rev-ewe 36: Lagaan

Lagaan
Ashutosh Gowarikar

India

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!  Ever since I was probably.. 13, I remember seeing this movie on that random film channel we used to have and I'd love committing my Saturday afternoons to this nearly 4 hour movie. 

That's right - 4 hours.

Worth it?  Absolutely.

Talk about feel-good, well-done, beautiful Bollywood.  Great storyline, developed characters, fun songs.  The colors are all stunning, choreography is on point, and.. well.. it's just a great movie.

The story is basically about this small village that has to pay increased taxes to the British (takes place in the late 1800s) and when no rains come, a challenge is presented by one man - increased taxes or none at all... over a cricket match.  

Simple, sweet, gets the job done.  Sports, romance, singing, dancing, this thing has got it all.

I highly recommend watching this if you have the time (Even if you don't, watch it in installments.. so much fun!) and want a really entertaining feel-good movie.

PLUS it's on Netflix right now!  So get on it!

rev-ewe 35 - Man With A Movie Camera

Man With A Movie Camera (Человек с киноаппаратом)
Russia (USSR, technically)
Dziga Vertov

This movie is a full cinematic experience.  It takes on every aspect of film and turns it around and makes exquisite movie love to your eyeballs.  Well, to your whole face, really.  The film is simply an experience more than it is anything else.  There's the slightest hint of a plot, but really it's just an artistic expose of this time and people.

Just by showing life in a 1920s Russian city through specifically chosen clips and edited in a way-ahead-of-their-time manner, the film is able to keep you captured the whole way through.  There were shots I was amazed someone could get at that time considering the technology (bulky ass camera).  Perhaps my favorite was a montage of shots of people doing sports (picture shown) and they're played in slow motion as if he had the same frame rate sports shows do today!  It's absolutely gorgeous, I don't know how they did it, and I quite frankly don't care (No, I do care.. it's amazing!).  The movie seriously is just stunning and can actually be kind of draining the first time through due to its overwhelming awesomeness.

Very experimental style, the score is well chosen, at times too perfect.  It breaks the fourth wall quite often, which I love, and it does it in such a way that helps to tell the sort-of story.  Worth watching if you love to look at beautiful things, love culture/people, or if you're just wanting something really mind-blowing to watch.  I also particularly liked the fact that early animation is incorporated into it.  It must have been unbelievably tedious to do the film, but it paid off.  Just a masterpiece!

rev-ewe 33: Korkoro

Korkoro (English: Freedom/Alone)
Tony Gatlif
France

So much to say about this movie!  Like so many other French movies, it lacks any real plot or usual conflict-resolution arc.  It focused on the Romani gypsies in Nazi-occupied France.  Some might say this is the France/Gypsy version of Schindler's List, but... I certainly liked this movie more.  It was definitely interesting to see a part of the Holocaust that isn't usually discussed.

Within the first five minutes, I was sold.  At first, it seemed to be just another pretentiously 'artistic' film, but it quickly picked up and suddenly you're thrust into the characters' lives.  While each of the characters are interesting in their own way, the character Taloche totez steals the show.  I enjoyed every moment that he was on the screen 'cause he's just so full of energy and good humor.  The humor, when used, was on! point!  The movie is chock-full of Gypsy music, one of my personal favorites, and it helps to keep the movie going.  Beautiful stuff.

While the coherence of the film is just slightly off, it certainly doesn't take away from enjoying the film. The setting, storyline, and timeframe of each scene jumps around and there are a lot of issues that get brought up but never resolved or even explained.  Still, it was absolutely beautiful to watch and the characters were so well portrayed that the lack of any in-depth analysis of just about anything can be overlooked.  The art direction was truly superb and there are certain shots that are just breath-taking.  Sure, it can be a little stereotypical and certainly a bit romanticized, but hey.. isn't that what we go to the movies for?

Watch it for Gypsy music, for beautiful cinematography, and certainly for entertaining and genuine characters.  Overall, I guess I'd give it a 8 out of 10.

rev-ewe 32: Baran

Baran
Majid Majidi
Iran

A charming and beautiful movie.  Don't like foreign films?  Don't worry, this movie isn't heavy on dialogue.  It's much more about the interactions between characters and the sounds throughout the movie.

