Alone at Home

Alone at Home
Artist: Sergey Ignatenko
Country: Belarus

The Laces

The Laces
Artist: Sergey Ignatenko
Country: Belarus
Sergey Ignatenko was born in Gomel, Belarus in 1975. His career began in art school. As a child, he fiddled with paint and paintbrush and made figurative pictures with his mother's and sister's portraits. They were his models. In 1997 he successfully accomplished his studies in Hlebaw Minsk High School of Art. During his studying years he recommended himself as a respected artist and was also accepted to the Belarusian Artists Guild. He grew very fond of the impressionist artists and there Wonderful creations. He spent many years for perfecting his personal and individual style but never forgot the everlasting influence, which he fell in love with as a boy. His artwork has a nostalgia and romanticism of a Past time. 

Simple Bench

A Bench
Designed by Artist:  Manfred Kielnhofer

Light guards at WOKA LAMPS VIENNA

Light guards at WOKA LAMPS VIENNA
Artist: Manfred Kielnhofer

Manfred "KILI" Kielnhofer (born January 28, 1967 in Haslach an der Mühl) is an Austrian painter, sculptor and Photographer.

Light guards provide light and warmth.
The Austrian artist Kielnhofer created a slightly different Christmas lights. His light sculptures are reminiscent of monks, nuns and / or to the Virgin Mary. The light sculptures are suitable for the lighting of building facades, balconies, parks, etc.
The light sculptures can also be used for the inner city balcony. The light guards are very visible, very effectively and ensure, in the dark and cold season for light and heat.
The illuminated art by Manfred Kielnhofer remember much “in introspective” monks, nuns and / or to the Virgin Mary. The life-sized sculptures are equipped with energy saving lamps 32W and are secured with ratchet straps on the railing. The sculptures are made luminescent and reflective.
The artworks are on display in the Weihburggasse at Woka www.woka.com Lamps Vienna and in the castle near Linz Steyregg www.schloss-steyregg.at in a permanent exhibition.

Forefather’s Eve (1967)

Forefather’s Eve (Dziady)
Year: 1967
Genre: Poster
Artist: Roman Cieslewicz 
Country: Poland


This poster produced by Roman Cieslewicz in 1967 has become an iconic image in the history of the People’s Republic of Poland. Designed to promote a new performance of Adam Mickiewicz’s nineteenth century poetic drama, Forefather’s Eve (Dziady), Cieslewicz’s design captures the simmering frustration with Soviet control over Poland. The central motif seems to be a desiccated landscape or a figure with a hole where a heart might be. In its mirrored composition, Raoul-Jean Moulin found a ‘hallucinatory symmetry.’
Dziady opened in the National Theatre in November 1967. It had been programmed to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia. The play’s references to dull-witted bureaucrats and Tsarist despotism were in tune with Lenin’s attack on imperial repression. But the Polish audience read the performance as allegory for the present. They jeered the imperial characters and applauded anti- Russian sentiment. The early closure of the play in late January 1968 – allegedly at the request of the Russian Embassy – was the trigger for loud calls for freedom of speech. The Writers’ Union drafted a motion criticizing this act of censorship and, ultimately, the legitimacy of the Sovietbacked authorities.

Warsaw University students marched through the city and strung banners across the city-centre campus objecting to Soviet interference in Polish life. ‘In fighting for Mickiewicz’s play’ they declared, ‘we are fighting for independence and freedom and the democratic traditions of our country’.
With the temperature high, the authorities repressed writers, students and university lecturers. Hundreds of helmeted militiamen were drafted in to subdue the university with truncheons and tear-gas. This period of high tension has come to be known as the ‘March events.’

A Therapy (2012)

A Therapy (2012)
4 min
Short


Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Roman Polanski (screenplay), Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
Stars: Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley


A Therapy is a short film created by Prada to promote their brand. The short was written and directed by Roman Polanski and starred Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter.
The short was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and received strong applause and praise from the audience there, as part of the Cannes Classic section.(Wikipedia Page)

Kummatty (1979)

Kummatty (1979)
90 min
Country: India
Language: Malayalam


Director: Govindan Aravindan
Stars: Master Ashokan, Sivasankaran Divakaran and Kottara Gopalkrishnan
Writers: G Aravindan, Kaavalam Narayana Panicker (Story)
Music: Kaavalam Narayana Panicker, MG Radhakrishnan, G Aravindan

The film is a Pied Piper-like figment of Malabar’s folklore about a partly mythic and partly real magician called Kummatty (bogeyman). Kummatty materialises from nature one day to mingle with and weave a spell of carefree abandon around the children of the village. Kummatty travels from place to place and entertain children with dancing, singing and performing magic. At one such performance at a village, Kummatty starts to mingle with and weave a spell of carefree abandon around the children of the village. He turns a group of children into animals. But one boy, who was changed into a dog, is chased away and misses the moment Kummatty changed the children back to their human form. The dog-boy has to wait a year until Kummatty returns to the village to get back his human form. All ends well and Kummatty melts back into nature. (Wikipedia Page)

Aravindan claimed Kummatty to be his personal favourite film.

