Category Archives: movies

truth and beauty (film: Cravata galbenă / The Yellow Tie – Serge Ioan Celebidachi, 2025)

Posted on December 20, 2025 by admin

I confess that I was a little afraid to watch ‘The Yellow Tie‘, the film by Serge Ioan Celebidachi. Writing a biography or making a biographical film about one’s own father, a dominant personality not only in his field but … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Ben Schnetzer, biopic, Cravata galbenă, film about a musician, international movies production, John Malkovich, original script, Romanian cinema, Serge Ioan Celebidachi, Sergiu Celibidache | Leave a comment

small lies, big lies, bad lies, good lies (film: Eleanor the Great – Scarlett Johansson, 2025)

Posted on December 15, 2025 by admin

Scarlett Johansson has starred in films directed by some of the most remarkable directors (including female directors) of our time, from Sofia Coppola and Christopher Nolan to Robert Redford and Woody Allen, in her more than twenty-year acting career. She … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged American cinema, Chiwetel Ejiofor, drama, Erin Kellyman, Holocaust movies, Jewish cinema, June Squibb, original script, Scarlett Johansson, Tory Kamen | Leave a comment

The Gassman Show (film: Il Mattatore – Dino Risi, 1960)

Posted on December 12, 2025 by admin

Dino Risi‘s 1960 film ‘Il mattatore‘ (or ‘Love and Larceny‘ in the English distribution) belongs to a period in which comedies that were popular with the public and quality films were not disjoint categories. At a time when French cinema … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged black-and-white film, comedy, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Il Mattatore, Italian cinema, original script, Vittorio Gassman | Leave a comment

René Clair vs. Chaplin (film: À nous la liberté – René Clair, 1931)

Posted on December 11, 2025 by admin

‘À nous la liberté‘ – René Clair‘s 1931 film – is often mentioned in tandem with Chaplin’s ‘Modern Times’ from 1936. The central theme and anti-capitalist message are shared. In the perspective, the direct filiation is obvious. At the time, … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged À nous la liberté, author cinema, comedy, French cinema, Georges Auric, Georges Périnal, Henri Marchand, Lazare Meerson, musical movies, original script, Raymond Cordy, René Clair, social cinema, social satire | Leave a comment

the dawn of the Lubitsch world (film: The Marriage Circle – Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

Posted on December 8, 2025 by admin

‘The Marriage Circle‘ from 1924 is one of the first films of Ernst Lubitsch‘s American career. The Berlin-born film director brought to American audiences a style of romantic comedy that he would develop after the advent of sound in talking … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged black-and-white film, comedy, Ernst Lubitsch, Hollywood movies, inspired by a theatre play, Marie Prevost, silent cinema, The Marriage Circle | Leave a comment

laughs vs. anguish (film: Un monde merveilleux – Giulio Callegari, 2024)

Posted on December 7, 2025 by admin

We live in the midst of collective anxiety created by the dangers of robots and Artificial Intelligence. Jobs are disappearing or are under threat, AI applications and robots are increasingly present in our lives and not only do they threaten … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Blanche Gardin, comedy, French cinema, Giulio Callegari, original script, road movies, sci-fi comedy, Un monde merveilleux | Leave a comment

the Avignon Spirit (film: Avignon – Johann Dionnet, 2025)

Posted on December 3, 2025 by admin

‘Avignon‘ (2025) is one of those films that I can’t help but love despite some obvious shortcomings. Johann Dionnet, the film’s director and co-writer of the script, is probably known to you from other French films in which he played … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alison Wheeler, Avignon, Baptiste Lecaplain, comedy, Elisa Erka, French cinema, Johann Dionnet, original script, romantic comedy | Leave a comment

words and images (film: Dreams / Drømmer – Dag Johan Haugerud, 2025)

Posted on December 2, 2025 by admin

I haven’t seen the previous two films in Dag Johan Haugerud‘s trilogy, so I can’t comment on how ‘Dreams‘ (or ‘Drømmer‘ in the original version) fits in and completes the Norwegian screenwriter and director’s group of films. The Berlin festival … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Ane Dahl Torp, Anne Marit Jacobsen, author cinema, author film, coming to age movies, Dag Johan Haugerud, Dreams, Drømmer, Ella Øverbye, Norwegian cinema, original script, Salome Emnetu | Leave a comment

frozen emotions (film: The Sweet Hereafter – Atom Egoyan, 1997)

Posted on November 27, 2025 by admin

The films of Atom Egoyan, a film director I greatly admire, are not easy to watch. He is one of those filmmakers who chooses and often writes sophisticated scripts himself, which test the attention of the audience and force spectators … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Atom Egoyan, Canadian cinema, film based on a novel, Gabrielle Rose, Ian Holm, psychological drama, Russell Banks, Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter | Leave a comment

love, words and legend (film: On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate / Saenghwalui balgyeon – Hong Sang-soo, 2002)

Posted on November 24, 2025 by admin

‘On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate‘ (the original Korean title is ‘Saenghwalui balgyeon‘), made in 2002 and released on screens in 2004, is the fourth film by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo and probably the first in which … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged author cinema, Hak-Seon Kim, Hong Sang-soo, Kim Sang-kyung, Korean movies, On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate, original script, relationship drama, Saenghwalui balgyeon, Ye Ji-won | Leave a comment