Background information I found that I think is relevant to appreciating the movie:
The Hazari are an ethnic group from Afghanistan who fled to Iran when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. While the Hazari can be traced to living in Afghanistan as long as any other Afghan ethnic group, they have distinct facial features that set them apart (generally looking very 'Asian' by American standards).  Because of this, many consider them outsiders.  As well, they're mostly Shi'ites, which differentiates them from the overwhelming majority of Sunni Muslims.  In 2001 (when this film was made), the Taliban openly targeted the Hazari people and burned down villages across the Hazarajat region.  When this happened, Hazari people fled where they could, and many went to Iran.  Since living in Iran, many Hazari have complained of being mistreated and taken advantage of (much like the immigrants of USA).  Many work difficult manual labor jobs for extremely low pay.  That's where this film comes in.
[if you're curious, read this National Geographic article: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/02/afghanistan-hazara/phil-zabriskie-text]

The movie takes place in Iran at a worksite where a boy, Lateef, is working the easy job.  Once a younger boy comes along, however, he is made to do the harder work and the younger boy takes his tea making and cooking job.  He tries to sabotage the new boy's work but soon realizes there's more to the situation than he originally thought and changes drastically in how he chooses to interact.  He realizes the magnitude of his actions and that people face bigger problems than he does.  I don't want to reveal what I didn't know at first (even though it's written in almost every quick plot synopsis) so ... I would say just watch it.

Definitely a coming-of-age story as well as a love story.  I didn't realize the first time through who the characters were exactly, but after round 2, it becomes more apparent and the story gets even better.  After watching it a second time, it seriously gets waaay better.  So it's certainly a movie worth watching just because it's an investment in good movies to watch over and over.

It's got a wonderfully slow pace, which may be difficult to watch at first, and is comforting in its beauty.  It was a great way to look into specific groups of people that I had no idea had such a complex relationship in society.  If you really need another reason to watch this movie, watch it to see how Afghan (specifically Hazari) and Iranians interact together as well as apart.  The Iranian setting is beautiful in every scene, and the emphasis the movie puts on sound is really unique.  I'd definitely have to watch it again to catch on more of the importance in the soundtrack, but it was noticeable enough to pick up on the first time through.
Gender is a very interesting part of the movie that is brought up.  I don't really want to talk too much about it because there's too many cultural and situational things that I'd rather not comment on, but simply found interesting.

Best part of the movie?  In the last scene, there's a great and very subtle combination of visual and audio that was extremely successful in what it had to express.  Subtlety is this movie's greatest asset, truly.

So .. total?  About a 9/10.  Though I probably didn't really understand what was going on, it was so beautiful and gets better each time I watch it.

** Might I also add that Baran means 'Rain' which is pretty important to the last shot in the movie (or really.. the whole movie).

rev-ewe 31: Tears of the Black Tiger

Tears of the Black Tiger (ฟ้าทะลายโจร)
Wisit Sasanatieng
Thailand

I have two things to say about this movie:
LOL. wtf?

So, there's actually a whole lot more to say about it.  It was hilariously exaggerated, beautifully put together, and strongly stylistic.  While the storyline was a bit mundane, it was presented in such a way that I could never have imagined a Thai movie would be like.
I guess I'd give it  8.5 out of 10?  Really, really well-done, though the story is pretty bland.  Beautiful to watch, the supporting roles MORE than make up for anything it lacks.  The first 15 minutes I could not stop laughing.  Watch it for Thai cowboys!!


The plot is basically that of a love between a poor boy and a rich girl, per usual, and of course their love is restricted.  Womp womp.  Truly, though, the best part is that it's presented like an old Western.  At first I thought the color scheme was just because those were the colors of old TECHNICOLOR! But, the whole movie uses mostly just two colors- fuscia and teal.  Beautiful!  The Western feel of it is hilariously done as the supporting actors are over-the-top and the sets are intensely designed.  Plus.. I mean, c'mon.  Thai cowboys?  Yes, please!  Why hasn't this been done before!  I could go into a whole analytical bit about the aesthetics of the film, but really all I wanna say is the fact that it was a Thai Western that was so beyond anything I could have expected!

*Fun Fact: the lead actress isn't actually Thai.  She's an Italian model who... happens to be fluent in Thai.  lol?

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 25: Temporada de Patos

Temporada de Patos (Duck Season)

Mexico

Fernando Eimbcke

Well, I have to say at first I really thought it was SUPER slow and not interesting. But, I didn't turn it off. Characters started to come in, and I didn't like any of them, but still I couldn't turn it off. Before I knew it, I was totally into it and loving where it was going (if it was indeed going anywhere). It takes a lot of cliches I felt uncomfortable about and turned it around so that it made it totally cool with me.

