Warning - this film made me cry and leaves you on a cliff hanger...
This was a good film, starting when a young man - a boy really, steals a car not realising there was a baby in it. Soon Tsotsi as he is called is struggling to keep up his usual survival illegal activities whilst learning to look after a baby. At the same time we learn more about Tsotsi's personal history. At the end things ultimately come to a head when everyone is looking for the missing baby. Rated 4/5.
This will seem like a theme but this film also features a blind woman who is handy with a sword. This time from Japan a chambara meaning historical sword fighting/samurai film. The titular character is called Ichi (and her mentor was Zatoichi making this a spin off of those films). Ichi encounters a samurai who is unable to draw his sword and together they take get entangled with a local dispute between Yakuza and mercenaries. Watchable but nothing to really write home about. 2/5
A wuxia film - that is a historical Chinese martial art film this film was put forward for an Oscar for best cinematography though it didn't win. A very pretty film with interesting colour use.
The story starts as police officers look for Robin Hood style rebels (the titular House of Flying Daggers) and try to locate their leader through his suspected daughter a blind dancer. Things become complicated when one of the officers fall in love with her. Soon loyalties to respective groups become shaky and twists and turns reveal. Pretty and interesting I give it a 4/5.
The Fox Family is a rather strange black comedy based on old Korean mythology where mystical foxes can become human if they live 1000 years. In the film this included the need to eat a human liver. Cue the black comedy as this rather creepy family set out to find some humans to eat by the deadline. Meanwhile the eldest daughter is falling in love and the police are looking at them with suspicion when people start dying. Found it amusing but strange, was not so much a fan of the musical interludes - 4/5.
Couldn't find English sub version of the trailer - sorry!
Saw this at the cinema this is a thriller Iranian film. At least I was under the misconception it was a drama thriller when I went to see it - having heard a description of it from I don't know where and not seeing the poster. Look at the poster and guess the genre!
I'm glad I didn't know it was a horror film before going in to see it for two reasons. One - if I knew it was a horror film, because I get freaked out so easily, I wouldn't have gone to see it which would have been a shame. I will be sleeping with the lights on for some time now I think though. Two because it made the growing insidious horror seamlessly blend into the film from it's drama start.
Don't fear if you know nothing of 1980s Iran and the war with Iraq or the Cultural Revolution on 1979, what you need to know is included. The war and the bombings give a heavy background to a building tension in Shideh's life as slowly supernatural happenings add to her troubles. Shideh is dealing with mother/daughter issues both as a mother and a daughter. Meanwhile something is trying to turn her daughter against her. As her husband is drafted and she is home alone the camera work of the film really show the growing blur between dream and reality.
Though not what I would call a feminist film it does give a female perspective on Iran at that time which is interesting and for me uncomfortable. If you run out of your home terrified with your child in your arms, obviously without even time to put on your shoes, would the police stop you and instead of offering help arrest you. Arrest you for immodest dress and threaten to whip you.
Highly recommend it. 5/5. Had me jumping at a toaster popping.
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese company that has produced 20 feature films of which I've seen 16. Then there is also the film made by the same people before they officially formed as a studio - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I love these films because for the main part women are actually characters in them with their own thoughts, motives and actions rather than objects for men in a film which unfortunately occurs quite frequently in film (at this point I will mention the Bechdale test - feel free to look it up).
Most of these are heart warming, some of these sad. One of them is a must watch but be prepared for crying and scarring for life - which is "Grave of the Fireflies". Seriously rumours say they had to release it with another Ghibli film to get it out. Others are also must watch including "My neighbour Totoro", "Princess Mononoke", and "Spirited Away". These were all written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki who is as much as an institution as the studio itself in Japan. Their latest "When Marnie Was There" I also highly recommend. Overall with a few exceptions (ahem Tales of Earthsea) I would recommend watching anything with Studio Ghibli written on it.
Halloween Special - a classic - Nosferatu. I saw it at the cinema with live music. I understand the music was more jazzy then usual. To the modern horror movie watcher it isn't scary but it is interesting. Despite my difficulties in the past with black and white (let alone silent) films this held my interest. I finally saw all those famous images of it in context as well!
The original film was actually destroyed due to copyright issues - Nosferatu is Romanian for vampire and the film is a thinly disguised rip off of Dracula. This film is one of the more recent piercing together of remaining records in archives.
