"A Step up from Quatum"

SKYFALL



Year: 2012
Country: United Kingdom/United States
Language: English
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes
Oscar wins: Best Song, Best Sound Editing
Oscar nominations: Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing

Finally it's here, the 23rd James Bond movie, Skyfall. And it's released on the 50th anniversary of the whole James Bond franchise. Skyfall is the right way to celebrate, because after the disappointing vengeful Bond in Quantum of Solace, James Bond is finally back in his original form as he was in Casino Royal, plus with some delightful references to the good old fashion Sean Connery films of the sixties. I'm not the conservative type when it comes to genres and conventions. But the James Bond movies has become a genre on it's own, these film are meant to be entertainment, he's suppose to be all men's role model. And after years of CGI bull crap and character changes, James Bond finally goes back to his roots.

This time, Agent 007 AKA James Bond (Daniel Craig) is being hit by a bullet from another MI6 agent was suppose to shot the guy Bond were fighting, and Bond falls from a moving train into a waterfall. Bond were chasing after a guy who have a hard drive with secret information about NATO agents, and their identities. Bond officially dead, but he's survived and is enjoying his life as dead in a tropical location. But after a computer virus that caused a gas explosion in the MI6 headquarters, Bond returns from the dead and his mission is to find the hacker who is responsible for this.

I really enjoyed this Bond film. It is thrilling, good action scenes, exhilarating fighting sequences in high speed with a gentle touch of comedy that is essential to every Bond film. And not to give a way the plot, but the last half hour was truly one of the best moments in the whole franchise. Bond's mojo is also back, the true gentlemen who knows how to treat the ladies, and this time the hot and sexy Bérénice Marlohe. It's like Quantum of Solace never happened, and to even bring more comfort by adding references from the older Bond movies that I probably don't need to mention because you gonna recognize them easily.

But Skyfall is also more modern, in that sense that the biggest threat now these days is hacking, a field that is most familiar among young people. That's the reason why this time Q is played by the 32-years-old Ben Whishaw, and that shows us that James Bond is relevant today, although Die Hard did this five years ago. But what I liked the most about this film, is the relationship between Bond and M (Judi Dench) when her trust is set on trial, both by Bond because she ordered the shot that hit him. And also the government starts to think that she's to old, and even questions the existence of MI6. It is without a doubt dark times for the MI6 which is quiet unusual, and which creates the right thrilling atmosphere.

But there were some dull moments, and I'm not so sure when it comes to the Bond villain, Silva played by Javier Bardem was a very good choice. He's not by any way unforgettable, and seems not to be very dynamic in his choice and often waits to long to get things done, just for the sake of the plot, and his motivations for his action is often very weak. And why does he have blond hair? The positive I can say about him that his crazy enough to be a villain that you just have to respect that, it was a good performance, just not the right character.

My conclusion of the 23rd James Bond film is that it's a great contribution to the whole franchise. It was if Quantum of Solace never happened and it seems like things truly are back to normal, and that Daniel Craig have a golden age ahead of him. Thumbs up.

Grade: B+

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NEW 2013 EDITION!

Good news everyone, the newest edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, are finally released. The big difference this year is that the book has been redone, a new layout and everything. The new list does not only contains movies from 2012, but also movies from as long back as 1924. It's a total of 49 new films.

The United States have 23 films, United Kingdom 7, France 4, Italy 2, Afganistan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Senegal and Sweden have one filme each.

Afganistan is making its debut.
 

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

Amour (2012)

Argo (2012)

Bowling for Columbine (2003)

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Christ Stopped at Eboli (Cristo si e fermato a Eboli) (1979)

The Consequences of Love (Le conseguenze dell'amore) (2004)

Dead Ringers (1988)

The Devils (1971)

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)

Diva (1981)

Django Unchained (2012)

The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)

The Eagle (1925)

Elephant (2003)

The Exiles (1961)

The Exterminating Angel (El angel exterminidor) (1962)

F for Fake (Verites et mensonges) (1973)

Field of Dreams (1989)

Fireworks (Hana-Bi) (1997)

The Goddess (Shen nu) (1934)

The Great White Silence (1924)

The Hired Hand (1971)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Les Miserables (2012)

Life of Pi (2012)

Limite (1931)

Lincoln (2012)

Local Hero (1983)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Moolaade (2004)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Oklahoma! (1955)

