Category Archives: movies

interesting cinema, lacking emotion (Film: Monstri – Marius Olteanu, 2019)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by admin

Director and script author Marius Olteanu, at his first feature film, demonstrates in ‘Monsters‘ that he knows the job. The film, which on these days made its debut on the Romanian screens in Cluj at TIFF and which I saw … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alexandu Potocean, Cristian Popa, Judith State, Marius Olteanu, Monstri, Romanian cinema, Serban Pavlu | Leave a comment

the French movie that Hitchcock would have loved to make (Film: Les diaboliques – Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)

Posted on June 7, 2019 by admin

‘Les diaboliques‘ made in 1955 by Henri-Georges Clouzot ends with an explicit request from the viewers of not sharing the plot and especially the end of the film. Of course, I will honor this request. I will say, however, that … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged French cinema, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Les diaboliques, Paul Meurisse, SImone Signoret, Vera Clouzot | Leave a comment

Johnny English has a rival in the Mossad (Film: Mossad – Alon Gur Arye, 2019)

Posted on June 5, 2019 by admin

Everyone enjoys a good laugh, and the summer cinema season is optimal for comedies. It’s just the right time to watch a movie like “Mossad” written and directed by Alon Gur Arye, a parody in the genre of the “Naked … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alon Gur Arye, comedy, Dvir Benedek, Gila Almagor, Ilan Dar, Israeli cinema, Mossad, parody, spy movies, Tal Friedman, Tsahi Halevi | Leave a comment

a soap opera about a soap opera about the conflict (Film: Tel Aviv on Fire – Sameh Zoabi, 2018)

Posted on June 2, 2019 by admin

Making a film about the conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians (or, shortly, ‘the conflict’ as the locals call it) is probably almost as complicated as the peace talks between the two sides. Yet, scriptwriter and director Sameh Zoabi chose … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Israeli cinema, Kais Nashif, Middle East conflict, Sameh Zoabi, Tel Aviv on Fire | Leave a comment

on the bright side of marriage (Film: Two for the Road – Audrey Hepburn, 1967)

Posted on June 1, 2019 by admin

‘Two for the Road‘, the 1967 film by Stanley Donen enjoys the beautiful and appropriate music of Henry Mancini, but it seems to me that it could also fit a paraphrase of the famous song at the end of a … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Albert Finney, Audrey Hepburn, British cinema, British movies, romantic films, Stanley Donen, Two for the Road | Leave a comment

identity games (Film: Charade – Audrey Hepburn, 1963)

Posted on May 31, 2019 by admin

Had Stanley Donen directed only ‘Singin’ in the Rain‘ it would probably have been enough for him to have a place of honor in the history of cinema. But Donen has directed and produced many other successful films, most of … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charade, comedy, George Kennedy, Henry Mancini, Hollywood movies, James Coburn, Paris, spy movies, Stanley Donen, thriller movies, Walter Matthau | Leave a comment

the enigmas of ‘Persona’ (Film: Persona – Ingmar Bergman, 1966)

Posted on May 18, 2019 by admin

‘Persona‘ is one of the most enigmatic movies in the history of cinema. Those who read the chronicles written right after the 1966 release of the film or the articles dedicated to it in the books of cinema history will … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Persona, Swedish movies | Leave a comment

dream or absurd or both? (Film: Buffet Froid – Gérard Depardieu, 1979)

Posted on May 16, 2019 by admin

‘Buffet Froid‘ made in 1979 by Bertrand Blier can be seen as an almost perfect antithesis of the films of the French New Wave that had burst into the cinema world two decades ago. If the New Wave was a … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Bernard Blier, Bertrand Blier, Buffer Froid, French cinema, Gerard Depardieu, La Nouvelle Vague | Leave a comment

a big story, a failed movie (Film: Red Joan – Judi Dench, 2018)

Posted on May 15, 2019 by admin

Trevor Nunn, the director of ‘Red Joan‘, had in his hands a huge story. He also had in the cast Judi Dench, a great actress in a role that seemed to have been written for her. The film starts very … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged British cinema, British movies, Cold War, cold war movies, Judi Dench, Lindsay Shapero, Red Joan, Sophie Cookson, spy movies, Trevor Nunn, ww2 movies | Leave a comment

an inconvenient mirror (Film: Cea mai fericitã fatã din lume – Radu Jude, 2009)

Posted on May 14, 2019 by admin

‘This is who we are!’. This is the message that film director Radu Jude repeats obsessively in all his films. He puts an uncomfortable mirror in the face of the sometimes unwilling Romanian spectators, bound to face unpleasant truths about … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Andreea Bosneag, Cea mai fericitã fatã din lume, Radu Jude, Romanian cinema, Serban Pavlu | Leave a comment