Independent director Simon Rumley brings to the screen the story of a small noble family with financial difficulties. The Longleigh House where they reside must be sold since they are out of money. With a young schizophrenic son and a bedridden mother, his father decides to leave them for a couple of days. This is where the descent into hell begins. The son starts to skip on his daily medication and in an attempt to take care of his mother, starts doing everything wrong. The nurse who was supposed to show up is not allowed inside the mansion, since the son locks every possible entrance. When police and ambulance finally show up, the destructive impulses of the son have done their work. Following the style of Requiem for a Dream, the audience is subjected to the horrific schizophrenic visions of the son, and the tragic ending is disturbing enough to keep you awake for awhile. An excellent shocker from the UK.
07 May 2008
The Living and the Dead (UK, 2007)☆☆☆☆☆
Independent director Simon Rumley brings to the screen the story of a small noble family with financial difficulties. The Longleigh House where they reside must be sold since they are out of money. With a young schizophrenic son and a bedridden mother, his father decides to leave them for a couple of days. This is where the descent into hell begins. The son starts to skip on his daily medication and in an attempt to take care of his mother, starts doing everything wrong. The nurse who was supposed to show up is not allowed inside the mansion, since the son locks every possible entrance. When police and ambulance finally show up, the destructive impulses of the son have done their work. Following the style of Requiem for a Dream, the audience is subjected to the horrific schizophrenic visions of the son, and the tragic ending is disturbing enough to keep you awake for awhile. An excellent shocker from the UK.
Independent director Simon Rumley brings to the screen the story of a small noble family with financial difficulties. The Longleigh House where they reside must be sold since they are out of money. With a young schizophrenic son and a bedridden mother, his father decides to leave them for a couple of days. This is where the descent into hell begins. The son starts to skip on his daily medication and in an attempt to take care of his mother, starts doing everything wrong. The nurse who was supposed to show up is not allowed inside the mansion, since the son locks every possible entrance. When police and ambulance finally show up, the destructive impulses of the son have done their work. Following the style of Requiem for a Dream, the audience is subjected to the horrific schizophrenic visions of the son, and the tragic ending is disturbing enough to keep you awake for awhile. An excellent shocker from the UK.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon) France, 2007 ☆☆☆☆
The true story of Jean-Dominique Beauby, former Elle editor in Paris, who suffers from a stroke which leaves him completely paralyzed, except for his left eye. He is however able to write a book about his experience from which the movie is based. A really sad movie but superbly executed.
The true story of Jean-Dominique Beauby, former Elle editor in Paris, who suffers from a stroke which leaves him completely paralyzed, except for his left eye. He is however able to write a book about his experience from which the movie is based. A really sad movie but superbly executed.
05 May 2008
Interview (The Netherlands, 2003) ☆☆☆
Dutch Director Theo Van Gogh (who was murdered in 2004) was very controversial throughout his career. With the Interview, we find ourselves in Katja Schuurman's appartment, a real-life famous Dutch TV star who is being interviewed by a political journalist. They both begin an intimate conversation that ends up in confessions, mixed with drugs and alcohol of course. The most interesting part is perhaps the ending, where Katja has a unique chance to get back at all the journalists who have written lies about her.
Dutch Director Theo Van Gogh (who was murdered in 2004) was very controversial throughout his career. With the Interview, we find ourselves in Katja Schuurman's appartment, a real-life famous Dutch TV star who is being interviewed by a political journalist. They both begin an intimate conversation that ends up in confessions, mixed with drugs and alcohol of course. The most interesting part is perhaps the ending, where Katja has a unique chance to get back at all the journalists who have written lies about her.
03 May 2008
Gone With the Woman (Tatt av Kvinnen, Norway, 2007)
The story of a man, named He, he does not even have a name in the story. His daily life is interrupted by the acquaintance of a woman. She enters his life and transforms it completely, for the good. This movie represented Norway in the last Academy Awards ceremony in the Best Foreign Film category. More info from the Norwegian Film Institute
28 April 2008
15 April 2008
Crossing the Line (USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆
This pictures was taken by the North Korean government back in the 50s in an attempt to entice US soldiers to abandon their posts and desert to North Korea, where women, food and a happy life were promised to them. It sounds implausible, but it did happen. In the picture we see four US soldiers who actually decided to cross the line into Communist North Korea back in those years. Instead of being tortured or murdered, they became citizens a couple of years afterwards. Additionally, they became huge movie stars in that country, playing the roles in propaganda films where they would play of the "evil" Americans who want to destroy North Korean society. In Daniel Gordon's new documentary, we learn about James Dresnok, one of the four soldiers who one day simply walked away and cross the border into Pyongyang, and is still living there. Truly amazing documentary.
This pictures was taken by the North Korean government back in the 50s in an attempt to entice US soldiers to abandon their posts and desert to North Korea, where women, food and a happy life were promised to them. It sounds implausible, but it did happen. In the picture we see four US soldiers who actually decided to cross the line into Communist North Korea back in those years. Instead of being tortured or murdered, they became citizens a couple of years afterwards. Additionally, they became huge movie stars in that country, playing the roles in propaganda films where they would play of the "evil" Americans who want to destroy North Korean society. In Daniel Gordon's new documentary, we learn about James Dresnok, one of the four soldiers who one day simply walked away and cross the border into Pyongyang, and is still living there. Truly amazing documentary.
The Mist (USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆
Bad weather sets in in a small US coast town. Mist is all around and people are strangely getting killed by something or someone. We follow the story of a group of people (around 300) trapped in a supermarket. Suspense builds in really good, and although we see a blob-like tentacle monster at the beginning, the real creature is hidden until the very end. As soon as night falls, the mutant monsters start breaking into the glass doors of the supermarket and chaos ensues. As the movie progresses, there seems to be little hope for survival. There is sufficient gore scenes, just as director Frank Darabont likes it. All in all, a scary and entertaining film.
Bad weather sets in in a small US coast town. Mist is all around and people are strangely getting killed by something or someone. We follow the story of a group of people (around 300) trapped in a supermarket. Suspense builds in really good, and although we see a blob-like tentacle monster at the beginning, the real creature is hidden until the very end. As soon as night falls, the mutant monsters start breaking into the glass doors of the supermarket and chaos ensues. As the movie progresses, there seems to be little hope for survival. There is sufficient gore scenes, just as director Frank Darabont likes it. All in all, a scary and entertaining film.
10 April 2008
Borderline (Canada, 2007) ☆☆☆☆
A biographical story adapted to the big screen is what Borderline offers its audience. Director Lyne Charlebois has based the movie in two novels from Montréal writer Marie-Sissi Labrèche, where she tells the story of her troubled years. The plot revolves around Kiki, and 20 year-old aspiring writer who is, by the way, a blackout drunk and sex addict. Kiki must also take care of her elderly grandmother. We soon learn that many of Kiki's problems stem from her mother's behavior, who by now is in a psychiatric hospital. Coping with her troubled family and her love affair with a university professor make her life even more difficult. The movie jumps from past to present and blends characters from Kiki's youth into her everyday life. Actress Isabelle Blais gives an extraordinary performance and makes audiences feel sympathetic to her suffering.
08 April 2008
Inspiration for "Last Year in Marienbad"
After doing some research, I found out the real inspiration for Alain Resnais' film "Last Year in Marienbad". It is interesting to see how an idea from a novel inspires someone to shoot a length feature. The script for this film was based loosely on a novel titled "The Invention of Morel" written by Argentinian writer Adolfo Bioy Casares in 1940. Casares was a contemporary and friend of Jorge Luis Borges, another Argentinian, considered to be one of the most famous Latin American writers of the 20th century.
In the novel, the main character, a runaway, hides in a mysterious island that is filled with strangely dressed people who, according to the novel "'dance, stroll up and down, and swim in the pool.. as though they were in a resort like Los Teques or Marienbad." I believe this simple sentence gave way to the main theme in the film, where ghost-like and nameless characters stroll around the different gardens and hallways of the castle, as if they were playing in front of a theatre audience.
After doing some research, I found out the real inspiration for Alain Resnais' film "Last Year in Marienbad". It is interesting to see how an idea from a novel inspires someone to shoot a length feature. The script for this film was based loosely on a novel titled "The Invention of Morel" written by Argentinian writer Adolfo Bioy Casares in 1940. Casares was a contemporary and friend of Jorge Luis Borges, another Argentinian, considered to be one of the most famous Latin American writers of the 20th century. 
In the novel, the main character, a runaway, hides in a mysterious island that is filled with strangely dressed people who, according to the novel "'dance, stroll up and down, and swim in the pool.. as though they were in a resort like Los Teques or Marienbad." I believe this simple sentence gave way to the main theme in the film, where ghost-like and nameless characters stroll around the different gardens and hallways of the castle, as if they were playing in front of a theatre audience.
Elektromagnetische Spaziergänge, das klingt gut!
Die Electrical Walks der Klangkünstlerin Christina Kubisch eröffnen einen vollständig überraschenden Blick auf unsere gewohnte Umgebung. Wer die Strassen, Gebäude und Einkaufszentren von Montréal oder Québec mit den von Kubisch entwickelten "Kopfhörern" entdeckt hat, wird nie wieder in die Einfalt des visuellen Stadtbildes zurückfallen. Mit dieser Intervention macht uns die Künstlerin zum Komplizen: Wir hören das unsichtbar Gegenwärtige und wir werden selbst zu Komponisten unserer Umwelt.
