal brother Pablo (Santiago Lajusticia) and Ramon’s youth-obsessed father Nicholas (Peter Coyote). Overseeing it all is the muckraking, reality tabloid television show presided over by the formidable Andrea Scarface (a uniquely attired Victoria Abril).Read More »
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The moment he’s released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto’s precious stones.Read More »