Osama (2003)

Peter Ibbetson (1935)

RoboCop (1987)

Skyfall (2012)

Sleeping Dogs (1977)

Some Came Running (1958)

Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika) (1953)

A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash) (1929)

The Towering Inferno (1974)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Wake in Fright (1971)

Wall Street (1987)  

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"The French Foreign Odyssey"

BEAU TRAVAIL

Year: 1999
Country: France
Language: French, Italian, Russian
Number: 946
Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet
Berlin: Berliner Zeitung 

Claire Denis' Beau Travail is actually loosely based upon Herman Melville's Billy Budd. But instead of a british naval vessel in the 18th century, Beau Travail is set in modern day Djibouti where we follow the French Foreign Region. It's the story about the former sergeant Galoup (Denis Lavant) who reminisce about his days in Djibouti and his fellow soldiers and his despite for lieutenant Bruno Forestier. It is a tough army life. As Galoup says "Your life is the region".

Beau Travail is a great film, a truly poetic one, with plenty of male erotism, with all the soldiers being photographed like greek gods, the same poetics structure as in Jean-Luc Goddard's Le Mépris. It's like Denis is doing the same thing as every other male director have done with women. She does a great job in portraying men as beautiful and vulnerable, with the same platonic friendship as females.

The film features some marvelous performances, specially Denis Lavant's misanthropic performance as the former sergeant who knows how to dance, exquisitely shown in one of the greatest dancing scenes ever. The cinematography are also breathtaking and extraordinary. There's no yellow sand, it's either grey or white. It's like walking on the moon, an unknown territory that makes all the characters and the time weightless. A wonderful poetic weightless motion picture. Thumbs up.

Grade: A-

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"A Journey Through Italy"

THE BEST OF YOUTH



Original title: La meglio gioventù
Year: 2003
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Number: 1019
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana
Starring: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Jasmine Trinca, Sonia Bergamasco
Cannes: Un Certain Regard Award

Marco Tullio Giordana's The Best of Youth is a six hour long epic about two brothers named Nicola and Matteo, two baby boomers whom we follow in course of five decades from 1966-2003. In the summer of '66 they both planned to take a trip to Norway, but before that they both tried to save a young girl named Giorgia from an abusive sanitarium that didn't gave her the right treatment. They tried to convince her father to take her back, but he refused, and the two boys decided to keep her, but they lost her, and they saw no other choices then to continue their journey. But Matteo have change his mind and Nicola must travel alone, while Matteo enlist in the army. From then on the two brothers have gone their separate ways and both experience two quite different lives.

The Best of Youth is an extraordinary film that follows two individuals and how they both are effected by Italy's resent history, like the rebellious sixties and the uncertain seventies. But the two brothers have their own different way of dealing with history, and it's much because of Giorgia. Nicola, the youngest one tries to change history by fighting for all the disabled people's rights to a decent life instead of being locked up in a dark cellar. While Matteo have a more resigned world view, and decided to be a part of the system itself, and he once even worked as a policeman beating up demonstrators in a demonstration in which Nicola participated.

Besides from their careers, they both have a tough private life. Nicola falls for the left-wing activist Giulia, whom he have a child with. But Giulia is more committed to her fight against capitalism then her own daughter. Matteo have commitment issues and is basically just committed to his work as a policemen. But there's some episodes in which he can't hide his anger towards society, and we know that this was not the life he intended.

But that's how real life is. It's unpredictable, like the first hour alone isn't enough to show us how it will end, like many other movies do. And some of the events are shocking and most important unexpected. Relationships come and goes, so do other people's life. And yes we can always ask us self "What if" when it comes to the outcome, but we don't question the motivations behind their actions, because of the political system they are living in.

The late Roger Ebert always used to say "No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short enough". I could have watched this movie for six more hours, because of its epic scale and a whole bunch of interesting characters I would have been more than happy to follow all the way to their graves. But the movie had to stop sometimes, just like life itself have to stop sometimes, and I must say they picked the right ending. It's indeed one of this centuries best movies, with a superb cast and a masterminded epic story that shows us real people living real unpredictable life. Thumbs up.