Kummatty won the State award for best children's film.

Interview: Aravindan on Kummatty

Adieu (1892)

Adieu (1892)
Artist: Alfred Guillou (1844-1926)
Oil on canvas
170 × 245 cm (66.9 × 96.5 in)

Alfred Guillou was a French painter born in 1844 in Concarneau, France.

Guillou received his training in the ateliers of the great Academic artists Alexander Cabanel and William A. Bouguereau and it was from these artists that his style and choice of subject matter were developed.

Specializing in genre scenes, in his native area of Concarneau, his works often depict pretty young women in everyday, and at times humorous, situations. Whether on a fishing boat or in the lush Normandy landscape, his beautifully rendered figures display his academic training.

Guillou exhibited many works at the Salon in Paris during his lifetime and received a third class medal at the 1877 exhibition and a second class medal at the 1881 exhibit. He also exhibited works at both the 1889 and 1900 Universal Exhibitions where he received silver medals.

Died in 1926.

Pearl Harbor (2006)

Pearl Harbor (2006)
Artist: Jacek Yerka
Country: Poland
acrylic, canvas
50 x 61 cm

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787)

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787)
Artist: Antonio Canova
Country: Italy
Year : 1787-1793
Type : White marble
Dimensions: 155 cm (61 in)

Canova managed to combine the classical mode with consummate eroticism. His Cupid and Psyche is a masterpiece of this genre. This group was executed in the period between the two versions of the Theseus myth. This sculpture elicited violent applause from its admirers and the most disparaging remarks from its critics. Cupid and Psyche are turned towards each other in sensual love, and Canova had succeeded in presenting a highly expressive treatment of the theme of love from Greek mythology.

Antonio Canova's statue Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, first commissioned in 1787, exemplifies the Neoclassical devotion to love and emotion. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss, a scene excerpted from Lucius Apuleius' The Golden Ass. A masterpiece of its period, it appeals to the senses of sight and touch, yet simultaneously alludes to the Romantic interest in emotion co-existing with Neoclassicism.(Wikipedia Page)

Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise (1887)

Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise (1887)
Artist: Auguste Rodin
Place of Creation: France
Style: Impressionism
Technique: marble

Young Woman Attacked By Death (1494)

Young Woman Attacked By Death (1494)
Artist: Albrecht Durer
Completion Date: 1495
Style: Northern Renaissance
Technique: engraving

In the middle of the picture, on a turf bench, a wild wood gnome is attacking a young woman who defends herself angrily. While the lean, bony man is reminiscent of depictions of Death, the dead tree to the left of the turf bench is a symbol of vice and fated undoing. The original intention was to include a commentary, as is shown by the empty inscription cartouche above the scene. The most obvious interpretation is that made by Panofsky, who considered the small genre picture to be an allegory of death.

This engraving is today generally accepted as being by Dürer, although it is reminiscent of the Housebook master in several respects. The thistle-like plant in the background, eryngium (sea holly), occurs in several of Dürer's early works. Its reputedly aphrodisiac qualities were, according to Pliny, known already to the ancient Greeks, and apparently fascinated the young Dürer.

Perhaps the print is related to a Nuremberg news item of the year 1489, when a man was hanged for a number of attacks on women.

