rev-ewe 28: Tulpan

"Tulpan"

Sergei Dvortsevoy

Kazakhstan

Real life Borat! No, not really at all. This movie was probably created as a response to that movie's poor representation of a truly interesting culture. It was obvious how much of the movie was intended to show Kazakhstan's political importance, cultural uniqueness, and physical beauty.

Plot? Nah. This movie is just about a guy who needs to get married and has trouble since, on the steppes of Kazakhstan, there is slim pickings. Plus, he's kindof an awkward character.

The pace is incredibly slow, which I've found I'm quite a fan of.  Movies that can keep me interested while having little to nothing happen for five minutes are my fave.  The analysis of family dynamics is equally as satisfying as the wife (protagonist's sister) has to struggle between two stubborn men in her life that she loves equally.  In the end, it is more of a film of realizing the important things in life than it is about seeking love. There are funny moments (which at first I wasn't sure were meant to be funny), but it is indeed mostly a cool insight into a country I'm sure almost everyone thought was what Borat presented it as.  If you love seeing a culture you didn't know about, this is a really great one.  Also, this is another one of those films that gets better each time you watch it.

Noooot to mention, it's super interesting because when I first saw the characters, my mind thought - Chinese?  Then when they didn't speak any Asian language I knew of...  Mind blown.  

rev-ewe 27: Afghan Star

"Afghan Star"

Havana Marking

Afghanistan

Now THIS documentary was really worth watching. It was absolutely and completely eye-opening to a culture that I knew so little about. This was so much more about revealing cultural norms than it was about the actual competition. Very, very interesting

This follows the contestants of the first season of 'Afghan Star' (Afghanistan's American Idol) and how the culture is finally learning to accept 1) television and 2) music. Neither of which I knew was illegal in the country. Perhaps the most interesting contestant is a woman who chooses to dance in front of her whole country as well as take off her headscarf. The reaction and her interviews are so interesting.

MUST see! As an American, I feel it's important to know about this kind of culture, and it really shed some light on things for me. Plus, the music is great.

rev-ewe 26: All About Eve

"All About Eve"

America

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Like pretty much all of these classic films, so much about it was absolutely on-point. Acting by Bette Davis was beyond anyone I've really seen in today's films (Meryl Streep aside), and while the film was slow at a few points in the movie, it was chock full of great plot, great writing and great cinematography! They really don't make movies like this anymore.

About this on-top-of-the-world actress (Davis) who suddenly comes upon a lowly star-struck fan who idolizes her. She takes her under her wing, only to realize that slowly things are starting to fall apart around her and it might have something to do with this girl.

I really appreciated almost every aspect of this film, from the small insights into the times (like married couples sleeping in separate beds.. lolz I can never get over that) to the great character developments. Totally worth watching for a good, classic movie. Not an OMG storyline, but still fantastic!