Bogie56 Posted November 19, 2020 Author Share Posted November 19, 2020 The 2020 German Film Awards Best Picture was … System Crasher (2019) Nora Fingscheidt, Germany 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 1963 The Little Nuns (1963) Luciano Salce, Italy When jets flying over their little chapel continue to do damage to its ancient fresco two nuns decide to travel to Rome to confront the airline. This is the set up for a series of comedic adventures with recurring characters. It isn’t bad by any means but not top notch either. I really liked the sequence where the nuns wander onto a film set that has other faux nuns as extras. Unfortunately I could only see a dubbed version. Suzanne’s Career (1963) Eric Rohmer, France A pleasant enough little film (it runs 54 mins.) about an average working girl who meets a cad and his friend. Is she being taken advantage of or doesn’t she mind? and I’ve also seen … Attack Squadron! (1963) Shue Matsubayashi, Japan I expected much more from this film about Japanese fighter pilots defending the homeland in the waning days of WWII. It’s theme was should one become a kamikaze or live to fight another day. It has an impressive cast with Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Takashi Shimura and even Kiyoshi Atsumi who played Tora-San in over 50 films. But it is cheesy and there are only a handful of shots of real airplanes. The rest of the film looks like it could have been done by Gerry Anderson of ‘Thunderbirds’ fame! Very lame. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 The 2019 Canadian Screen Award winner … Antigone (2019) Sophie Deraspe, Canada Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 1964 The Scarlet Camellia (1964) Yoshitaro Nomura, Japan Beautiful Shima Iwashita plays a young women who lures men to their deaths in this period revenge saga. At 2 hours 43 minutes it is a bit long but not bad at all. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 The 2019 winner of Mexico’s Ariel Best Picture Award was … I’m No Longer Here (2019) Fernando Frias, Mexico The 2019 winner of Mexico’s Ariel Best Latin American Picture Award was … Pain and Glory (2019) Pedro Almodovar, Spain Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 1966 5. A Man and a Woman (1966) Claude Lelouch, France This is so well known that I don’t think I need say much about it. I recently saw it again for the third time and moved it from number 8 of the year to number 5. According to my diary I actually didn’t like it much at all when I first saw it in college. This time I think I just enjoyed its relaxed approach much more. 1986 A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (1986) Claude Lelouch, France I was happy to watch another film with this screen couple but I wondered why it was taking so long to see them in a scene together. After quite a while it was revealed that they separated soon after the finale of the first film. Anouk Aimee goes on to become a film producer while Jean-Louis Trintignant is still involved in car racing. The film begins with a very exciting rally race. The couple get together 20 years later as Aimee wishes to produce a film about their love story as seen in the first film. During production she decides that today’s audiences need something more and she injects a murder plot into the story along the lines of Dial M For Murder. The irony for me is that this complication served to make the film a mess and actually removed what was the charm of the original: a simple love story. 2019 8. The Best Years of a Life (2019) Claude Lelouch, France Another sequel to A Man and a Woman (1966). I say another as it completely ignores everything in A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (1986). Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Jean-Louis Duroc is now living in assisted living and his memory is fading. His son, played by the same actor in all three films by the way, thinks it will help him if he is able to see his one true love again whom he seems to remember well. He tracks down Anne Gauthier, played by Anouk Aimee and she agrees. It seems that they parted (again) after the last one because he couldn’t stop chasing skirts. Lelouch keeps this one simple and that’s why it fares better than 20 Years Later. I found it an enjoyable watch. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Iris10 Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 It's been almost 50 years since I've seen it, but I LOVED the ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ralfy Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 The Apu trilogy The Human Condition trilogy 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted December 26, 2020 Author Share Posted December 26, 2020 The winner of the 2019 Cinema Brazil Best Picture Award was … Bacurau (2019) Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juliano Dornelles, Brazil The winner of the 2019 Cinema Brazil Best Ibero-American Film was … Heroic Losers (2019) Sebastian Borensztein, Argentina The winner of the 2019 Cinema Brazil Best Foreign Film was … Parasite (2019) Joon-ho Bong, South Korea Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 1966 10. Wings (1966) Larisa Shepitko, Russia This was like a Russian Antonioni movie. The main character, a middle aged school teacher played well by Maya Bulgakova searches for some meaning in her life while reminiscing about the times when she was a fighter pilot during WWII and in love. This is one I would already like to see again. I couldn’t tell if I was missing something as with the first viewing it felt a bit flat and dated. But like some films, my impression of it the next day was better. La Grande Vadrouille (1966) Gerard Oury, France. Terry-Thomas and his RAF Bomber crew are forced to bail out over WWII occupied France and comic duo Bourvil and Louis de Funes come to their rescue. If silly French farce is your cup of tea this should not disappoint. One of the English titles is The Big Runaround which aptly describes the film. Terry-Thomas surprisingly takes a back seat and is quite restrained. For me the real star of the film was the gorgeous cinematography which I was to learn in the tail credits was done by none other than Claude Renoir. It has amazing locations which make you want to go touring in France immediately. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 China’s Hundred Flowers Award for Best Picture of 2019 was … My People, My Country (2019) Kaige Chen, Hu Guan, Has Ning, Muye Wen, Zhen Xu, Xiaolu Xue, Yibai Zhang, China Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 1967 The Last Adventure (1967) Robert Enrico, France With Alain Delon, Lino Ventura and Joanna Shimkus. Today the film seems a bit sloppy and all over the map but I think that was the point in 1967. It begins as a sort of Jules and Jim triangle but in this the guys seem more interested in their planes and fast cars than lovely Joanna Shimkus. Then it shifts gears into a treasure hunt adventure film but even then everyone seems more interested in having a few laughs. So it is a bit confused but amusing nonetheless. Les Mauvaises Frequentations (1967) Jean Eustache, France Like a few other French films of this period this one is about young insincere men on the hunt for girls. I didn’t find it very endearing. The imdb lists it at 42 minutes. The criteria in this thread was for a film to be 40 minutes long. The print I saw was 38 minutes so it barely qualifies as a feature. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 The winner of the 2018 Moscow International Film Festival …. A Siege Diary (2020) Andrey Zaystev, Russia Link to post Share on other sites