The Wayward Cloud (2005)

The Wayward Cloud (2005)
Tian bian yi duo yun (original title)
114 min

Country: Taiwan
Language: Mandarin


Director: Ming-liang Tsai
Writer: Ming-liang Tsai
Stars: Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen and Yi-Ching Lu

Metaphor, allegory. There's a drought in Taiwan. Watermelon are abundant and become juice, food, something to share with a guest, and an aphrodisiac. In a large building of flats, Hsiao-Kang and Shiang-chyi's paths cross; she knew him when he sold watches, now he acts in pornographic films. She scavenges for plastic water bottles. He bathes in the building's cistern. Fantasy song and dance numbers punctuate the characters' nearly aimless pursuits: she has lost her keys and he helps her find them; he naps in a park, she watches; he smokes on the floor beneath her kitchen table while she sits. His film-making continues. Can they connect?(IMDB Link)

Awards:
Won Silver Berlin Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, 2005
FIPRESCI Prize in 2005 Berlin Film Festival More Awards

Read Review: Reverse Shot

Trailer

Eruption (1994)

Eruption (1994)
Artist: Jacek Yerka
Place of Creation: Poland
Style: Surrealism

Born in Poland in 1952, JACEK YERKA studied fine art and graphics prior to becoming a full-time artist in 1980.

While at university, Yerka resisted the constant pressures of his instructors to adopt the less detailed, less realistic techniques that characterize so much of contemporary art.

Instead, he stubbornly continued to work in the classic, meticulous Flemish style he still favors to this day.

Eternal Idol (1889)

Eternal Idol (1889)
Artist: Auguste Rodin
Completion Date: 1889
Place of Creation: France
Style: Impressionism
Genre: sculpture
Technique: marble

The group 'Eternal Idol' was first seen in Rodin's studio around 1891. An early illustration is found in Léon Maillard's article 'Auguste Rodin statuaire' of 1899.
The sculpture shows a kneeling man leaning his chest against a woman depicted in an elevated position. Judith Cladel quotes an anecdote provided by Jules Desbois, who related how Rodin once lovingly kissed one of his models on her bare belly - 'Eternal Idol' seems to reflect this affectionate gesture.

La notte (1961)

La notte (1961)
115 min

Country: Italy
Language: Italian


Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Ennio Flaiano (story),Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay) &
Ennio Flaiano (screenplay) & Tonino Guerra (screenplay)

Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vitti

La Notte (English: The Night) is a 1961 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, and Monica Vitti. Filmed on location in Milan, the film is about a day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their deteriorating relationship. In 1961 La Notte received the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the David di Donatello Award for Best Director. La Notte is considered the central film of a trilogy beginning with L'Avventura (1960) and ending with Eclipse (1962).(Wikipedia Page)

Rating: 71% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: No Ripcord

Trailer:

L'eclisse (1962)

L'eclisse (1962)
126 min

Country: Italy
Language: Italian


Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni (scenario and dialogue), Tonino Guerra (scenario and dialogue), Elio Bartolini (scenario collaborator) & Ottiero Ottieri (scenario collaborator)
Stars: Monica Vitti, Alain Delon and Francisco Rabal


Eclipse (Italian: L'eclisse) is a 1962 Italian drama film written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Alain Delon and Monica Vitti. Filmed on location in Rome and Verona, Eclipse is about a young woman who breaks up with an older lover and then has an affair with a confident young stockbroker whose materialistic nature eventually undermines their relationship. The film is considered the last part of a trilogy which was preceded by L'Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961). In Martin Scorsese's documentary My Voyage to Italy, the director called Eclipse the boldest film in Antonioni's trilogy. Eclipse won the Special Jury Prize at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or.(Wikipedia Page)

Awards:
L'eclisse won the Special Jury Prize at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm)

Ratings: 87% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Mubi

Trailer:

L'avventura (1960)

L'avventura (1960)
The Adventure
143 min
Country: Italy
Language: Italian


Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay), Elio Bartolini (screenplay) and Tonino Guerra (screenplay)
Stars: Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti and Lea Massari


L'Avventura (English: The Adventure) is a 1960 Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, and Lea Massari. Developed from a story by Antonioni, the film is about a woman who disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip, and during the subsequent search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other. The film is noted for its careful pacing, which puts a focus on visual composition and character development, as well as for its unusual narrative structure. According to an Antonioni obituary, the film "systematically subverted the filmic codes, practices and structures in currency at its time."Filmed on location in Rome, the Aeolian Islands, and Sicily in 1959 under difficult financial and physical conditions, L'Avventura made Monica Vitti an international star. The film was nominated for numerous awards and was awarded the Jury Prize at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. L'Avventura is the first film of a trilogy by Antonioni, followed by La Notte (1961) and Eclipse (1962).(Wikipedia Page)

Awards:

1960 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize (Michelangelo Antonioni) Won
1960 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nomination (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1960 British Film Institute Sutherland Trophy (Michelangelo Antonioni) Won
1961 BAFTA Award Nomination for Best Film from any Source (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1961 BAFTA Award Nomination for Best Foreign Actress (Monica Vitti)
1961 Golden Globe Award for Best Breakthrough Actress (Monica Vitti) Won
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon for Best Score (Giovanni Fusco) Won
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Nomination for Best Actress (Monica Vitti)
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Nomination for Best Cinematography, B/W (Aldo Scavarda)
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Nomination for Best Director (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Nomination for Best Original Story (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1961 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon Nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Lea Massari)

Rating: 96% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Slant Magazine

Trailer:

The Penance Of St. John Chrysostom (1496)

The Penance Of St. John Chrysostom (1496)
Artist: Albrecht Durer
Completion Date: 1496
Style: Northern Renaissance
Technique: engraving

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407,), Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death in 407 (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek epithet chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed" in English, and Anglicized to Chrysostom.
The Legend of the Penance of St John Chrysostom

A legend recorded in Croatia in the 16th Century relates that when John Chrysostom was a hermit in the desert, he was approached by a royal princess in distress. The Saint, thinking she was a demon, at first refused to help her, but the princess convinced him that she was a Christian and would be devoured by wild beasts if she were not allowed to enter his cave. He therefore admitted her, carefully dividing the cave in two parts, one for each of them.
In spite of these precautions, the sin of fornication was committed, and in an attempt to hide it, the distraught saint took the princess and threw her over a precipice. He then went to Rome to beg absolution, which was refused. Realising the appalling nature of his crimes, Chrysostom made a vow that he would never rise from the ground until his sins were expiated, and for years he lived like a beast, crawling on all fours and feeding on wild grasses and roots. Subsequently the princess reappeared, alive, and suckling the saint's baby, who miraculously pronounced his sins forgiven.
This last scene was very popular in the early 16th century as a subject for engravers and artists. The theme was depicted by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Sebald Beham and Lucas Cranach the Elder among others.

In Contemplation

In Contemplation
Artist: Spartaco Lombardo
Country: Italy
Oil in Canvas

Spartaco Lombardo was born in Luino, Italy; by the Lake Maggiore, the 26th of March 1958.
He studied science but his artistic ability was self taught. His occupational activity in the pictorial field began in 1981.

"He can combine the oniric/representive moment with the purely real part with remarkable balance. "
Paolo Levi

Website: Spartaco Lombardo

Abduction Of A Woman (1495)

Abduction Of A Woman (1495)
OR Rape Of The Sabine Women

Artist: Albrecht Durer (1471 – 1528)
Completion Date: 1495
Style: Northern Renaissance
Technique: pen, ink

The Rape of the Sabine Women is an episode in the legendary history of Rome in which the first generation of Roman men acquired wives for themselves from the neighboring Sabine families.

The Rape is supposed to have occurred in the early history of Rome, shortly after its founding by Romulus and his mostly male followers. Seeking wives in order to found families, the Romans negotiated unsuccessfully with the Sabines, who populated the area. Fearing the emergence of a rival society, the Sabines refused to allow their women to marry the Romans. Consequently, the Romans planned to abduct Sabine women. Romulus devised a festival of Neptune Equester and proclaimed the festival among Rome's neighbours. According to Livy, many people from Rome's neighbours attended, including folk from the Caeninenses, Crustumini, and Antemnates, and many of the Sabines. At the festival Romulus gave a signal, at which the Romans grabbed the Sabine women and fought off the Sabine men. The indignant abductees were soon implored by Romulus to accept Roman husbands.
Livy is clear that no sexual assault took place. On the contrary, Romulus offered them free choice and promised civic and property rights to women. According to Livy, Romulus spoke to them each in person, "and pointed out to them that it was all owing to the pride of their parents in denying the right of intermarriage to their neighbours. They would live in honourable wedlock, and share all their property and civil rights, and—dearest of all to human nature—would be the mothers of free men." (Wikipedia Page)

Christ as the Man of Sorrows (1493)

Christ as the Man of Sorrows (1493)
Oil Painting
Artist: Albrecht Durer (1471 – 1528)
Country: Germany
Completion Date: 1493
Style: Northern Renaissance.

India Cabaret (1985)

India Cabaret (1985)
TV Documentary
60 min
Country: India
Language: Hindi

Director: Mira Nair


In 1988, before SALAAM BOMBAY brought international fame, Mira Nair filmed four TV documentaries investigating diverse aspects of Indian society. INDIA CABARET was one of them, one which won the Indian Director a few international festival awards for best documentary.