Seit 2004 faszinieren die elektromagnetischen Spaziergänge Besucher in verschiedenen Städten Europas und Amerikas, erstmals werden sie nun in Kanada angeboten.
Tauschen Sie Ihre Entdeckungen und Geheimtipps nach dieser Ortsbesichtigung der besonderen Art im Blog zu den Electrical Walks aus. Christina Kubisch aus Berlin wird diese Intervention im September 2008 für Montréal und Québec konzipieren und mit einem Konzert vorstellen. Die Partner des Goethe-Instituts sind die Galerien Complexe Méduse in Québec und Oboro in Montréal.
Quelle: Goethe Institut Montreal Website
Die Electrical Walks der Klangkünstlerin Christina Kubisch eröffnen einen vollständig überraschenden Blick auf unsere gewohnte Umgebung. Wer die Strassen, Gebäude und Einkaufszentren von Montréal oder Québec mit den von Kubisch entwickelten "Kopfhörern" entdeckt hat, wird nie wieder in die Einfalt des visuellen Stadtbildes zurückfallen. Mit dieser Intervention macht uns die Künstlerin zum Komplizen: Wir hören das unsichtbar Gegenwärtige und wir werden selbst zu Komponisten unserer Umwelt.
Seit 2004 faszinieren die elektromagnetischen Spaziergänge Besucher in verschiedenen Städten Europas und Amerikas, erstmals werden sie nun in Kanada angeboten.
Tauschen Sie Ihre Entdeckungen und Geheimtipps nach dieser Ortsbesichtigung der besonderen Art im Blog zu den Electrical Walks aus. Christina Kubisch aus Berlin wird diese Intervention im September 2008 für Montréal und Québec konzipieren und mit einem Konzert vorstellen. Die Partner des Goethe-Instituts sind die Galerien Complexe Méduse in Québec und Oboro in Montréal.
Quelle: Goethe Institut Montreal Website
05 April 2008
Last Year in Marienbad (L'Année Dernière à Marienbad) France, 1961 ☆☆☆☆☆
Breaking all rules of conventional storytelling, Last Year in Marienbad is the perfect example of a poetic film, where normal narrative structure is decomposed and altered, where the main characters remain nameless, but there is a underlying story. A man and a woman met apparently one year ago in Marienbad, where apparently the movie takes place? This is never revealed either. All we see is luxurious corridors, rooms, galleries and gardens that remind us of the Versailles castle near Paris. Have these two persons met before really? They are not even sure themselves. Everyone in the castle are dressed up very formal, like they are waiting for the wedding to begin. A very visual and esthetic film from director Alain Resnais. Might sound boring, but it's one of the most original movies I have seen so far.
31 March 2008
Ne le Dis à Personne (France, 2006) ☆☆☆☆☆
Alex's wife is brutally killed at a lake resort. Eight years later, he receives an email with a link to a live webcast. In there he sees his wife saying hello in real-time broadcast. How can that be? She seems to be hiding from someone. This renews Alex's hopes of finding his wife alive. What follows is a series of gruesome discoveries that involve Alex's family in connection to the "murder" of his wife. Simply put, one of the best and more touching French crime and police investigation movies I have ever seen. By the way, the soundtrack is fantastic.
Alex's wife is brutally killed at a lake resort. Eight years later, he receives an email with a link to a live webcast. In there he sees his wife saying hello in real-time broadcast. How can that be? She seems to be hiding from someone. This renews Alex's hopes of finding his wife alive. What follows is a series of gruesome discoveries that involve Alex's family in connection to the "murder" of his wife. Simply put, one of the best and more touching French crime and police investigation movies I have ever seen. By the way, the soundtrack is fantastic.
19 March 2008
L'Avocat de la Terreur(The Devil's Advocate, France 2007)
Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder interviews one of the most controversial French lawyers, Jacques Vergès, who has defended some of the worst terrorists and war criminals of the 20th century, among them Milosevic, Carlos, Klaus Barbie, etc. People have tried to categorize him (communists, fascist, anti-colonialist, etc.) but it no one agrees except on the fact that he is actually hard to categorize. A very enigmatic character who is not shy to express his opinions in public and to the media, he disappeared for 8 years and when he showed up again in France, continued his job as a lawyer defending the worst war criminals from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. When asked if he would have defended Hitler if he had had the opportunity, he replied: "I would even defend George Bush (whom he hates), depending on the circumstances."