Filmed in black and white and set pretty much entirely in a single apartment, the viewer dives into the lives of four seemingly unrelated characters. 2 best friends, Moko and Flama, have a day to themselves, but eventually end up spending the day with their female neighbor and a mid-life-crisis pizza delivery guy.

The direction is very interesting, I liked the overt metaphors and I particularly liked how non-American the ending is. It touches on topics of homosexuality, life direction, family life, and typical friendships. Nothing and everything happens in the film, and I guess overall I really liked it. Though I think back on it and sometimes think the characters were too annoying, I think it works in the end. 7 stars! (I still don't know what scale I rate these movies on..)

rev-ewe 24: Bagdad Cafe

Bagdad Cafe

Germany

Percy Adlon

Okay, first of all.. don't let the image fool you. I chose this screen cap because it's hilarious, but completely unrelated to the film. Second of all, while the film is German, it takes place in California and is entirely in English. However, because it is foreign, the direction of it is veeeery unique. I used to watch this movie all the time on that weird cable movie channel I used to have, but hadn't seen it in a good decade or so. To find it on Netflix instant (go watch it!) was so exciting, and I knew I had to blog it once I'd seen it again.

This movie is cute, fun, weird, funny, exaggerated, quirky, etc. No particular plot, but again a development of characters and character relationships. It has a great pay-off in the end and I'm pretty sure almost anyone can enjoy it. Its humor is not particularly focused, but I would imagine the direction of it can be a bit off-putting at first.

Basically, this German couple are travelling through CA, but have an argument and the woman walks off (in the middle of the desert) while her husband drives off. She comes across a lone cafe/motel and checks in. After realizing she might be there for a while, she settles in and gets involved in the little group of people that share the residence at the Bagdad Cafe.

Again, the plot sounds mundane because the movie is totally not about the plot. It's the beautiful relationships and humor and direction! Each and every character is interesting and unique, and you pretty much know who they are straight away. Not to mention one of the beeest closing lines ever! so perfect.

Love it! Great, great movie.

rev-ewe 22: Ballad of a Soldier

баллада о солдате (US title: Ballad of a Soldier)

Russia (USSR)

Gregory Chukhrai

Masterpiece! Just like practically every other Janus Film production I've seen, this movie is magnificent. Visually captivating, emotional, inspirational, well-written, and definitely not dated (okay, maybe a BIT dated..but at the root of it, the characters face all the same dilemmas as today!). It's not too much of a tear-jerker, but it sure does play on quite a few of your emotions. It starts out a bit like a typical war movie, but quickly becomes a collection of vignettes into the lives of little characters across Russia. There is no happy ending, so don't expect one.. but that makes it oh, so wonderfully Russian!

The story is about this young soldier who, instead of being decorated, elects to go home and visit his mother. On the way, he meets various people who he tries to help out, which cuts into his time getting home...

I'm trying to put less and less info on the plot because I really don't want to ruin anyone's idea about it, but it really is an interesting look into 1950s Soviet Russia and film-making at the time. It didn't feel like an old movie for me, but obviously faced some technical issues that make it clear just how old it is. Really an easy plot to follow and the characters constantly keep you interested. Basically, a great piece of art.

rev-ewe 21: I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

South Korea

Park Chan-Wook

I don't remember where I first saw this film, but I came in the middle of it where two characters were talking to each other by looking at each other only through a compact mirror. They were seated in front of a large wallpaper image of the Alps. A large woman comes into the middle of their conversation and informs them she has learned how to levitate by using wool socks. She says she does this by creating enough static electricity from rubbing them together that it actually lifts her off her bed.

GENIUS.

This movie is about a mental institute and the patients within it. The main character, Young-goon (I still wonder if the Korean names are also a pun in English terms.. maybe not), believes she is a cyborg designed to kill the doctors which keep her (and once took her grandmother long ago). She meets another patient named Il-sun who claims he can steal people's characteristics, and promises her to take her sympathy so that she may go through with killing the doctors.

That's about all I want to say for the plot. I watched most of it again recently and it was very, very funny. In its over-the-top absurdity, it makes complete sense and is extremely entertaining. I can remember one scene where the patients are made to talk about something in their childhood that upset them, and one character nervously starts with 'mother..' and then quickly hocks a loogie and finishes with '..fucker.' and that was it. LOL. If you can find this film somewhere, DEFINITELY watch it. It's not on Netflix, so go out and find it. Worth it fo sho!!

rev-ewe 20: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

India

Aditya Chopra

Cute, cute, cute! I've loved bollywood since the first time I watched Lagaan when I was 13, and this movie definitely does bollywood! It's cute, funny, cheesy, musical, and actually quite romantic. I suppose my review of this is a bit biased since I love Indian culture so much, but it's really a charming film that goes on for 2 and a half hours (but it's so worth the duration!).

