Set in the mid-1950s when Tangier was still an international zone, El Chergui presents the city on the eve of its independence, as Aïcha resorts to magical practices to try to prevent her husband from taking a second wife. Around her, a society of women creates its own form of active resistance even as the larger independence movement grows around it. Through his unique use of montage, Smihi creates arresting images that present a society torn by the contradictions of colonialism, religion, patriarchy, and resistance.Read More »
The star-director team of Charles Bronson and Tom Gries (Breakheart Pass) combine their efforts again on Breakout. Bronson plays Nick Colton, a reckless pilot who heads to an unnamed South American country, in hopes of rescuing imprisoned Jay Wagner (Robert Duvall). Villain Harris Wagner (John Huston), who has framed Jay, has an unlimited supply of henchmen at his disposal, but they’re no match for the dauntless Colton. Jill Ireland, Bronson’s real-life wife, costars as Duvall’s missus.Read More »
García Pelayo’s cardinal film is an urban collage: The love story between Ana and Miguel is determined by constant movement, towards each other and away from each other. It is the story of love as a starting point and a point of escape. Driven by a fantastic mix of eagerness to experiment on the one hand, and to act as a witness of the time period on the other, García Pelayo provides a first interim report on the after-effects of the Franco period and the transition; pointing out what political change makes people do, and what it does to them. Towards the end, this culminates in a powerfully eloquent speech about the Constitution, and the very need for it. This is an exercise in democracy by people who have been under oppression for too long. Besides, VIVIR EN SEVILLA is a perfect alternative city guide for an era, an Andalusia that has ceased to exist: García Pelayo dwells on street signs and local bars, loses himself occasionally when shooting bustling plazas, and enjoys casting local celebrities (or, at least, making actresses and actors appear as such).Read More »
This is the fairy tale of someone who went out in search of a rabbit and discovered the world along the way. So a children’s fairy tale? A fairy tale for adults about a child. Or about the happiness that a child can still conquer while we have blocked our way there. That we might still be able to conquer if we regain the belief that it is not lost forever. A film about paradise rediscovered? No, from the hope that paradise was never entirely lost. The film begins with eight-year-old Marcel waking up after his father has run away and his mother is spending the night with her boyfriend. The boy makes his own breakfast and feeds the rabbit that is camping in the old cot. A child left alone in a world they trust.Read More »
A professional hit man is planning to retire, always a difficult move for one in such a profession. A young apprentice appears to be eager to learn all the skills of the trade – but is that all he wants?Read More »
A young couple inherits a farm. Hoping that the rural location might help to patch up their strained marriage, they move into it, only to be confronted by the supernatural forces that inhabit it.Read More »
Open-minded architect Paul Kersey returns to New York City from vacationing with his wife, feeling on top of the world. At the office, his cynical coworker gives him the welcome-back with a warning on the rising crime rate. But Paul, a bleeding-heart liberal, thinks of crime as being caused by poverty. However his coworker’s ranting proves to be more than true when Paul’s wife is killed and his daughter is raped in his own apartment. The police have no reliable leads and his overly sensitive son-in-law only exacerbates Paul’s feeling of hopelessness. He is now facing the reality that the police can’t be everywhere at once. Out of sympathy his boss gives him an assignment in sunny Arizona where Paul gets a taste of the Old West ideals. He returns to New York with a compromised view on muggers…Read More »
A treasure hunter finds a sunken Spanish galleon off the coast of a Philippine island. What he doesn’t know is that the ship is guarded by the spirit of an ancient Moro princess.Read More »
