Chinatown

Chinatown (1974)

a film by Roman Polanski

This is the darkest film noir. There is a detective, there is a femme fatal, there is a hidden plot and as it unveils it reveals an elemental but unlimited evil. Chinatown is thrilling, cinematographically rich and ultimately haunting.

Grand Illusion

Grand Illusion (1927)

a film by Jean Renoir

Grand Illusion is a story of a war in which the parts engaged have faces, have stories and above all are really human. It is a great contrast after All Quiet on the Western Front, to see this romanticized image of war that celebrates humanity amidst the great tragedy that was the trenches and machine gun reality. A portrait of war like no other, a great humanist film.

All Quiet in the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

a film by Lewis Milestone

The awe transmited by this story of the young men that enter war with joy and anxiety and the suffer the disaster of an impersonal and alienating conflict is a must see. Is not only a historical document and an anti-war manifesto, it is also a great film with surprisingly modern camera movements and memorable takes.

Incendies (Bonus Track)

Incendies (2010)

a film by Denis Villeneueve

Visually stylish and featuring brilliant takes with a Radiohead score, Incendies is a shocking and vibrant movie. This film brings the etno-drama to a new narrative level and strikes with an uncanny tragedy.

L'Avventura

L'Avventura (1960)

a film by Michelangelo Antonioni

"... one of the salient features of new narratives is a deliberate, calculated frustration of the desire to 'know'. Did anything happen last year at Marienbad ? What did become of the girl in L'Avventura? Where is Alma going when she boards a bus alone in one of the final shots of Persona?"

Susan Sontag

Antonioni's movies have the power to transmit a deep an lasting feeling of reflection and emptiness. L'Avventura is an aesthetically beautiful film, with amazing photography, great settings and beautiful and fashionable people but it is also a reflection about the nature of isolation, about the disconnection between people and loneliness in the middle of crowd.

This movie more than a story is a feeling.

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali (1955)

by Satyajit Ray

What is it?

Pather Panchali is the story of a family in rural India during the 20s (but it may be yesterday as well). The father, a priest and writer, struggles to support his wife and his two kids Durga and Apu who live in the deteriorated ancestral home. This movie is a story of family and childhood memories. It is a lyrical narration of the life, tragedies and little happiness of an impoverished family

Memorable scene

This film is visually stunning and all the images are composed with great care and technical skill. In my favourite scene Durga and Apu run across a field of tall grass and giant feather looking plants trying to catch a glimpse of the train that they have heard several times but never seen.

Did you know?

The music for Pather Panchali was composed by an emerging sitar player called Ravi Shankar. The same Ravi Shankar that played at Woodstock and became an internationally recognized musician. Even John Coltrane name his son Ravi Coltrane after Shankar.

Why is it worth watching this movie?

Pather Panchali is a movie which manages to bring the simplicity of life into a lyrical level. Enriched by the stunning images and brilliant music, the life and tragedy of this poor family becomes beautiful and eternal. This film has some of the sweetest childhood memories I have seen on the screen: the kids following the candy seller, gathering to watch image shown in the bioscope or following a theater play.

I have to confess that for me it was not an easy film to watch, it flows slowly with serenity and patience requiring lots of attention. But it brought to me the sweet aftertaste of a poem and its sequences linger and keep growing in my memory.

L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential (1997)

a film by Curtis Hanson

L.A. Confidential brings back to life the spirit of film noir at the end of the 90s. It is a vibrant story with interesting characters which drinks from the sources of classic films and renews the genre with great performances and modern edition.

Favorite quote

"Something has to be done, but nothing too original, because hey, this is Hollywood." - Sid Hudgens

Rushmore

Rushmore (1998)

a film by Wes Anderson

What is it?

This is the story of Max Fischer, a precocious 15-year-old student in the elitist Rushmore Academy. Max has a hard time keeping up with his grades spending all of his time in elaborate extracurricular activities. He becomes friends with a disillusioned steel tycoon (amazing Bill Murray) and falls in love for a widowed first grade teacher for whom he tries to build an Seaquarium. Eclectic and fun, this is an original and modern love story.

Favorite quote

"I was punched in the face. What's your excuse" - Max Fischer

Why is it worth watching this movie?

