Category Archives: movies

neo-realism meets Catholicism in an early work of Pasolini (film: Mamma Roma – Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962)

A few days ago I saw ‘1917‘, the film that has a good chance of picking up several Academy Awards in a few weeks. The glory of this film is due to the fact that its director, Sam Mendes, uses … Continue reading

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fall of the Canadian empire (film: La chute de l’empire américain – Denys Arcand, 2018)

Denys Arcand is known for some memorable films, in which the sparkling dialogue of his characters either intellectuals or belonging to the higher social classes is an important part of the style and of the substance. The hero in ‘La … Continue reading

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gangsters ‘film noir’ made in Romania (Film: La Gomera / The Whistlers – Cornel Porumboiu, 2019)

The maturity of a film school is measured not only by masterpieces or films awarded with gold at major festivals, but also by ‘average’ movies, belonging to popular genres or film niches. If this criterion is correct, then we can … Continue reading

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immersed in ww1 (Film: 1917 – Sam Mendes, 2019)

I’m afraid that I saw yesterday the movie that will win the Academy Award for Best Movie this season. I wrote that ‘I’m afraid’ because ‘1917‘ directed by Sam Mendes is an extremely technically ingenious film, impressive in cinematography, and … Continue reading

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the coming to age of the rabbit (Film: Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi, 2019)

‘Jojo Rabbit‘, Taika Waititi‘s film arouses controversy among film critics and viewers. Normal for a satirical comedy dealing with the darkest period in history? Perhaps, however, we should not be so shocked anymore, and not because almost eight decades have … Continue reading

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the mayor and the philosopher (Film: Alice et le maire – Fabrice Luchini, 2019)

Politicians and the bureaucracy around them (political parties, parliaments, governments, mayors) do not enjoy a good rating nowadays. However, films about politicians and those around them seem to be more successful than the politicians themselves. A good example in this … Continue reading

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popes transition (film: The Two Popes – Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, 2019)

The screenplay for ‘The Two Popes‘ is written by Anthony McCarten and this is his fourth screenplay of a successful biopic brought to screens since 2014, after ‘The Theory of Everything‘, ‘Darkest Hour‘ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘. Beware, the filmmakers claim … Continue reading

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anatomy of a divorce (film: Marriage Story – Scarlett Johansson, 2019)

‘Marriage Story‘ directed by Noah Baumbach has been compared by many people to ‘Kramer Vs. Kramer ‘and I can’t help suspecting that this comparison was encouraged by or even originated in the PR machine of the film’s producers. There are … Continue reading

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each emigration story is different (Film: Nybiggarna / The New Land – Jan Troell, 1972)

The Scandinavian film festival at the local cinematheque concluded several weeks ago, but yesterday,as a follow-up, we watched the second film of the mid-19th century Swedish emigration to America saga based on Vilhelm Moberg‘s novels and directed by Jan Troell. … Continue reading

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the land of the living dead (Film: Du levande / You, the living – Roy Andersson, 2007)

Swedish director Roy Andersson is 76 years old. He made his first feature film in 1969, and has since made six more films, most recently this year. Seven films in half a century. ‘Du levande‘ (‘You, the living‘) from 2007 … Continue reading

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