This middle-aged nerd-y type man is somehow arranged to marry a younger woman because of complications, but he is actually very in love with her. When he sees that she is interested in a dance competition, he creates an alter-ego to join her in her dance classes. This character is not shy and openly admits his love for her, but this complicates things when she falls for the alter-ego as well. Escandalo!

I looooved it, highly recommend for a predictable, feel-good fun film. Fawesome!

rev-ewe 19: XXY

XXY

Argentina [set in Uruguay]

Lucia Puenzo

Hmmm. Not impressed. I love me some taboo social topic films, but this one didn't do anything for me at the end.

It's basically about this character Alex who is a teenage hermaphrodite -- both male and female bits. Alex has been raised a girl her whole life, but is starting to question which gender (if any) she prefers.

That's about it. There is no resolution, no character arc, nothing. It is simply a series of events that happen to Alex and her family and then it's done. There are plenty of films that do this, but leave you feeling like something happened and that you got something from it... but I didn't get anything from this. Again, credit goes that I actually finished it and the movie kept me interested JUST enough to finish it. But, I wouldn't really recommend watching it. It just seemed to be sad for no reason and all the characters were all sorts of shady, unhappy people. No gratification in the end at all.

rev-ewe 18: Only When I Dance

Only When I Dance

Brazil

Beadie Finzi

Definitely a feel-good doco! Follows 2 young, black Brazilian ballet dancers and their endeavors to get out into the professional ballet world. I have not much to say about this film except WATCH IT! It's realistic and not overly feel-good, it deals with race, body image, and THE HUMAN SPIRIT. I really enjoyed it also just because ballet is pretty great to watch. Looooved it. The topic of race in Brazil was something I studied recently so it was interesting to see it happening in the ballet arena. Overall, really heart-warming... beautiful to watch. 10 stars!

Rev-ewe 17: This Is England

This Is England
England (duh)
Shane Meadows

This film. Dizzam! I was really surprised when I first watched it because I suppose I was expecting some sort of light-hearted British humor something or other. What I got was a pretty intense look into a bit of English history I had no idea existed. Though I saw this film about 2 years ago, it is still a movie I love going back to from time to time.

A young 12-year-old boy, Shaun, is having trouble at school but meets some older skinheads who take him in. Through that group he meets an even older skinhead, Combo, who has just gotten out of jail (Tommy the Tit from SNATCH! I know you've seen that movie..) and then Shaun chooses to follow Combo.

I don't want to give too much away in terms of plot but the fact that it's about skinheads and their sortof social origin was really, REALLY interesting for me. Very beautiful visually, music choice was on point, and it uses violence to just the right purpose--which is usually an issue for me. I'm not fond of violent films if they're over-the-top violent for no reason.. but this film definitely gets it. I truly love films that put faces to socially taboo issues and give them dimension. Similar to one I reviewed earlier (Paradise Now), it really deals with how people were feeling at the time and why it happened the way it did.
This movie really gets me into the punk vibe and even inspired me to buy my first pair of doc martens, though they're the ridiculous steel-toed ugly-red-that-goes-with-nothing docs.. oh well, ebay wins. ANYWAY, IT'S A GREAT MOVIE.

rev-ewe 16: Dogtooth

Kynodontas (Greek: Dogtooth)
Greece
Giorgos Lanthimos


uhhh... yeah. This film was a whole lot of weird. The only movie I could think of while watching it was Napoleon Dynamite. But, a darker way creepier version. It had the same awkwardness as N.D. but used it in a way different manner. There was no plot, there was really no conflict, and then it just ... ended. While I will give credit to the film that I did not turn it off and was compelled to see the thing all the way through, at the end I was just unhappy and disturbed. If its point was to do that, it wins. But, for what purpose?

The film focuses on a family that shelters its 3 children to the point where they have no idea what the outside world is like (at ALL) and have stayed only on the premises of their house. When the eldest daughter acquires films from the real world, things begin to change.

