Monthly Archives: March 2013

A British cinema classic – Ratcatcher [1999 United Kingdom, France]

Scottish director Lynne Ramsay made an outstanding feature-film debut through the social drama “Ratcatcher”. The film won numerous awards including a BAFTA for the most promising newcomer, but Ms. Ramsay was merely following a long tradition of British social … Continue reading

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Todo es Silencio [2012 Spain]

I haven’t seen that many films by Spanish director José Luis Cuerda, and therefore not best placed to offer any useful criticism of his work. But I can safely claim that his latest film “Todo es silencio” [Eng. Title: … Continue reading

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Selling dreams of stardom to masses – L’uomo delle stelle [1995 Italy]

After Cinema Paradiso – one the greatest films ever made about the magic of cinema – Giuseppe Tornatore not only returns to the topic and his beloved Sicily in the achingly beautiful drama “L’uomo delle stele” [Eng. Title: The … Continue reading

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Identifying one’s Morality through Sin, “Joven y alocada” [2012 Chile]

Young Chilean director Marialy Riva spars with religion and ingrained attitudes towards sex in her country through the drama “Joven y alocada” [Eng. Title: Young and Wild].
Storyline:
Narrated through a precocious teenager’s astonishingly detailed blog entries, we follow the sexual … Continue reading

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Beginning of a new era symbolised in “Mamá cumple 100 años” [1979 Spain]

Few can claim to have helped showcase Flamenco – the quintessentially Spanish music and dance form, to a global audience as successfully as Carlos Saura. One of Spain’s favourite directors (and mine too), Sr. Saura is a traditionalist – … Continue reading

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