Rating: A+

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"Melancholic Beauty"

THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS

Original title: Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini
Year: 1970
Country: Italy/West Germany
Language: Italian
Number: 522
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi

Oscar wins: Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay
Berlin: Golden Bear, Interfilm Award

Vittorio De Sica's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is based on the historical novel by Giorgio Bassani that are partially based on his own experiences of being a Jew in the town of Ferrara in the thirties and forties, during Mussolini's fascist dictatorship, where the Jews was counted as third class citizen and was later deported to the concentration camps. This film follows a group of teenage friends, both Jewish and Non-Jewish, and how the political situation is effecting their lives.

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a good and melancholic history drama, pretty similar to Bertolucci's The Conformist. It's also as beautifully photographed, with all it's naturalistic colors and the leafs on the trees blowing in the wind, which symbolizes death. I also love all the different personalities and how they act under pressure, and some even don't see the point of living a joyful life, because of the political situation. A great war drama. Thumbs up.

Grade: A-

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"Constructed Realities"

REAL LIFE

Year: 1979
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 643
Director: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks, Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, J.A. Preston

In 1971 PBS decided to make a television documentary called 'An American Family'. a documentary about a real ordinary american family. They followed them around every day for many months, but what they got was the real turbulence and scandals that unfortunately happens in every families. Albert Brooks' comedy 'Real Life' is spoofing 'An American Family' where Brooks is playing a fictional version of himself trying to direct a similar TV show, where the chosen Family, the Yeagers would have been better off without cameras following them around every single day.

Real Life is a good comedy that some what displays what would actually have happened in a satirical way. Because most of their worries are what everyone else will think about them, and how Brooks is trying his best to make the things better for the Yeagers, while the psychiatrists urge him not to interfere in any way. Brooks might be a bit too crazy sometimes, but he's the unfunny clown that we feel sorry for. But it's Charles Grodin and Frances Lee McCain as Mr. and Mrs. Yeager who are able to pull it off with two realistic performances. Overall, It's an alright good dark comedy with some over-the-top moments and with a good story. Thumbs up.

Grade: B-

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"A Family of Surfers"

SURFWISE

Year: 2007
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 1059
Director: Doug Pray
Starring: Dorian Paskowitz, Juliette Paskowitz, David Paskowitz, Navah Paskowitz

Surfwise is a documentary about a former physician named Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, who in the late fifties gave up every material goods to dedicate his entire life to surfing, travelling from different places in his caravan along with his wife and his nine children, eight boys and one girl, who all knows how to surf. They later start a surfing school. This documentary follows all the Paskowitz' and each tells their stories about how their upbringing was, the advantages and the disadvantages of not living the conventional life. None of the children went to school, which made it impossible for some of them to follow their actual dreams.

Surfwise is a good documentary that gives you most of the important aspects of a non-material life and how difficult it is, and what price you have to pay. The film doesn't argue about which way of life is the best, but it's a clear lecture of what a free life is. There's also the psychological aspects, like Doc being hot tempered and violent, and the lack of school which makes it impossible for most of his children to follow their dreams. But what brings the whole family together is their religious passion for surfing, and some of the kids have followed in their father's footstep and even became world champions. But all of them agree's that they wouldn't have had it any other way, and that's probably the case for the rest of us, no matter how dark our life is. A wonderful documentary about life itself. Thumbs up.

Grade: A-

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"Everything is Lost"

BUFFALO '66

Year: 1998
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 934
Director: Vincent Gallo
Starring: Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara, Anjelica Huston

The multi-talented artist Vincent Gallo is known for his flexibility between different art forms such as music and films, both when it comes to composing, writing and performing. But he will always be best remembered for his indie classic Buffalo 66' which he directed, wrote and starred in. And it's also set in his own home town, Buffalo, New York.

Buffalo '66 is the story about Billy Brown (Gallo) who returns to his home town, Buffalo, after five years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. All that time he has lied to his parents (Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara) that he worked for the government and was married. But Billy kidnaps the first and best girl, a dancer named Layla (Christina Ricci) who must pretend to be his wife. But when we finally meet his parents it's certainly a shock to see how little they care about anything but football. They hardly remember anything about their son.

Buffalo '66 is a good melancholic indie film, with its small town post Reagan America. Gallo give us a great performance and a great character, a realistic haunted irritated individual. Christina Ricci's character, Layla is more interesting because while we know so much about Billy, we don't know anything about Layla. And it's also the fact that Billy often treats her like dirt, but no matter how cruel he is, Layla sticks with him, she probably got a tough life of her own.