I usually like weird, but this was intensely creepy weird and didn't really work for me. Though I may need to see it again, and usually seeing it again makes me like it more, I'm not so sure how long it'll take me to watch it again. It was really, really intense! And just.. crazy. Mindfuck, for sure, but I suppose its point was something along the lines of "don't shelter your children" but.. I don't know. I'd say watch it, but know what you're getting into.. I certainly didn't, and got a whole lot of opened-mouth scenes and NO, NO, NO!! moments.

rev-ewe 15: A Town Called Panic

Pannique au Village (French: A Town Called Panic)
France
Stéphane Aubier


WOW. I loved this movie. It is as out there as possible, but absolutely hilarious at almost every moment of the film. I was absolutely blown away! I turned it on and thought 'gee this is cheesy animation' then right away I was laughing hysterically! The animation fits perfectly for the type of film and humor and everything that it is. While nothing in it makes sense, within its own world, it makes perfect sense. The voice acting was exceptional and beyond entertaining. The characters were so cute, the situations outrageously bizarre, the movie...awesome. Very funny and totally and absolutely worth watching.

All I can say about the plot is it is about a Horse, an Indian, and a Cowboy. And their adventures.

An absolute masterpiece. If you like strange, out there animated films, this is the one. The Mecca of WTF-dome. The Holy Grail of WHY-ianity. The third coming of LOL-esus! 102091 thumbs up!!

rev-ewe 14: He Died With a Felafel in His Hand

He Died With a Felafel in His Hand
Australia
Richard Lowenstein


Another film I'm not so sure about. Its good points were its sense of humor, aesthetics, and character development. Its low points were (for me) a meaningless story line, and a bit too slow. I know pace is not usually something I would complain about, but its lack of a story or even character conflict in addition to the slow pace makes it hard to watch without doing something else at the same time (I was doing laundry while watching, so I was able to keep going). Though, it does have quite a few points that are funny and interesting. The film felt influenced by Guy Ritchie style Snatch or Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels. The humor was quite unconventional but just the way I like it. The small story lines that exist are quite strange, but I can dig it.

It sortof follows one man named Danny and the various shared houses he lives in throughout Australia. There are 3 consistent characters beside him; Flip, an endearing drug addict.. Sam, his best female friend.. and another girl whose name I can't remember, but is some sort of ethnic European "chaos-freak". That's about as much as needs to be said about the plot.

While I enjoyed the humor and visual story-telling, I still don't know how I feel at the end of it all and it seemed a bit too unfulfilled to make me feel like it was worth watching. But, for the sake of seeing something visually interesting and having a film to laugh at, this film does the job. I recommend watching while having something else to do, and it will keep you going.

rev-ewe 13: Paradise Now

Paradise Now
Palestine
Hany Abu-Assad


Well. I am still contemplating this film but I feel like writing a review about it without completely coming to a conclusion (alliteration ftw). What I did like about the film was it showed how hard the lives are of Palestinians and how suicide bombing would seem like a logical solution. It made people who (especially in America) seem heartless and insane appear as human and loving people. This created such a dark contrast that made one question ethics all together. While it did follow a sortof expected path of a film about suicide bombers, it did it in such a way that it really made me think, which I truly appreciate.

Two men, best friends, have been chosen to execute a suicide bombing mission together in Tel Aviv. The two are ecstatic to make such a sacrifice for a movement they strongly believe in. When the plans face a sudden change, the two men become separated and suddenly their paths seem invariably altered.

The characters are interesting, camera work is beautiful... predictable, but probably worth watching anyway. I did not love it, I may grow to love it, but currently I'm at a 'really liked it'.

rev-ewe 12: The Maid

The Maid (Spanish: La Nana)
Spain
Sebastian Silva


Well this film was much more than what I was expecting! I'm pretty sure Netflix categorized it as a comedy, so when I started watching it I thought it would be funny.. Either the Spanish have no sense of humor, or Netflix never actually watched the film. I may just need to watch it again.. I guess looking back on it, it's sortof silly.. but at the time, it feels super intense. There's no exact plot line, but there is tension that builds and is sometimes released but at the end you feel good and fulfilled. It kept me really interested and it offered interesting little perspectives into power and family relationships.

There is only one setting, the house of a family where a maid works and has worked for 23 years. When she starts suffering major headaches and fainting, the family decides it's time to hire help -- but when the maid misinterprets this as an attempt to get rid of her, she pulls all sorts of antics to get rid of whoever is hired.

While talking about it with my dad, I realized this film is the complete parallel but opposite of the film Happy-Go-Lucky (incase you've seen it). More of a climactic understanding of the character rather than the plot. While I suppose the film can be looked at in a humorous way, for me it felt really psychological and intense.. but still really interesting! I'm going to tag it as a comedy incase other people get the humor, but it's not exactly the type of humor that is outrageously funny. Just in-your-head funny.

Oh, and plenty of boobs.