Category Archives: movies

Buñuel’s grand finale (film: Cet obscur objet du désir – Luis Buñuel, 1977)

“Cet obscur objet du désir” (“That Obscure Object of Desire” in the English-language distribution) from 1977 is the last film directed by Luis Buñuel and a magnificent conclusion to a career that had begun in surrealist experimental cinema, had stagnated … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

presumed innocent (film: 12 Angry Men – Sidney Lumet, 1957)

‘12 Angry Men‘ is the debut film of director Sidney Lumet. Reginald Rose (who is the author of the script and the television play that inspired it) and Henry Fonda, the independent producers of the film, took a risk by … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

re-watching a masterpiece (film: La Dolce Vita – Frederico Fellini, 1960)

What more can be said or written about Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita‘? I included watching this film in the program of an anniversary day and I did not regret a single moment. 66 years after its release and the Palme … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

a polish mother (film: Mama – Or Sinai, 2025)

The fate of economic migrants from the ‘second’ Europe, men and especially women who leave their countries in search of a source of income that will ensure not only their survival but also the future of their family and children, … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

passion and improvisation (film: Köln 75 – Ido Fluk, 2025)

The concert that Keith Jarrett gave in Cologne in 1975 is source to one of the most famous recordings in the history of music. I deliberately avoided using the term jazz because Jarrett defined his music at that time as … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

each family has its own secrets (film: Per amore di una donna – Guido Chiesa, 2025)

Here is a film that surprised me. For the better. ‘Per amore di una donna‘ (or ‘For the Love of a Woman‘ in English) is a film by an Italian director I didn’t know named Guido Chiesa. I chose to … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

a quality film de papa (film: Les orgueilleux – Yves Allégret & Rafael E. Portas, 1953)

Yves Allégret, the director of the Franco-Mexican co-production ‘Les orgueilleux‘ (known in English distribution as ‘The Proud and the Beautiful’) was in the 1950s one of the preferred target of the critics of future French New Wave filmmakers. He directed … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

between neorealism and Hollywood

‘Riso amaro‘ (or ‘Bitter Rice’ in the English release) is one of the films that connects the Italian neo-realism of the 1940s in its ‘pure’ form with the great Italian cinema that would emerge from this movement in the following … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

simple, powerful, different (film: Backrooms – Kane Parsons, 2026)

Kane Parsons, the creator, director and co-writer of the ‘Backrooms‘, will turn 21 on June 18, which means he won’t be able to legally buy a beer in the United States for a few more weeks to celebrate the success … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

in the shadow of the Tsar (film: The Wizard of the Kremlin – Olivier Assayas, 2025)

Is it too early for cinematic versions of the story of the rise of a personality who continues to dominate contemporary world politics like Vladimir Putin? This is certainly not what writer Giuliano Da Empoli, who published the novel ‘Le … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment