Review from clydefro.com
I wasn’t sufficiently acquainted with Kon Ichikawa’s work (and, truthfully, I’m still not), but the entire tone of his relatively obscure I Am a Cat caught me somewhat by surprise. I’d loved Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain, a deeply and darkly humorous look at the ridiculousness of war played against that looming seriousness that’s always prevalent in those kind of films. I was then ready for some kind of Japanese incarnation of Harry and Tonto. That’s really not what I got, though. I Am a Cat is definitely steeped in comic undertones, with Tatsuya Nakadai almost parodying himself, but it’s absolutely far removed from Harry and Tonto. Instead, we’re left with some odd tribute to Nakadai’s eternally grumpy protagonist and the stray cat who’s his only true confidante.Read More »

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The movie goes back to the beginning of the century. After the death of his unfaithful wife Heghnar, Master Mkrtich builds an unusual spring in her honour. Its water stops flowing as soon as a stranger approaches it. Only Mkrtich, her husband, can drink water from the spring.Read More »

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With the strange disappearance of Laura, two colleagues, her older boyfriend, Rafael, and Ezequiel, learn of their recent discoveries, which may help them locate her. However, the story is bigger and stranger than they could imagine.Read More »

Pietro Marcello, one of contemporary cinema’s most versatile talents, follows up his dramatic breakthrough Martin Eden with this enchanting period fable. Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiery) returns home from the frontlines a widower and father to an infant daughter. Raised in rural Normandy, the child Juliette (Juliette Jouan) grows into a headstrong young woman who dreams of greater possibilities. She seeks refuge in the nearby woods, where she meets a witch who promises scarlet sails will one day take her away from her village. Reckoning with her future and swept away by a rakish young pilot (Louis Garrel) who literally falls from the sky, Juliette never stops believing in the witch’s prophecy. Tracing Juliette’s journey throughout the 20 years of great invention between the world wars, Scarlet delicately weaves together music and fantasy, history and folklore, realist drama and ethereal romance, to craft a timeless story of a young woman’s emancipation.Read More »

The story shows Emma’s and Böbe’s fight for survival, for keeping their position in society which they achieved with hard work in the previous regime. They don’t want to lose their place and become village girls again.Read More »

In 1835, the San Cristobal Island located somewhere in the British West Indies is ruled by sadistic beauty, Lady Susan Walker, who forces the local men to join the black slaves on her sugar cane plantation and either work or die. She’s always dressed in black and never lets go of her whip, the black snake. Her latest husband has gone missing making her a real black widow. Her right hand man, impotent, racist and violent Joxer Tierney, is in command of the slaves and he makes sure that they hate him even more than they do her. Young slave Joshua plans a revolt, but his religious father Isaiah is terrified of what might happen if the revolt fails. Sir Charles Walker, the brother of Susan’s late husband, goes undercover as Ronald Sopwith to investigate what really happened to his brother. She hires him as the plantation accountant, gives him a black sex slave named Cleone and eventually tries to seduce him. Her sadistic gay assistant may no more about Charles’ brother’s fate.Read More »

PLOT: A story that explores family conflict between 2 sisters and their painter father before the World War 2, in Intramuros, Old Manila.Read More »

An in depth look at the making of Kurosawa’s films.

The series consists of episodes of varying length, typically between 30 and 60 minutes, which chronicle the making of Kurosawa’s films. Altogether 21 of Kurosawa’s 30 films are covered by the series: basically, the ones that he shot for Toho studios.Read More »

Nazisploitation porn film (an interesting combo) about a Paris bordello where willing women pleasure high-ranking members of the SS for cash. High productions values make this a classier affair than it has any right to be. Sets and costumes are impressive and definitely add to the enjoyment of the film. There are even a few period vehicles on display. The hardcore scenes are in limited supply and of varying quality. The first FFM sex scene is the highlight of the bunch. Some lesbian scenes try to spice up the second half of the film but the action is strictly softcore and bland. Thankfully, the lovely Brigitte Lahaie is on hand to add significant eye candy throughout (here still a brunette, a few years before her trademark blonde look). Exploitive elements are kept to a minimum but include some sexual bondage and a scene where one of the prostitutes thoroughly washes her vagina after sex with a commander. There’s also a gunshot suicide and a scene where one of the women is accused of spying on the Nazis and is tortured with live wires after being stripped and bound. Definitely not a film for everyone, but those familiar with daring 70’s porn films should know what to expect.Read More »