Sexual repression and defiance in post-revolution Hungary – Egymásra nézve [1982]

Posted on June 12, 2013 by TR
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Among Eastern European directors, Hungarian Károly Makk has been a favourite in western film festivals over the years, for his elegantly subdued direction, and the haunting atmospheric images that he uses to reflect the politics and circumstances of his characters. His drama “Egymásra nézve” [Eng. Title: Another Way] is set against the backdrop of a recently crushed 1956 Revolution, and concerns a lesbian affair between colleagues at a Budapest-based news magazine.

Storyline:
The film starts with the discovery of the body of Eva (Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak) in the woods – she had been shot in the head. Meanwhile, at a hospital, Livia (Grazyna Szopolowska) is recuperating after a near-fatal injury – we’re told that she’ll never be able to walk again.

The film rewinds to a year earlier, and we see Eva, arriving for her new job as an investigative journalist at a news magazine. She will share her office with Livia, an attractive, married young woman, who also works for the publication. Eva had made no secret of the fact that she is lesbian, and has been attracted to Livia the moment she set eyes on her. Livia likes Eva too – she admires Eva’s skill, intellect, and integrity, but is hesitant to reciprocate Eva’s desires – understandable, considering that Livia has a lot to loose, and that’s not only her marriage. But they do fall in love, and before long, Livia decides to end the marriage and tells husband Donci (Péter Andorai) about her affair. Unable to accept the separation, he shoots Livia in the bath.

The husband is taken into custody, and a bitter Livia will reject Eva too, who by now has already got herself fired from her job for refusing to alter some facts from an article she’d recently written. While travelling through the countryside during the night, she’s hailed by border guards from a distance and asked to stop, but is shot when she fails to do so.

Based on a novel by Erzsébet Galgóczi, this was the first film in communist Eastern Europe to openly deal with homosexuality, so one can guess the controversy the film must have courted during its release. Makk makes a succinct, but nuanced comment on the after effects that the brutally put-down revolution has continued to cast on its people. I find the Palme d’Or nominated film – both in terms of artistry and technical merit, to be just as accomplished as the finest from the French New Wave. Needless to say, this slightly obscure little gem from a director of repute is Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link [PAL] Sexual repression and defiance in post revolution Hungary Egymásra nézve [1982]

 

 

The Nudity: Grazyna Szapolowska and Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak
There are three scenes of nudity from the beautiful and young Grazyna Szapolowska who plays Livia, and one of these is a lesbian scene with Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak (as Jadwiga Jankowska), who plays Eva.

Grazyna Szapolowska with Jadwiga Jankowska Cieslak TR HQ Egymasra nezve 1024x495 Sexual repression and defiance in post revolution Hungary Egymásra nézve [1982]

Polish actresses Grazyna Szapolowska and Jadwiga Jankowska give memorable performances in Károly Makk’s Hungarian drama “Egymásra nézve” aka “Another Way”.

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For some, going north means trekking through hell – “La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas” [2012 Mexico]

Posted on June 10, 2013 by TR
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Mexican filmmakers never seem to grow tired of their country’s infamous gangs – Luis Mandoki’s crime drama “La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas” [Eng. Trans: The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas] is set in towns bordering Mexico and Guatemala, where a young Honduran girl with dreams of becoming a pop star after making it to the United states gets caught up in a vicious circle of exploitation, and slavery.

Sabina Rivas (Greisy Mena) has stars in her eyes, and a local club in the border town offers her the opportunity to perform before an audience. The only catch is that she will need to take her kit off while singing. She nevertheless agrees, and for her services, is given a manufactured Mexican passport by the club’s owner Doña Lita (Angelina Peláez). But at the border, she attracts attention from immigration officials – Burrona (Joaquín Cosio), and Patrick (Nick Chinlund) – an American. After Patrick has his way with her, she’s allowed to return back to club Tijuanita, and Doña Lita. Jovany (Fernando Moreno), a Honduran migrant too, fresh from being initiated into one of the prominent gangs operating in the area, sees Sabina perform at the club and tries to approach her. We’ll learn that they know each other very well, and are both running away from a common dark past. But their individual circumstances don’t allow them to get back together, and Burrano and Patrick continue to make Sabina’s life a misery…

The film has connotations of an earlier Mexican classic named Sin Nombre in as far as the protagonists’ nationality and migratory path is concerned, but this is a different beast altogether, especially with its incestuous undertones and bleak outlook. It is nevertheless well made, and I was particularly impressed by the film’s sound design. The performances by the main cast are also sincere, and Greisy Mena as Sabina gives it her all. The film appear at times to be slow-moving, but it certainly pays dividends in terms of the characterisation. Recommended Viewing..!

 

The Nudity: Greisy Mena and others
The film inevitably features several instances of nudity from the titular character Sabina Rivas, unflinchingly played by Greisy Mena. Additional supporting cast also appear topless in a couple of scenes.

Greisy Mena y otros TR HQ La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas 1024x360 For some, going north means trekking through hell La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas [2012 Mexico]

Greisy Mena gives a convincing performance and also appears nude in certain scenes in the Mexican crime drama, “La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas”.

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Lali Espinet, tragic heroine of the ‘S’ years: “El Pico” 1 & 2 [Spain 1983, 1984]

Posted on June 8, 2013 by TR
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Those were heady days in Spain – the late 70′s and early 80′s – the economy was booming, the country was busy catching up on lost time, and newly won liberties were enthusiastically celebrated, which allowed hitherto hidden film-talents to blossom. In parallel to the ‘mainstream’ scene that included directors like Victor Erice, Eloy de la Iglesia, Pedro Almodóvar, and Fernando Trueba, a different category of films emerged – the Spanish equivalent for the European soft-core cinema of the era – they were simply called Classified ‘S’.