Wes Anderson's construction of memorable characters and eclectic stories feels fresh and original. The colors palette and the compositon of the images are beautiful but also the stories are really fun.

Babette's Feast

Babette's Feast (1987)

a film by Gabriel Axel

What is it?

Babette's Feast is the story of the two daughters of a pastor of a strict Christian sect and their French maid in a small village on the remote coast of Jutland during the late XIX century. The two sisters have guides their lives according to their pious beliefs and have renounced to anything that keeps them apart from that path. But one day Babette appears on their door and with her comes a head-on collision of their strict protestant life with the concupiscence of the senses represented in the lavish French food.

Memorable scene

Once Babette starts cooking, everything about this movie becomes memorable, the soup, the salad, les cailles in sarcophage...

Favorite quote

"An artist is never poor." - Babette

Why is it worth watching this movie?

Babette's Feast is the ultimate food-movie. By the end I wanted to eat and drink and enjoy the same pleasure brought to the characters in this unforgettable feast. It is the original and brilliant portrait of cooking and the presentation of the food what make this a powerful story. This movie is composed by a first half which feels like climbing a mountain and a second half in which the story slides down-hill and the pace accelerates with every dish and every bottle of wine opened.

I could talk about the religious aspect of the community in the isolated Jutland and the life of the sisters but this is essentially a mouthwatering film, and I would like to keep it like that.

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Adaptations Smackdown

vs.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

a film by Tay Garnett

vs.

Ossessione (1943)

a film by Luchino Visconti

Introduction

Both of these movies are screen adaptations of the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) by James M. Cain. This is the story of a drifter who has an affair with the beautiful wife of road restaurant owner much older than her. They conspire to get rid of the husband and attempt to start a new life together without losing the restaurant.

In the blue corner: from 1943, the movie that has been considered the first Italian neorealist film. The first film of Luchino Visconti, the director of The Leopard, Death In Venice and Saló. After escaping the censorship of the fascist government and distribution issues here is: Ossesione.

In the red corner: from 1946, from the powerful Metro-Goldwin-Mayer, featuring Lana Turner and John Garfield. Along movies like the Maltese Falcon and Out of the Past a representative of the America film-noir. After escaping the Hays code censorship here: is The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Round 1. Cross-counter of femme facts

The Postman Always Rings Twice opens with a lipstick rolling on the floor and the camera follows it to find the long and beautiful legs of Lana Turner. Ossessione opens with a nicely composed image and a suggestive pair of legs but the Hollywood take is an instant classic. The femme fatal is the heart a film-noir and Turner is a great one. Round for The Postman...

Round 2. Cinematography jab

Right after the opening scene the The Postman... forgets about the camera movements and Ossessione is rich in travelings and open takes, the camera descends into the action and moves with the characters. The great takes of Ossessione make the road one more character. Round for Ossessione.

Round 3. Punching cinema

But Ossessione is not an easy film to watch. The rhythm of the Italian makes the subtitles hard to follow and the condition of the film and its DVD transfers is really poor. The composition of the story, the clear dialogs and the staged situation make the American adaptation a more accessible film. Round for The Postman...

Round 4. Realism uppercut

However, Ossessione is a richer film. Visconti took the camera to the street. The people and the actions in the background give a new dimension to the story and suddenly the characters acquire personality and seem guided by confuse and capricious human emotions. The great weakness of The Postman... is the interpretation of the husband as a player in this story of desire and ambition. The drifter and the wife do the trick and although the lawyers are pretty good, round for Ossessione.

Round 5. Boxing styles

If Ossessione was a boxer it would be an out-fighter, a boxer that tries to wear and opponent down by strategy, rather than simply knocking him out. The Postman... is a swamer, a boxer that overwhelms by applying constant pressure. Different styles, effective in different aspects, they are both good movies, but the final point goes to Ossessione for pushing the cinematographic and narrative boundaries, for being the suggestive movie that The Postman... longed to be.

And the winner is, by eleKino's decision: Ossessione.

Ossessione

See: The Postman Always Rings Twice

Adaptations Smackdown

Divorce, Italian Style

Divorce, Italian Style (1961)

a film by Pietro Germi

What is it?