As in the festivals, this TV film is currently being shown here in 16mm format, offering cinematic images, during its 58 minutes of duration. Set in a decadent Bombay night club, INDIA CABARET shows us two strippers discussing their lives, revealing several female stereotypes within Indian (more precisely, Bombay) society.

This work is of female interest, in the social sense (not just for women, but for those eager to explore situations faced by women) worldwide. Like others in this film cycle entitled "Women in Turmoil" presented by a prestigious national cultural center, it is recommended for those interested in the themes exposed in what is a quality documentary.(IMDB Link)

Awards:

1985: Best Documentary Film, Global Village Film Festival: India Cabaret
1986: Golden Athena, Athens International Film Festival: India Cabaret
1986: Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival: India Cabaret

Venkalam (1993)

Venkalam (1993)

Country: India
Language: Malayalam


Director: Bharathan
Writer: Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas
Stars: Murali, Manoj K. Jayan and Urvashi

Awards:
1992 Kerala Film Awards- Director Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value

Read Review: Cochin Bridge

Faust (1994)

Faust (1994)
Faust (original title)
97 min

Country: Czech Republic
Language: Czech


Director: Jan Svankmajer
Writers: Johann Wolfgang Goethe (play), Christian Dietrich Grabbe (novel), Christopher Marlowe (play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus"), Jan Svankmajer
Stars: Petr Cepek, Jan Kraus and Vladimír Kudla


Faust is a 1994 Czech film directed by Jan Švankmajer. It merges live-action footage with stop-motion footage and includes imaginative puppetry and claymation. The Faust character is played by Petr Čepek. The film was produced by Jaromír Kallista. Although the film does not serve to accurately portray the Faustus legend, it utilizes the legend in a rather imaginative way, borrowing and blending elements from the story as told by Goethe and Christopher Marlowe with traditional folk renditions. It has a distinctly Modernist, Absurdist, Kafkaesque feel, especially with the setting in Prague. The tone is dark but humorous. The voices in the English version were provided by Andrew Sachs.
The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival,and at the 4th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival where it won the Award of Adult Audience.(Wikipedia Page)

Ratings: 78% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Awards:
Czech Lion Award for Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Design Achievement, 1995
More Awards

Video:

Faust (1926)

Faust (1926)
Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (original title)
85 min
Country: Germany


Director: F.W. Murnau
Writers: Johann Wolfgang Goethe (play), Gerhart Hauptmann (titles), Hans Kyser (titles)
Stars: Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings and Camilla Horn


Faust (German: Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage) is a silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt. Murnau's film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic version. UFA wanted Ludwig Berger to direct Faust, as Murnau was engaged with Variety; Murnau pressured the producer and, backed by Jannings, eventually persuaded Erich Pommer to let him direct the movie.
Faust was Murnau's last German movie, and directly afterward he moved to the US under contract to William Fox to direct Sunrise (1927); when the film premiered in the Ufa-Palast am Zoo of Berlin, Murnau was already shooting in Hollywood. (Wikipedia Page)

Ratings: 94% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Slant Magazine

Trailer:

Outside Satan (2011)

Outside Satan (2011)
Hors Satan (original title)
110 min

Country: France
Language: French


Director: Bruno Dumont
Writer: Bruno Dumont (screenplay)
Stars: David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre and Christophe Bon

Outside Satan (French: Hors Satan) is a 2011 French drama film written and directed by Bruno Dumont. It was filmed under the production title L'Empire, which means "The Empire". It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.(Wikipedia Page)

Awards:
Nominated for Un Certain Regard Award 2011 Cannes

Read review :Cannes Review

Trailer

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)
140 min

Country: Russia
Language: German


Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Writers: Yuri Arabov (book), Aleksandr Sokurov (screenplay), Marina Koreneva (screenplay), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (play)
Stars: Johannes Zeiler, Anton Adasinsky and Isolda Dychauk

Faust is a 2011 Russian film directed by Alexander Sokurov. Set in the 19th century, it is a free interpretation of the Faust legend and its literary adaptations by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann. The dialogue is in German. The film won the Golden Lion at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. (Wikipedia Page)

Awards:
Golden Lion in Venice Film Festival (2011)(More)

Read Review: Time Out London

Ratings: 75% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Trailer

The Seven Who Were Hanged (1968)

The Seven Who Were Hanged (1968)
Balada o siedmich obesených (1968)
TV Movie
61 min

Country: Czechoslovakia
Language: Slovak


The Seven Who Were Hanged, or The Ballad of Seven Hanged Men is a film directed by Martin Hollý, based on a novel written in 1909 by Russian author Leonid Andreyev. It was originally produced for Czechoslovak television and screened to acclaim in a few foreign locations, including winning for Best Drama at the 1970 International Television Festival in Hollywood, before being banned in its home country under pressure by the Soviet Union.