miltk Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 i make no excuses rashomon ugetsu seven samurai twenty four eyes sword of doom samurai trilogy vengeance is mine hidden fortress sansho the bailiff harp of burma 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 1967 The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) Jacques Demy, France I can hardly believe it has taken me all this time to catch up with The Young Girls of Rochefort. It was pleasant but a bit weird. The music is not quite catchy enough, the film not quite funny enough and even not quite Frank Tashlin enough. But it probably deserves its place on the 1001 Films to See Before You Die list. 1993 The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993) Agnes Varda, France Varda’s documentary about the town of Rochefort celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film that put them on the map. I liked this perhaps more than the original film itself but then I always am interested in the actual making of films. Catherine Deneuve turns out for the event but strangely does not even comment about her sisters’ absence. My disappointment was with the poor turnout. Where was Danielle Darrieux, George Chakiris, Michel Piccoli and Gene Kelly? We have to settle for behind-the-scenes archive footage which thankfully is plentiful. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 The Winner of the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival was this foreign film … There Is No Evil (2020) Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 1968 and I’ve also seen … Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell (1968) Hajime Sato, Japan. A passenger plane goes down in a remote area after an encounter with an alien flying saucer and everyone has to fight for survival soon thereafter. This got a dvd release on the Eclipse label so I thought perhaps it might have something worthwhile about it. i was so wrong. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 The 2020 Chicago International Film Festival’s Best Picture Award went to this foreign language film … Sweat (2020) Magnus von Horn, Poland Link to post Share on other sites
Sukhov Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Did we not do our favorites of 2020 yet? I saw the one Taiwanese film and that was Zzzzzz. Forget which others I saw but none stand out. As far as Goke I remember seeing that on Imports (I think?) and my god that was atrocious. Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 10 hours ago, Sukhov said: Did we not do our favorites of 2020 yet? I saw the one Taiwanese film and that was Zzzzzz. Forget which others I saw but none stand out. As far as Goke I remember seeing that on Imports (I think?) and my god that was atrocious. We have not done 2020 as yet. I am getting a lot of screeners for awards consideration but when it comes to foreign language films the majority of them were actually released in 2019. But I may have a preliminary favourites list for 2020 by March. Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 1971 and I’ve also seen … Nausicaa (1971) Agnes Varda, France Docudrama about Greek political refugees in France. At times it could easily be mistaken for a Godard film. For me it was all a bit dated and not that engaging. Gerard Depardieu has an interesting cameo as a hippie petty thief. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 The winners of the 2020 Venice Film Festival included …. The Wasteland (2020) Ahmad Bahrami, Iran Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 1974 The Man Who Sleeps (1974) Bernard Queysanne, France This film certainly will not be to all tastes. It is essentially a series of shots about a man in a city who ponders the question ‘what is the point of doing anything.’ The camerawork is very good and it is accompanied by narration such as “to walk down a street, or not to walk down a street.” It might as well be Hamlet. But this film has absolutely no drama. It won the Prix Jean Vigo in 1974. and I’ve also seen … Only Old Men Are Going to Battle (1974) Leonid Bykov, Russia. My main problem with this film is that for tis subject it lacked scope. I suspect it may have been done on a shoestring. It is about a fighter squadron on the Eastern Front. Just about the entire film takes place in a farmhouse and one country field and the characters are tightly shot as to not reveal much background. The battle footage is taken from stock shots. When the planes are not idling in the fields the men are back at the farmhouse singing folk songs with their ensemble band! 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Arsan404 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 El Inconveniente (One Careful Owner). 2020. Bernabé Rico. Spain. Comedy, drama. A no-nonsense businesswoman (Juana Acosta) buys an apartment as an investment, but she cannot move in until the no-nonsense old woman (Kiti Mánver) who owns the apartment dies. Very good movie. Bernabé Rico's direction is smart and witty, finding depth in even the silliest situations. Rico and Juan Carlos Rubio wrote the screenplay based on Rubio's successful stage play 100 sq. m, and the adaptation is excellent. The performances are good throughout the movie. Kiti Mánver and Juana Acosta give excellent performances, fleshing out the humanity in their characters and not turning them into clichés. José Sacristán makes the most of his very brief appearance, and Carlos Areces is hilarious as the hapless salesman who jumps from one job to another. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 This foreign language film won the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival … Beginning (2020) Dea Kutumbegashvili, Georgia Link to post Share on other sites
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