Fernandino Cefalú, a Sicilian nobleman is stuck in his marriage and longs to marry his beautiful cousin Angela. Divorce is illegal, so he sets a plan to trick his wife into an affair with another man and then murder her to keep his honor. Divorce, Italian Style is a social satire but also a comedy rich in cinematography and memorable characters.

Memorable scene

In one of the sequences of this movie they announce the screening of La Dolce Vita, and all the town is collapsed by the controversy and appeal of this film. Nobody wants to miss it and they packed the theater for the show. The faces of the crowd, the fascination of the audience and the reference to a movie within a movie are unforgettable.

Favorite quote

"Life starts all over at 40. It's true." Baron Fernandino Cefalú

Why is it worth watching this movie?

The impossibility of getting a legal divorce and soft penalties for assassination in case of honor satisfaction, two elements that could inspired the most heart-breaking drama serve as a starting point for a brilliant comedy.

This movie is rich in its narrative and the cinematography. I was impressed by the camera movements and the composition of the sequences, as well as by the characters that seem taken out of Goya painting. This comedy about machinations and desire is a love letter to Sicily but also an acid satire. I take from this movie the excellent use of the narrator and the amazing role of Marcello Mastroiani and of course the tic of the Baron Cefalú.

Reds

Reds (1981)

a film by Warren Beatty

What is it?

Reds tells the story of Jack Reed, the journalist who told the story of his experience during the Russian Revolution in his book 10 days that shook the world and became the only American to receive a hero's funeral and be buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis is Moscow. This movie is a combination of a love story and a documentary featuring Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton reenacting the unbelievable story of Reed and Louise Bryant and having the testimony of the people that were part of the real story.

Memorable scene

Jack Reed is on a tour organized by Zinoviev to speak about the revolution to the representatives of the Muslim republics that were part of Russia. In the patio of a mosque-looking building everybody speaks in a different language at the same time and chaos reigns in the political assembly. Reed is in the tribune and about to faint but the crowd celebrates what the translator has made of his speech.

Favorite quote

"Of course, nobody goes with the idea of dying, everybody wants to live. I don't remember his exact words, but the meaning was that grand things are ahead, worth living and worth dying for. He himself said that."

Why is it worth watching this movie?

This movie shows the power of art and cinema to overcome social prejudice and political boundaries. The country of the McCarthysm produces a movie about Jack Reed and the socialism in America before and during the First World War.

This movie starts slowly like a diesel engine, but manages to be emotionally punching and validate the story in a very original way through the testimonies of the witnesses of the real story. The epic story of Jack Reed is a story worth telling and watching.

Hotel Terminus: The Life and Time of Klaus Barbie

Hotel Terminus: The Life and Time of Klaus Barbie (1988)

a film by Marcel Ophüls

What is it?
Hotel Terminus is a documentary tracing the life of Klaus Barbie: the Gestapo chief in Lyon responsible for imprisoning, deporting, torturing and murdering thousands of Jews and French resistance fighters. Protected by the intelligence of the United States in return for his "anticommunist expertise", Barbie escaped to Latin America where he became an affluent businessman . This movie is a monumental work of research and cinema about the pursuit of answers.

Favourite quote

"Herr Bartelmus? Herr Bartelmus" - Marcel Ophuls searches through a garden and peering under cabbage leaves.

Gossip

If you have seen Carlos you may recognize Jacques Verges, the defense lawyer for Carlos who also defended Klaus Barbie. If you have seen Che you may recognize Regis Debray as the young French intellectual who arrives with Guevara to Bolivia. If you have seen Au Revoir, Les Enfants you may recognize the episode at Izieu.
Why is it worth watching this movie?

As Marcel Ophüls observes "Monumental is a code word for long" but this movie is monumental in all of its 4 and a half hours. It is human, inquisitive and spellbinding, this documentary unravels one of the many stories that summarize the history of the twentieth century and tells it through its protagonists.

I post no memorable scene because no particular scene summarizes the story. Layer by layer, just like an oil painting, each testimony and sequence in this movie constructs a powerful narration and a document that leaves the feeling of a hole in the stomach and ideas that will keep rolling in your head.

Carlos (Bonus Track)

Carlos (2010)

a film by Oliver Assayas

What is it?