The most surreal thing about this film is Billy's parents and how apathetic they are towards anything but football, specially his mother, who gave birth to Billy the day the local football team Buffalo Bill lost the Super Bowl of 1966. And she often says that it was Billy's fault for being born that day. He once decided to bet ten grand on the Buffalos winning the Super Bowl, but looses and he thinks he's forever doomed. Overall, Buffalo '66 is a good little film about the apathetic small town american with a surreal world view. Thumbs up.

Grade: B+

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"Cross-Dressing Cross Country"

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Year: 1994
Country: Australia
Language: English, Filipino
Number: 1003
Director: Stephan Elliot
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Bill Hunter
Oscar wins: Best Costume Design

Stephan Elliott's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is along with Muriel's Wedding the two Australian films from '94 that both have gained a big cult status, not only in Australia alone, but all over the world, with their use of ABBA music, unknown Aussie actors that later became world famous and two amazing performances by Australian character actor Bill Hunter.

Priscilla is the story about two drag queens, Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Felicia (Guy Pearce) and a transsexual woman named Bernadette (Terence Stamp) who bought a buss that they named Priscilla in order to travel cross country to perform their drag queen dance numbers. But the trip is also a way for Bernadette to forget about her dead husband, while Mitzi just discovered that he has a son from a previous heterosexual marriage.

Priscilla is an enjoyable and entertaining road trip movie that have gained a big cult status in the gay and drag community. Where similar trips have occurred in real life, which includes standing on top of the Ayers Rock in drag. There's some pretty good dancing numbers as well that every one can enjoy. There's also some unforgettable supporting characters like Bill Hunter's Bob, an outback mechanic and his crazy Filipino mail order bride Marion, who is known for shooting ping pong balls out of... eh... somewhere. It's a road trip movie that teaches us very much about how tough the life is for most gay and drag people, and how they cope with it by breaking loose. Thumbs up.

Rating: B+

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"The Result of Too Many Horror Movies"

SCREAM

Year: 1996
Country: United States
Language: English
Number: 915
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

Horror veteran Wes Craven who gave us the iconic horror figure Freddy Krueger from "A Nightmare on Elm Street" also saw the connection between every horror film ever made, all the cliches that everyone knows too well and is able to predict right away while we yell at the screen "Don't go inn there!". Craven's Scream is a parody of exactly that. And we as an audience can just sit back and laugh.

Scream is set in a small town where a serial killer is on the loose, killing people wearing a normal Halloween ghost mask. There's no connections between the murders, but our female protagonist, Sidney Prescot (Neve Campbell) who's mother was killed the year before, was also attacked by the killer, but escaped. There's also the news reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who's trying to find the connection between Sidney's mother's death and all the other murders, because Sidney testified against the wrong man, Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) who is about to be executed.

Scream is a great tribute to the highly predictable horror genre, by making it even more unpredictable, and giving us a serial killer who wants to follow all the rules of the horror genre, and we realize that more sequels are inevitable. It's also funny to watch all the victims don't take the killer seriously because they in fact have also watched too many horror movies. It's unconventional by being conventional. A big thumbs up.

Grade: A-

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"Time Destroys Everything"

IRRÉVERSIBLE

Year: 2002
Country: France
Language: French
Number: 1015
Director: Gaspar Noé
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Jo Prestia

Gaspar Noe's Irreversible is the story about two men, Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) who looks all over Paris for the man who brutally raped Marcus' wife and Pierre's former girlfriend, Alex (Monica Bellucci). The special thing about this film is that it doesn't move chronological, but backwards, just like Christopher Nolan's Memento. It's starts with Marcus being carried away in an ambulance after been in a fight with the man who he thought was the rapist in a hardcore gay club. From then on we see all the events leading up to this event, even the rape itself, and Marcus' and Alex' troubled relationship and Pierre's feelings for Alex.

Irreversible is probably a film that one should stay away from if you are one of those who's fragile to violence to begin with, because this film is indeed very violent, with people being beaten to death while people around masturbates, and there's even a ten minute uncut rape scene. Should such violent ever been in this film. My answer is yes, because these are things that really happens, and it's not something you can turn away from.