10 March 2008
Hannah Höch
Ich habe diese Künstlerin vor kurzer Zeit entdeckt. Eine Freundin von mir hatte ein Plakat von ihr an ihrer Zimmertür geklebt. Wer war diese Frau? Die Erfinderin von "Collages" ist einer der berühmtesten deutsche Künstlerin des letzten Jahrhunderts. Hannah folgte die Dada-Bewegung und wurde ständig beschäftigt, Dada als Kunst zu entwickeln. Ihre Porträts ähneln dem Kubismus, aber die Themen sind meistens sehr surrealistisch, die die Subjektivität betonen.
Hannah Höcht cénnren skówerdíssa. Ona neo a legmyusfaobb retáriket Nemecországon. Wohy ez a fryu? A nederfyu "Dada" wemennmot tocse rekwóssa a "Collages"-dal a wélopmenndért ez a rétariremfó. Neo a legnowkobb némeci retáriket a ztelá neturjcét. Plorékssa tematek ztemon surrealismuszban, és traitpói sémblereak Kubismusz, hov bjéktsuja fásizém.
09 March 2008
Millionen-Kunstraub
Bei einem Raubüberfall auf die Sammlung E. G. Bührle in Zürich haben drei maskierte Täter am Sonntag, 10. Februar, vier Ölgemälde im Wert von 180 Millionen Franken gestohlen. Die Polizei spricht vom «wohl grössten Kunstraub Europas». Die Bührle-Sammlung ist ab sofort für die Öffentlichkeit nicht mehr zu regelmässigen Öffnungszeiten zugänglich.Bei den Bildern handelt es sich um je ein Ölgemälde von Claude Monet («Mohnfeld bei Vétheuil», 1879), Edgar Degas («Ludovic Lepic und seine Töchter», 1871), Vincent van Gogh («Blühende Kastanienzweige», 1890) und Paul Cézanne («Der Knabe mit der roten Weste», 1888/90).
Wenige Tage zuvor waren aus dem Pfäffiker Kulturzentrum Seedamm zwei Bilder von Picasso gestohlen worden. Die Gemälde haben einen Wert von 4,8 Millionen Franken. Nach dem Raub in Zürich wurde die Picasso-Ausstellung geschlossen.
Quelle: DRS
02 January 2008
Vitus Schweiz (CH), 2006 ✩✩✩✩✩
Der neueste Film von Fredi M. Murer handelt von der Geschichte eines Kindes, das hochbegabt ist. Er ist eine Art Genie. Er spielt das Klavier, und seine Eltern versuchen, ihn noch weiter das Klavierspielen beizubringen. Sein Grossvater, der Tischler vom Beruf ist, wird der beste Freund Vitus sein. Nach einem Unfall versucht Vitus seine Eltern mit grossem Erfolg zu überzeugen, dass er wegen des Unfalls und dessen Verletzungen nicht mehr begabt ist. Es wurde auf Schweiz-Deutsch gesprochen.
Der neueste Film von Fredi M. Murer handelt von der Geschichte eines Kindes, das hochbegabt ist. Er ist eine Art Genie. Er spielt das Klavier, und seine Eltern versuchen, ihn noch weiter das Klavierspielen beizubringen. Sein Grossvater, der Tischler vom Beruf ist, wird der beste Freund Vitus sein. Nach einem Unfall versucht Vitus seine Eltern mit grossem Erfolg zu überzeugen, dass er wegen des Unfalls und dessen Verletzungen nicht mehr begabt ist. Es wurde auf Schweiz-Deutsch gesprochen.
27 December 2007
Brothers Brødre, Denmark, 2004 ✩✩✩✩✩
Regisseur Susanne Bier erzählt die Geschichte von einem Vater, der nach Afghanistan geschickt worden ist. Er ist gezwungen, einen anderen Soldaten zu töten. Als er zurückkam, fühlte er sich nicht mehr wohl bei seiner Frau und zwei Kindern. Er hat ständig Angst und zweifelt an alles und allen. Er wird zu einem gewalttätiger Mann, und seine Frau muss mit den Kindern fliehen. Ein Drama, dass sich mit einem aktuellen Thema beschäftigt.
Regisseur Susanne Bier erzählt die Geschichte von einem Vater, der nach Afghanistan geschickt worden ist. Er ist gezwungen, einen anderen Soldaten zu töten. Als er zurückkam, fühlte er sich nicht mehr wohl bei seiner Frau und zwei Kindern. Er hat ständig Angst und zweifelt an alles und allen. Er wird zu einem gewalttätiger Mann, und seine Frau muss mit den Kindern fliehen. Ein Drama, dass sich mit einem aktuellen Thema beschäftigt.
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