This is the psychological tale of a group of seven prisoners, five failed revolutionary assassins, two of which are women; along with two common criminals; a gypsy horse thief, and a peasant murderer, all condemned to death and awaiting their executions. (Bonjour tristesse)

Awards
Best Drama at the 1970 International Television Festival in Hollywood

The White Bird Marked with Black (1971)

The White Bird Marked with Black (1971)
Bilyy ptakh z chornoyu vidznakoyu (original title)
99 min

Country: Soviet Union
Language: Ukrainian


Director: Yuri Ilyenko
Writers: Yuri Ilyenko, Ivan Mykolajchuk
Stars: Larisa Kadochnikova, Ivan Mykolajchuk and Bogdan Stupka

Colourful 'optimistic tragedy' of a poor family in Ukraine, living in the Carpathian mountains near the Romanian border, during the Second World War. Five sons of the family make up the village band, but as the battles between the Nazi-supported Ukranian nationalists and the Soviets go on, their band loses one player after another. (IMDB)

The time period spans 1937-1947, in a western Ukrainian village home to a large Zvonar family with sons Petro, Orest and the youngest. As time goes by, Petro joins the Red Army; Orest joins UPA, and the youngest stays at home. However, their fates inevitably cross one another whether in love or in the mountains with arms. (Wikipedia Page)

Awards:
Won Golden Prize in Moscow International Film Festival 1971

Farewell Waltz (1972)

 Farewell Waltz (1972)
Book

The Farewell Waltz (Czech: Valčík na rozloučenou) is a Czech-language novel by Milan Kundera published in 1972. A French edition was published in 1976 and an English version entitled The Farewell Party.
This novel mostly deals with love, hate and accidents between eight characters who are drawn together in a small spa town in Czechoslovakia in early 1970s.
Like most Kundera's work The Farewell Waltz is a book of many layers. On the surface it is a comedy or a burlesque. Still the comedy is just at the top of this story which involves much darker and ambiguous tones. (Wikipedia)

Review: Exploring Fictions

Buy Farewell Waltz: Flipkart

Lost in Paradise (2011)

Lost in Paradise (2011)
Hot boy noi loan - cau chuyen ve thang cuoi, co gai diem va con vit (original title)
103 min

Country: Vietnam
Language: Vietnamese


Director: Ngoc Dang Vu
Writers: Ngoc Dang Vu , Manh Hai Luong
Stars: Manh Hai Luong, Vinh Khoa Ho and Linh Son


Lost in Paradise is a 2011 Vietnamese drama film directed by Vũ Ngọc Đãng. Its original title is Rebellious Hot Boy and the Story of Cười, the Prostitute and the Duck (Hot boy nổi loạn và câu chuyện về thằng Cười, cô gái điếm và con vịt), shortened to Rebellious Hot Boy (Hot boy nổi loạn) or simply Hot Boy. The film is set in Saigon and has two separate story lines. The first depicts a love triangle between three men, Khôi, Lam, and Đông, of whom the latter two work as prostitutes. The second concerns a mentally-handicapped man, Cười, his friendship with Hạnh, a female prostitute, and his attempts to raise a duckling. The film was a strong critical and commercial success in Vietnam. It has been shown at several international festivals, from which it garnered more mixed reviews. In particular its portrayal of homosexuality has been noted as ground breaking within the context of Vietnamese cinema.

AFP called Lost in Paradise "Vietnam's first gay film". The Vancouver International Film Festival explains: "it's the first Vietnamese film to offer a frank account of some aspects of gay life."
Under the title Lost in Paradise, the film's world premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011,with further showings at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and the Busan International Film Festival. (Wikipedia Page)


Trailer:

Circus Columbia (2010)

Circus Columbia (2010)
Cirkus Columbia (original title)
113 min

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Language: Bosnian


Director: Danis Tanovic
Writers: Danis Tanovic, Ivica Djikic (novel)
Stars: Miki Manojlovic, Mira Furlan and Boris Ler

Cirkus Columbia is a Bosnian 2010 drama film starring Miki Manojlović, Mira Furlan, Boris Ler and Jelena Stupljanin. The film is set in the Herzegovina part of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and slightly before the Yugoslav Wars. It tells an emotional story of a man coming back to his hometown after many years abroad and dealing with his past and current family, using the political dealings of the region as a backdrop. It is based on the novel Cirkus Columbia by well known Bosnian Croat writer Ivica Đikić.(Wikipedia Page)