Carlos the Jackal was the world's most famous terrorist of the Twentieth century. He worked for and along communists radical movements, Arab nationalists and Islamists during the toughest years of the Cold War. This movie tells the story of Carlos life from his early involvement in terrorist actions in the 70s to his decadence and capture in the early 90s. This movie -as announced on the beginning of its three parts- is the mixture of journalistic research and fictionalization of the grayest areas of his life. This film can be regarded both as a historical document and as an action thriller. This movie jumps between the European capitals to the Middle East and North African countries, from the fashionable 70s to the decadent 80s, from the idealistic revolution to the bloody armed action and combines it all to tell the story of a man whose name meant terror.

Memorable scene

A group leaded by Carlos breaks into the meeting of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) there is shooting, confusion and screaming, the representatives take cover under their desks, it is the beginning the most thrilling section of this film.

Favourite quote

"You need me, my name is feared" - Carlos

Why adding this movie as a Bonus Track?

This film is a shocking game of Risk incarnated in the figure of Carlos. It gives a face and a story behind a feared man and articulates the game of power that was the Cold War. This movie gets the alluring spirit of rebellion and the rock-star character of Carlos' as celebrity, producing a Stockholm syndrome fascination, but quickly enough it is contrasted with his personal delusion, his lack of moral consideration and his intoxication of power.

Carlos has great narrative power, has great acting, has action sequences and political intrigue. A movie like Carlos is an example of the power of cinema to bring history to life, to validate what has been forgotten or obscured and provide a reflection of the world today in the mirror of history.

America, America

America, America (1963)

a film by Elia Kazan

What is it?

America, America is the story of Stavros Topouzoglou, a greek living in Anatolia at the end of the XIX century when the social conditions made life very difficult for minorities living in Turkey. This movie is the story of his journey from his hometown to America. This is the familiar story of director Elia Kazan, it is an epic story of immigration and family.

Memorable scene

In the deck of the ship that took Stavros to America, a group of first-class passengers accompanied with some musicians enter the third class section and start dancing a waltz and from the shadows jumps Stavros and interrupts the scene and starts dancing and spinning frantically while crying.

Favourite quote

"My name is Elia Kazan. I am Greek by blood, a Turk by birth and an American because my uncle made a journey"

Why is it worth watching this movie?

This is the movie that every immigrant would like to make of its own personal story, it is a movie about the sacrifices and risks of trying to make your life somewhere else when conditions force you to leave your homeland. But it is also a movie about the vitality and strength in human nature that drive people to look for a better life. It is an homage to the homeland, the portraits of the country and the life in Turkey are carefully composed with visual care, memorable characters and great music.

Á Nous La Liberté

Á Nous La Liberté (1931)

a film by René Claire

What is it?

Called an all-time classic comedy, Á Nous La Liberté is the story of Louis, who escapes prison with the help of his friend Emile to become a wealthy industrialist. He has everything he wanted, a huge business, a trophy wife, influential friends, but his past returns when Emile gets a job in his plant. This is a movie about friendship and about the alienation of man in the industrial society, it is witty and beautiful satire of wealth and industrialization from the early time of sound in cinema.

Memorable scene

The first sequence of this movie is great: from the assembly line, to escape from prison to winning a cycling race, it is surrealist, it is funny, it is narratively powerful and you feel empathy for the characters right away, it has it all.

Gossip:

It is true that this movie was the subject of a law suit in which Tobis, the German distribution company of Á Nous La Liberté, accused Chaplin's Modern Times of plagiarism. Chaplin's film was released five years after this film and although the similarities are evident, René Clair refused to participate in the law suit and claimed that if Chaplin was inspired by his film it would be a honor.
Why is it worth watching this movie?

A Nous La Liberté is a classic piece of its time, it features the social critique and the satire to industrialization and aristocracy, it shows the influence of the vanguards in surrealism inspired visuals and even in the faces of some characters and specially it shows the comedy style inherited from the silent film era.

This movie can be regarded as a left-wing film, but that would be underestimating what is a really optimistic story, in which assembly lines, work and wealth accumulation can not get in the way of friendship and hope. It shows a world in which the machines arrive for making life easier, for creating time and life quality for the workers, creating a world that at the time was the dream of a better world.