Category Archives: movies

Almodóvar Faces Death (film: The Room Next Door – Pedro Almodóvar, 2024)

Posted on December 23, 2024 by admin

In his latest film, ‘The Room Next Door‘ (2024), Pedro Almodóvar faces Death. Many of the great filmmakers have done it: Fellini, Bergman, Haneke, Kurosawa, Hitchcock. Some earlier, others towards the end of their careers and lives, Hitchcock in every … Continue reading →

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father and son (film: Che ora è – Ettore Scola, 1989)

Posted on December 21, 2024 by admin

‘Che ora è‘, Ettore Scola‘s 1989 film, is an admirable demonstration of the fact that great films can often be simple and that sophisticated effects or complex plots are not always necessary to reach the hearts of viewers. All one … Continue reading →

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comedy in hell (film: A Perfect Day – Fernando León de Aranoa, 2015)

Posted on December 20, 2024 by admin

I had some good reasons to choose to see ‘A Perfect Day‘. The director is Fernando León de Aranoa, who since 2015 has made some good and very good films, two of which I had seen and written about. The … Continue reading →

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a cry for freedom (film: Sheytan vojood nadarad / There is No Evil – Mohammad Rasoulof, 2020)

Posted on December 19, 2024 by admin

Mohammad Rasoulof‘s 2020 film ‘Sheytan vojood nadarad‘ (‘There is No Evil‘ is the English title) confirms once again that great cinema can be made even under dictatorship. It is not always possible and many stars have to line up for … Continue reading →

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midlife crisis (film: Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté – Claude Lelouch, 1988)

Posted on December 18, 2024 by admin

The 1988 ‘Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté‘ (English title: ‘Itinerary of a Spoiled Child‘) is the second of three films directed by Claude Lelouch featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Three films that belong each to different periods in the careers of the director … Continue reading →

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a duty to talk (film: White Bird – Marc Foster, 2023)

Posted on December 17, 2024 by admin

To prevent history from repeating itself, the stories of episodes of the Holocaust, of other genocides, and of acts of political terror and terrorism must be made known in all their horror. The best testimonies are those of survivors. But … Continue reading →

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the tragical story of a clown during the Belle Époque (film: Chocolat – Roschdy Zem, 2016)

Posted on December 16, 2024 by admin

‘Chocolat‘, directed in 2016 by Roschdy Zem, is one of those films that left me happy after viewing, but which later, as emotions and ideas settled, I started to consider as a missed opportunity for an exceptional creation. The film … Continue reading →

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love, mourning & love again (film: La délicatesse – David & Stéphane Foenkinos, 2011)

Posted on December 13, 2024 by admin

‘La délicatesse‘ (2011) is a kind of experiment. It is very rare for a novelist to fully take on the screen adaptation of his own novel, writing the script and also directing the film. David Foenkinos, one of the most … Continue reading →

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from Simenon to Hitchcock (film: Maigret tend un piège – Jean Delannoy, 1957)

Posted on December 11, 2024 by admin

Jean Delannoy lived to be a hundred years old and directed some 40 feature films in a career spanning over six decades. He was a contemporary of classical French cinema, of the directors of the New Wave and those who … Continue reading →

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inovative cinema, weak stories (film: Here – Robert Zemeckis, 2024)

Posted on December 9, 2024 by admin

‘Here‘ (2024) is a technological marvel. There are directors from whom I expect something like this, one of them would be Steven Spielberg, and then Robert Zemeckis, the director of this film, whose movies Spielberg produced on many occasions. The … Continue reading →

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