Read Review: Big Thoughts From a Small Mind TIFF 2010 Review

Ratings: 90% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Trailer

A Trip to the Moon (1902) Hand Colored Version

A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Le voyage dans la lune (original title)
14 min
Country: France
Black And White and Hand Colour


Directed by Georges Méliès
Produced by Georges Méliès
Written by Georges Méliès, Gaston Méliès
Based on: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne; The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
Starring Georges Méliès, Victor André, Bleuette Bernon, Jeanne d'Alcy, Henri Delannoy

A Trip to the Moon or Voyage to the Moon (French: Le Voyage dans la lune) is a 1902 French black-and-white silent science fiction film. It is based loosely on two popular novels of the time: Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon.
The film was written and directed by Georges Méliès, assisted by his brother Gaston. The film runs 14 minutes if projected at 16 frames per second, which was the standard frame rate at the time the film was produced. It was extremely popular at the time of its release, and is the best-known of the hundreds of fantasy films made by Méliès. A Trip to the Moon is the first known science fiction film, and uses innovative animation and special effects, including the well-known image of the spaceship landing in the Moon's eye.


Plot

At a meeting of astronomers, their president proposes a trip to the Moon. After addressing some dissent, six brave astronomers agree to the plan. They build a space capsule in the shape of a bullet, and a huge cannon to shoot it into space. The astronomers embark and their capsule is fired from the cannon with the help of "marines", most of whom are portrayed as a bevy of beautiful women in sailors' outfits, while the rest are men. The Man in the Moon watches the capsule as it approaches, and it hits him in the eye.
Landing safely on the Moon, the astronomers get out of the capsule and watch the Earth rise in the distance. Exhausted by their journey, the astronomers unroll their blankets and sleep. As they sleep, a comet passes, the Big Dipper appears with human faces peering out of each star, old Saturn leans out of a window in his ringed planet, and Phoebe, goddess of the Moon, appears seated in a crescent-moon swing. Phoebe calls down a snowfall that awakens the astronomers. They seek shelter in a cavern and discover giant mushrooms. One astronomer opens his umbrella; it promptly takes root and turns into a giant mushroom itself.
At this point, a Selenite (an insectoid alien inhabitant of the Moon, named after one of the Greek moon goddesses, Selene) appears, but it is killed easily by an astronomer, as the creatures explode if they are hit with a hard force. More Selenites appear and it becomes increasingly difficult for the astronomers to destroy them as they are surrounded. The Selenites arrest the astronomers and bring them to their commander at the Selenite palace. An astronomer lifts the Chief Selenite off his throne and dashes him to the ground, exploding him.
The astronomers run back to their capsule while continuing to hit the pursuing Selenites, and five get inside. The sixth uses a rope to tip the capsule over a ledge on the Moon and into space. A Selenite tries to seize the capsule at the last minute. Astronomer, capsule, and Selenite fall through space and land in an ocean on Earth. The Selenite falls off and the capsule floats back to the surface, where they are rescued by a ship and towed ashore.


"Lost" ending
The final sequence depicts a celebratory parade in honor of the travelers' return, including the unveiling of a commemorative statue.This ending sequence was considered lost until 2002, when a well preserved complete print was discovered at a barn in France. The extended version was screened at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in 2003, and the sequence was included and restored in full for the 2012 Blu-Ray edition of the film.

Hand-colored version

Like many of Méliès's films, A Trip to the Moon was sold in both black-and-white and hand-colored versions. A hand-colored print, the only one known to survive, was rediscovered in 1993 by the Filmoteca de Catalunya. It was in a state of almost total decomposition, but a frame-by-frame restoration was launched in 1999 and completed in 2010 at the Technicolor Lab of Los Angeles- and after West Wing Digital Studios matched the original hand tinting by colorizing the damaged areas of the newly restored black and white. The restored version finally premiered on 11 May 2011, eighteen years after its discovery and 109 years after its original release, at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, with a new soundtrack by the French band Air. It was released by Flicker Alley as a 2-disc Blu-Ray/DVD edition, also including the documentary The Extraordinary Voyage about its restoration on 10 April 2012.(Wikipedia Page)

Rating: 100% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca (1942)
102 min