But when it comes to the movie in general, it is truly a cinematic masterpiece, because of the use of constant shaky cam, to show us the characters' confusion and rage. And the movie also consists of only thirty long takes, and most of them is combined together through swish pans. The words "Time destroys everything" appears both in the beginning and in the end, as a metaphor for the inevitable. We know what's already happened and we are forced to sadly watch the pointless past that has no meaning and no matter what happens, all we see is why it happened, but there's no one to blame but the time itself.

Irreversible is one of those misanthropic films that makes you're faith in humanity even more fragile than it already is. And by showing us the history backwards it only becomes stronger. It literary breaks all the ten commandments. Some might find it unwatchable due to it's violence, but I advise people who can't stand violence to stay away. But if you have the guts to sit through it, you will see that this is a cinematic masterpiece. Thumbs up.

Grade: A+

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"Comical Horror Behavior"

THE HOUSEMAID

Original title: 하녀 (Hanyo)
Year: 1960
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Number: 362
Director: Kim Ki-young
Starring: Lee Eun-shim, Ju Jeung-nyeo, Kim Jin Kyu, Ahn Sunge-kee

Kim Ki-young's horror classic The Housemaid is the story about a handsome music teacher who's in need of a housemaid to help around the house, because of his pregnant wife. One of his students finds him a housemaid, a crazy one, unfortunately, who's one of those unfortunate souls who have fallen obsessionally in love with the teacher, and starts to terrorize the rest of his family, his wife and two children.

The Housemaid is an alright exaggerated horror film, that's on the edge of being a comedy, because of how nice the teacher is treating the housemaid, even though she's a psycho from the start, and that he's continuing to treat her nice even when she do things that every regular person would have killed her, or at least fire her right away. I just couldn't buy the movie at all, even though there are some great dialogue and some enjoyable horror cliches which is enough to give this film a marginal thumbs up.

Rating: C+

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"Korean Fight Club"

ATTACK THE GAS STATION

Original title: 주유소 습격 사건 (Juyuso seubgyuksageun)
Year: 1999
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Number: 958
Director: Kim Sang-jin
Starring: Lee Sung-jae, Yu Oh-seong, Kang Seong-jin, Yoo Ji-tae

Kim Sang-jin's Attack the Gas Station is the story about four thugs who decides to rob a gas station in the middle of the night, because they are bored. They already robbed the same gas station once, but when the boss this time decides to hide all the money, the thugs decides to hold all the employees as hostages, while they are running the station in such a rude way, while they force the boss to come up with the money.

Attack the Gas Station is a great crime comedy, a hysterical one, because of the way the hostages are treated and how sometimes they turn against each other and even feels affection for their prison guard, Mu "Bulldozer" Dae-po, who always carrying a big stick and act like a strict sergeant, and I just laugh so hard when he's on screen. And it's also interesting and funny to watch the flashbacks of all the thugs that shows us the reason why they are robbing the gas station in the first place, they show us their broken dreams, and we kind of feel sorry for them.

This film have gained a special cult status in South Korea. There's even been similar attacks in real-life. It's like a Korean Fight Club. It is also a social commentary about the economic turmoil in South Korea in which car manufacturers was laying off thousands of employees. And it's also a commentary about american imperialism as well. In other words this is a movie about the frustrated South Korean youth. For me, Attack the Gas Station is the best Korean film I've seen so far. Thumbs up.

Rating: A+

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"Texas in a Nutshell"

LONE STAR

Year: 1996
Country: United States
Language: English, Spanish
Number: 913
Director: John Sayles
Starring: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey
Oscar nomination: Best Original Screenplay

If there's a genre named "Neo-Westerns". John Sayles' Lone Star is definitely among the classics that one should not miss. It's set in Rio County, Texas, where we follow Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) who thanks to two treasure hunters found a human skull and a sheriff batch that most likely belonged to the former sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson). A violent and racist sheriff who just disappeared decades ago. Sam's father, the late beloved Sheriff Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey) was Wade's deputy who got fired because of his opposition towards Wade's intolerance towards Mexicans and black people. An intolerance that are still present unfortunately. This makes Sam's father a suspect. And Sam has to dig deep into his family secrets.

Lone Star is an extraordinary western film that dives deep into racial differences that are still very strong, and where Mexican immigration only becomes a bigger problem. But there's also the black people too. And we not only follow the sheriff, we also follow other people of different backgrounds dealing with these problems, like Pirar Cruz (Elizabeth Pena), Sam's Mexican high school girlfriend, who both were not allowed to be together. And we also follow the African-american Colonel Delmore Payne (Joe Morton) who's father, Otis (Ron Canada) felt the terror of sheriff Wade. There's even a town hall meeting that discuss how they shall teach history.

