1980s

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In the film Warsaw 88-89 we observe the city on the eve of the coming changes, captured on VHS tape. Tomasz Dominik and Piotr Rozbicki capture interesting, distinctive details – an unusual balcony, inscriptions on the walls, beautiful but dilapidated architectural details – from the gray reality of shabby tenement houses, blocks of flats, squalid courtyards. In the background we can observe the political, economic and cultural context of the period: lifestyle, cars, clothes, texts on walls. In the public space the sphere of the sacred mixes with the profane.Read More »

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Bulaklak sa City Jail–1984 Metro Manila Film Festival’s grand slam winner–is a tale of female empowerment in a patriarchal society, an exercise in observation of its female characters struggling to survive in the cruel society and a revelation of the many injustices, gendered or not, that Filipinos encounter in their lifetime.Read More »

Malou feels that the difficulties she is experiencing in her relationships lie in her past and so she searches out information about her mother. Her mother, a nightclub singer who lived in Germany, France and Argentina, becomes the focus of a series of flashbacks through which we learn of her mother’s stormy life and the difficulty she had in bringing her up. These insights enable Malou to sort out the difficulties in her own life.Read More »

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Vain clothing buyer Hugo meets beautiful Myriam on the subway and pursues her, discovering to his delight that she’s a prostitute. The crafty Myriam, of course, has more in mind for their encounter than smug Hugo bargained for. Love Rites turns the sexual tables with perverse exactitude.Read More »

The son of Torren learns of his heritage, goes to avenge the deaths of his fellow villagers, and rescue his sister/love interest from the evil Dakkar and his spider cult. Ator battles giant spiders, swordsmen cloaked in shadow, re-animated dead warriors, and horribly hideous witches.Read More »

Review by Nzoog Wahrlfhehen
Dr. Wong (Jess Franco) sends his thugs to eliminate Mr. Jung. The “judoka shadow” of Bruce Lyn (José Llamas) is cast against a wall, swearing to take revenge. Meanwhile, Lina Romay and Albino Graziani, both of whom work for the British secret service, investigate Jung’s murder. Wong is also out to eliminate Macedo, a Filipino gangster involved in dubious dealings, with the purpose of having the whole market to himself. But Bruce and his judoka shadow (which does the fighting for him) interfere with his plans, leading him to send the beautiful Honey Eyes to do him in. Honey Eyes sets a trap for Bruce, but the latter is saved in the nick of time by the British agents. What follows are numerous fights and chases until Bruce and Dr, Wong finally meet, face to face. The issue is raised of a boat bearing a heroin cargo. The two secret agents find the boat, though this turns out to be manned by two corrupt millionaires. Bruce Lyn arrests them but then, on recalling that his masters had taught him to be compassionate, sets them free.Read More »

After the liberation of the South, Nguyet, a prostitute on the Huong river tries to find a revolutionary she had rescued from the enemy. She hopes to find him again.

Source adapted from: Viet Nam Film Institute, (2008). Catalogue of Vietnamese Awarded Films (1949-2005). Ha Noi: Viet Nam.Read More »

Year 1945. The second World War is over and the soldiers from the sisbanded army are returning home. Yet there is still no sign of Joze Malek. His wife Mimika and their children Tincek and olga know only that he had deserted the German army and gone over to the Soviet Red Army. Mimika works a a hired hand for the farmer, Medved, who givesher bread and milk for her child instead of regular wages. This is not at all to the liking of her relative Vanc. One fine day, father Malek comes home and the family is happilly reunited. Vanc tells Jozeabout the agrarian reform, through which the Maleks even get their own plot of land. In exchange of this, they have to remove all the religious symbols from their home.Read More »

This story, that takes place during one day, tells about male meanness and ever-hard female destiny… The action takes place against the background of the first hits of the young group “Nautilus Pompilius”…

The first professional work of the director Alexey Balabanov, who at that time worked as an assistant at the Sverdlovsk Film Studio. The film was a teaching work, filmed while studying at the Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Directors.Read More »