• Sergio Corbucci – Rimini Rimini (1987)

    Sergio Corbucci1981-1990ComedyEroticaItaly
    Rimini Rimini (1987)
    Rimini Rimini (1987)

    Quote:
    Best known for his seminal spaghetti westerns, Sergio Corbucci tried his hand at many genres during his long career as a director. Here, late in his career, he makes a nice entry in the commedia sexy all’italiana sub-genre.

    The film exists in several versions; one made for television ran a lot longer than this feature film edit, and it played like an omnibus film.

    In this theatrical version, the different vignettes are inter-cut. Some segments are naturally more funny than others, but it would be difficult to argue against the sexiness of the ladies involved, even if everything almost remains too tasteful.Read More »

  • Shimon Dotan – The Settlers (2016)

    2011-2020DocumentaryFranceShimon Dotan
    The Settlers (2016)
    The Settlers (2016)

    The first film of its kind to offer a comprehensive view of the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories of the West Bank.

    An historical overview, a geopolitical study and an intimate look at those people at the core of the most daunting challenges facing Israel and the international community today as the Palestinians and Israelis resume talks again.Read More »

  • Matt Cottingham – Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie (2019)

    Matt Cottingham2011-2020DocumentaryUnited Kingdom
    Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie (2019)
    Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie (2019)

    A profile of Agatha Christie with access to the author’s personal notebooks, letters and diaries as well as never-before-seen documents.Read More »

  • Édouard Molinaro – Beaumarchais l’insolent AKA Beaumarchais the Scoundrel (1996)

    Édouard Molinaro1991-2000AdventureFranceRomance
    Beaumarchais l'insolent (1996)
    Beaumarchais l’insolent (1996)

    Quote:
    Here is a lavish and charming film about a decade in the life of the multi-talented eighteenth century playwright and political activist. Under the guiding hand of director Edouard Molinaro, Fabrice Luchini gives a polished, witty, and mesmerizing performance as this French patron saint of freedom. Throughout his turbulent life, Pierre-Augustin Caron Beaumarchais swung back and forth between the pinnacles of success and the ignominy of imprisonment. His classic plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, were politically critical of the ruling class and corruption in high places. They both landed him in jail. But the resilient Beaumarchais found a new avenue for his creativity as a secret agent in England. There he got involved with an American who persuaded him to run arms for the American colonies. Beaumarchais, The Scoundrel is a convincing parable about the intoxicating enchantments and the spiritual firepower of freedom.Read More »

  • Sebastian Junger – Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (2013)

    Sebastian Junger2011-2020DocumentaryUSA
    Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (2013)
    Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (2013)

    Synopsis:
    Documentary about deceased photojournalist Tim Hetherington directed by Sebastian Junger. Together with his friend and long-term collaborator Sebastian, Tim had travelled the world documenting conflicts in Afghanistan, Liberia and Libya among other locations. Best known for their 2010 film ‘Restrepo’ which was nominated for an Academy Award, the two strived to capture the humanity within conflict situations and with their images they focused on the individuals involved and their experiences of the violence surrounding them. Unfortunately, in 2011 Tim was killed by a mortar blast and this film is a tribute and celebration of the legacy he has left behind and includes Sebastian conducting interviews with those who knew Tim best.
    — IMDbRead More »

  • Dan Jones & Jesse P. Pollack – The Acid King (2019)

    Dan Jones2011-2020CrimeDocumentaryJesse P. PollackUSA
    The Acid King (2019)
    The Acid King (2019)

    The story of Ricky Kasso, an American teenager who murdered his friend, Gary Lauwers, in an alleged “Satanic sacrifice” during the summer of 1984.Read More »

  • Sara Cwynar – Glass Life (2021)

    2021-2030DocumentarySara CwynarUSAVideo Art
    Glass Life (2021)
    Glass Life (2021)

    A dynamic configuration of images and videos overlaid with musings on human existence.

    Quote:
    “Glass Life” is a dynamic configuration of images and video accumulated over the years on the artist’s hard drives. From her studio, the artist uses her computer and various studio set ups to make sense of her visual archive—and the world outside. Luscious pictures of food, political figures, screen idols, sportswomen, Instagram models, grand artworks, cartoon characters, emojis, and self-portraits, among many other images, vie for our attention. This montage is overlaid by a broad range of references, including from Euripides, Plato, and Shakespeare; through Albert Camus, John Maynard Keynes, and Virginia Woolf; to Frantz Fanon, Luce Irigaray, Kobena Mercer, and the artist herself.Read More »

  • Lina Soualem – Bye Bye Tiberias AKA Bye Bye Tibériade (2023)

    2021-2030DocumentaryLina SoualemPalestine
    Bye Bye Tiberias (2023)
    Bye Bye Tiberias (2023)

    Thirty years ago, Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass left her village in Galilee to follow her dreams of acting in France. In this poignant portrait, both deeply personal and inescapably political, filmmaker Lina Soualem — who is also Abbas’ daughter — traces the story of her mother, her mother’s mother, and their extended family, all of whose lives have been defined by separation, exile, and displacement. Interwoven with nostalgic home video recordings and rich archival footage of Palestinian life through the decades, Bye Bye Tiberias is a moving memoir about the burden of leaving, the endurance of memory, and the determination to forge one’s own destinies and identities.Read More »

  • Alan Bridges – Play for Today: Traitor (1971)

    Alan Bridges1971-1980DramaTVUnited Kingdom
    Traitor (1971)
    Traitor (1971)

    Adrian Harris, a former British operative who defected to Russia after he was discovered to be a Soviet spy, is interviewed in his dismal Moscow flat by a group of journalists from the Western press. The interview is highly antagonistic on both sides and as Harris is encouraged to resort more and more to whisky, the interviewers become more and more aggressive. The play ends with a twist that changes our understanding of the interview we have just seen.

    This gripping, almost claustrophobic piece tackles such themes as class, patriotism, childhood, institutions and political values. John Le Mesurier called this the best part he ever had on television. His compelling performance earned him a BAFTA.Read More »

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