Country: USA
Language: English

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Julius J. Epstein (screenplay), Philip G. Epstein (screenplay), Howard Koch (screenplay), Murray Burnett (play), Joan Alison (play)
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid


Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.
Although it was an A-list film, with established stars and first-rate writers—Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch received credit for the screenplay—no one involved with its production expected Casablanca to be anything out of the ordinary; it was just one of hundreds of pictures produced by Hollywood every year. The film was a solid, if unspectacular, success in its initial run, rushed into release to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks earlier.Despite a changing assortment of screenwriters frantically adapting an unstaged play and barely keeping ahead of production, and Bogart attempting his first romantic lead role, Casablanca won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Its characters, dialogue, and music have become iconic, and the film has grown in popularity to the point that it now consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films of all time. (Wikipedia Page)

Awards

Ratings: 97% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Guilty of Romance (2011)

Guilty of Romance (2011)
Koi no tsumi (original title)
144 min

Country: Japan
Language: Japanese


Director: Shion Sono
Writer: Shion Sono (screenplay)
Stars: Miki Mizuno, Makoto Togashi and Megumi Kagurazaka

A grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya — a love hotel district — a woman was found dead in a derelict apartment in the pouring rain. Whilst the police investigate, the story interweaves with that of Izumi, the wife of a famous romantic novelist whose life seems just a daily repetition without romance. One day, to break away from the loveless monotony, she decides to follow her desires and accepts a job as a naked model faking sex in front of the camera. Soon she meets with a mentor and starts selling her body to strangers, whilst at home she hides behind the facade that she is still the wife she is supposed to be.(Wikipedia Page)

Awards:
Nominated for Best Director- Asian Film Awards (2012)

Ratings: 60% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Twich Film

Caramel (2007)

Caramel (2007)
Sukkar banat (original title)

95 min

Country: Lebanon

Language: Arabic

Director: Nadine Labaki

Writers: Nadine Labaki, Rodney El Haddad, Jihad Hojeily

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Joanna Moukarzel and Gisèle Aouad 

Caramel, the first feature film by Lebanese director/actress Nadine Labaki, is a 2007 Lebanese film. The film premiered on May 20 at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, in the Directors' Fortnight section. It ran for the Caméra d'Or.

Caramel was distributed in over 40 countries, easily becoming the most internationally acclaimed and exposed Lebanese film to date. The story focuses on the lives of five Lebanese women dealing with issues such as forbidden love, binding traditions, repressed sexuality, the struggle to accept the natural process of age, and duty vs. desire. Labaki's film is unique for not showcasing a war-ravaged Beirut but rather a warm and inviting locale where people deal with universal issues.

The title Caramel refers to an epilation method that consists of heating sugar, water and lemon juice. Labaki also symbolically implies the "idea of sweet and salt, sweet and sour" and showcases that everyday relations can sometimes be sticky but ultimately the sisterhood shared between the central female characters prevails. (Wikipedia Page)

Awards:

Audience Award, Sebastain Award, Youth Jury Award- San Sebastain International Film Festival (2007)

More Awards

Rating: 92% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: DFI

Interview (1971)

Interview (1971)
101 min

Country: India
Language: Bengali



Director: Mrinal Sen
Writers: Mrinal Sen, Ashish Burman
Stars: Karuna Bannerjee and Ranjit Mullik

Interview was a 1973 Bengali film directed by noted Indian art film director Mrinal Sen. A path-breaking film in terms of the narrative innovation and cinematic technique, it was a commercial success went to run for six weeks amidst gushing admiration and accolades, when it was screened first. It also happened to be the debut film of Ranjit Mullick. Though according to the director, it was a film on the colonial hangover,it touched upon the diverse issue of anti-establishment, middle class cowardice, unemployment.(Wikipedia Page)

Read Review: Dear Cinema

Brim (2010)

Undercurrent (2010)
Brim (original title)
Drama

Country: Iceland
Language: Icelandic



Director: Árni Ásgeirsson
Writers: Árni Ásgeirsson, Ólafur Egilsson, Ottó Geir Borg
Stars: Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson

The crew on board the fishing vessel Undercurrent RE 29 has become uncomfortably numb with its never ending routine of week long tours at sea. Then, during one dark and dreary night this routine is shaken to its foundation when one of the most solid crew members commits suicide. To fill his gap, a young woman takes his place on the next tour and gradually the fragile balance is tipped, and personal issues that should be left on the mainland cause dangerous friction between the crew members. (IMDB Page)

Awards:
Edda Awards, Iceland (2011)
More Awards