Quote: Bænken (The Bench), dir. by Per Fly. tells the tale of Kaj, a stubborn and proud alcoholic who has squandered away most of his life in devotion to the bottle. When his estranged daughter moves, by coincidence, into the same public housing project as him, he gets a second chance. A sympathetic, witty, and moving drama about responsibility and family ties, à la Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.Read More »
Synopsis Follows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.Read More »
Quote: Using the backdrop of the banality and ordinariness of everyday life in a small provincial town, the film analyses the relationship between two women friends, who struggle to find their way in post-communist Poland. The small events of their lives represent universal feelings of being trapped and lost in a new world, in contrast to the successes of the dark side of democracy – drug dealing, crime and pornography. By its very nature, the film creates a picture of provincial Poland after democracy, but its charm is in the understated relationship between the two friends and the people around them and in the mosaic structure that builds up the film piece by piece.Read More »
Golden Goddesses vibrantly casts light upon twenty-five significant women involved in the erotic film industry during its Golden Era, between the years 1968-1985 when participation in adult productions was illegal. Profiling performers, directors, scriptwriters and costumers, Golden Goddesses is a palate of insights, intimacy, vulnerability and strength, as it immerses readers into the lives of these celebrated and audacious females. Delicately crafted with film highlights and more than 300 photos, Golden Goddesses captures the quintessence of a rebellious spirit from days gone by. Featuring the author’s own interviews with Marilyn Chambers, Seka, Kay Parker, Rhonda Jo Petty, Serena, Georgina Spelvin, Juliet Anderson, Candida Royalle, Sharon Mitchell, Gloria Leonard, Annie Sprinkle, Ann Perry, Jody Maxwell, Barbara Mills, Veronica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Ginger Lynn, Kitten Natividad, Amber Lynn, Laurie Holmes, Christy Canyon, Julia St. Vincent, Roberta Findlay, Nina Hartley & Raven Touchstone.Read More »
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie’s Pictures (1978)
This lighthearted romp through Royal India presents a world of Maharajas, palaces, imperiled art objects, and the foreign collectors who will stop at nothing to possess them. Peggy Ashcroft and Larry Pine star as two rapacious art collectors who come to the decaying Art Deco palace of a young Maharaja (Victor Banerjee) to examine a legendary collection of Indian miniature paintings. While vying with each other to get the pictures away from the royal couple—nicknamed Georgie and Bonnie as children by their Scottish governess—they must also divine the true motives of the Indian curator of the collection (Saeed Jaffrey), who, in league with the Maharaja’s beautiful sister (Aparna Sen), may be working against them. Amidst the backdrop of lavish tourist entertainments, Christmas parties, fireworks, and even an English ghost, a desperate game of palace intrigue will determine the ultimate resting place of the priceless paintings.Read More »
Quote: Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, and director André Téchiné collaborate for the second time (following their outstanding My Favorite Season) in a powerful story about a Paris cop (Auteuil) who comes from a criminal family. When his father and brother are murdered, suspicion shifts to his lover (actress Laurence Côté), who then disappears. Auteuil’s character reluctantly teams up with her lesbian girlfriend (Catherine Deneuve) both to find her and clear her name. The gripping story is told in a nonlinear series of overlapping chapters taking place before, during, and after the killing. Time bends and shifts, forcing the action to ripple through an ever-widening pool of neuroses and tragedy. The best part of the film, however, is the always- mesmerizing cold-fusion chemistry between Deneuve and Auteuil, two great actors who never wear their hearts on their sleeves.Read More »