This is a great mystery film, with really dark secrets, family secrets that can destroy Sam's father's reputation as a legend. There's a pretty strong cast that are just perfect. Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton, Ron Canada, Miriam Colon, Matthew McConaughey and specially Kris Kristofferson's performance was clearly the best. He's one of those characters you wanna see more of. Surely one of the toughest bad guys cinema have ever seen, with his Texan accent and his ice cold attitude. Overall, Lone Star is an excellent executed mystery film, with an issue that are still relevant today, and it also contains a certain David Lynch chill as well. Thumbs up.

Grade: A+

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"Bourgeoisie Filmmaking"

LA CAPTIVE

Year: 2000
Country: France/Belgium
Language: French
Number: 963
Director: Chantal Akerman
Starring: Stanislas Merhar, Sylvie Testud, Olivia Bonamy, Liliane Rovère

Chantal Akerman's La Captive is loosely based on Marcel Proust's novel La Prisonnière. It's the story about a wealthy man, Simon and his girlfriend Ariane, whom he suspects have an affair with another woman. Simon confronts her with this statement, but Ariane denies this, but Simon knows better and think it's best if they separate and not repress their feelings. But it isn't that easy at all.

Even though I haven't read any of Marcel Proust's work, this film is one of those film adaptions that you know too darn well never should have been made into a movie, because of all the things going on inside their heads. It's too long, it's too slow and some of the character's actions is just too sentimental and too bourgeoisie. But I did like the discussions, which were interesting, realistic and complex, just like in real life relationships. There's also some quite good sex scenes as well. But it was just too static, like a play or an "artistic" Antonioni film. Thumbs down.

Grade: C-

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"I'll Die For Mama"

  THE WALL

Original title: दीवार (Deewaar)

Year: 1975
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Number: 594
Director: Yash Chopra
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi

The Indian classic Deewar is the story about a mother and her two children, Vijay and Ravi, who have no other choice then to leave their village to find a better life in the city of Mumbai. The life in Mumbai is tough. Their mother have to work hard for low wages, so does Vijay, in order to send his younger brother Ravi to school. The two brothers goes their separate ways. Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) becomes a smuggler, while Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) becomes a policeman, who must take his brother down.

As in the US, India's youth was also rebelling against the old and corrupt government. While US actors like Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro reflected the angry youth in America, Amitabh Bachchan did exactly the same thing in India, where he was known as "the young angry man". And I must say, Bachchan kicks ass, with his laid back attitude, his lazy eyes, his hairy chest and baritone voice makes him one of the toughest bad boys of all time. And it's certainly one of his greatest performances and most emotional ones, with a great story about two brothers torn a part by society. A big thumbs up.

Grade: A

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"An Orgy of Missed Opportunities"

THE TRAVELLING PLAYERS

Original title: Ο Θίασος (O Thiasos)
Year: 1975
Country: Greece
Language: Greek, German, English
Number: 604
Director: Theodoros Angelopoulos
Starring: Eva Kotamanidou, Aliki Georgouli, Vangelis Kazan, Stratos Pahis
Cannes: FIPRESCI Prize

Theodoros Angelopoulos' The Travelling Players tells the story about a bunch of theater performers during the period from 1939 to 1952 in which such big events as the German invasion, the partisan wars, and the Greek civil war between the US backed royalist forces against the communists. Although the players are in charge of all their plays, they cannot change the course of history, they themselves are just the audience. The Travelling Players is an interesting piece that covers most of the war period pretty well in sense of details delivered to us by both imagery and people talking directly into the camera, with all their stories about a constantly dynamic Greece.

But sadly enough, this film didn't appeal to me at all. It's too long, nearly four hours, and it doesn't actually cover the Civil War at all, which is very disappointing. And there's too many characters that we are suppose to recognize, considering there's few close-ups, thanks to all the long shots. Don't misunderstand me, I love long takes, but Angelopoulos could have made it more dynamic like Miklós Jancsó's war dramas. Overall, I kind of liked it, but it was simply too long and too theatrical. It is an orgy of missed opportunities. But I liked its political and cultural imagery enough to give this movie a marginal thumbs up.

Grade: C+

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