Lali Espinet:
The beautiful young actress Lali Espinet, better known by her industry name, Andrea Albani, was one of the leading starlets in classified ‘S’ films. And since I won’t be writing about any of those films here, I’ll give a brief summary of a couple of mainstream films that Ms. Espinet appeared in; films where the character she portrays also echoed her own addiction to drugs in real-life. “El Pico 2″ was the last film she made before her untimely death ten years later (rumoured, due to complications from AIDS).

Eloy de la Iglesia:
The two films, both “El Pico” and “El Pico 2″ were directed by Eloy de la Iglesia, a strident gay director who was known for his neo-realist style social commentaries, often centred around urban youth living on the fringes of society. While Spain was booming, he chose to focus on those who were left out, living under the bridge, struggling to make it – the delinquents, the homosexuals, the thieves and misfits. Misuse of drugs, religion, and politics often feature prominently in his films. Like the characters in El Pico, Iglesia too went through a long period of drug addiction, but he did manage to kick the habit towards the end of his life. The same could not be said of the lead actor in these two films – José Luis Manzano died at only twenty eight, due to a suspected drug overdose.

 

El Pico [1983]

Eloy de la Iglesia’s 1983 film “El Pico” [Eng. Title: The Needle] may not be as accomplished as some of his earlier films, but it did rather well commercially despite its grim depiction of drug abuse among the middle classes of the city of Bilbao. Paco (José Luis Manzano) – son of a Commander of the Civil Guard (Jose Manuel Cervino), and Urko (Javier Garcia) – son of a ruling party senator (Luis Iriondo) are close college friends, and together, hang out with young Argentinian prostitute Betty (Lali Espinet) for drugs and sex. To feed his habit, Paco used to make money by prostituting himself, but has since moved on to selling drugs through the city’s main dealer. He wants to become his own boss though, a move that’ll land the boys in trouble. Paco and Urko’s respective dads will also learn of their addiction and try what they can, in their own limited capacity, to support and cure them, to no avail. Paco and Urko end up killing the main dealer in order to rob his stash, and Urko dies of an overdose, leaving Paco with the prospect of being incarcerated by his own father. Recommended Viewing..!

 

The Nudity: Lali Espinet, Jose Luis Manzano, and Javier Garcia
Contains three scenes of nudity – the first is when Paco’s father takes him to a brothel for initiating him into adulthood after he turns eighteen, unaware of the fact that the prostitute that Paco chooses is not exactly a new acquaintance – Betty is already Paco’s drug and sex buddy. The second scene involves a threesome among Paco, Urko, and Betty. The third is when Betty entices Paco back into drugs after he’d been ‘clean’ for a few months.

Lali Espinet Jose Luis Manzano y Javier Garcia TR HQ El Pico 1024x495 Lali Espinet, tragic heroine of the S years: El Pico 1 & 2 [Spain 1983, 1984]

Lali Espinet, Jose Luis Manzano, and Javier Garcia nude in Eloy de la Iglesia’s 1983 drama “El Pico” aka “The Needle”.

 

El Pico 2 [1984]

The story begins from where it was left in the previous film. We see Paco serving time after his involvement in the drug dealer’s murder is established by a journalist. In prison, he befriends an inmate nicknamed El Lehendakari (Jaume Valls) and they keep in touch even after Paco’s release. Paco’s dad takes him to Madrid, and hopefully away from destructive influences. But Betty too had moved to Madrid to ply her trade, and the two reconnect. When Lehendakari gets out of prison, the three decide to take up armed robbery as profession. Tragedy ensues, and towards the end of the film, Paco’s life will have come full-circle – it is he who’s now the main drug dealer, becoming an informant for the Police, and playing a dangerous game all over again…

 

The Nudity: Lali Espinet, Jose Luis Manzano, and Juame Valles

Lali Espinet Jose Luis Manzano y Jaume Valls TR HQ El Pico 2 1024x495 Lali Espinet, tragic heroine of the S years: El Pico 1 & 2 [Spain 1983, 1984]

Lali Espinet, Jose Luis Manzano, and Juame Valles nude in Eloy de la Iglesia’s 1984 follow-up drama, “El Pico 2″.

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Isabella Ferrari and others in “E la chiamano estate” [2012 Italy]

Posted on June 7, 2013 by TR
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After a promising start to his career with films like La spettatore, Paolo Franchi decides to confront (and confound) audience and critics alike with his latest drama “E la chiamano estate” [Eng. Title: And They Call It Summer]. And not in a good way, I’m afraid to say…

Storyline:
The story concerns Dino (Jean-Marc Barr) and Anna (Isabella Ferrari) – a forty-something couple who are presumably deeply in love but have yet to make sexual congress, thanks largely to Dino. Not that he’s suffering from any kind of dysfunction – far from it – he appears to have an above-average libido, and some advanced sexual tastes too. He’s all right frequenting prostitutes and swingers-clubs, but wouldn’t make love to Anna. He implores her to take a lover, and even goes to extraordinary lengths to track down Anna’s former boyfriends (many of whom are now married), begging them to have sex with her, with his blessing. Anna meanwhile, almost masochistically, convinces herself that Dino loves her so deeply that he couldn’t even contemplate penetrative sex.

The film is liberally sprinkled with imagery of sex and tries its darnedest to shock the audience. Now, I don’t usually have a problem with that, provided they propel the screenplay. But unfortunately, Franchi seems to have lost himself along the way, and what we see is the visual equivalent of listening to someone repeat himself. I’m fine if the director thinks Dino’s behaviour doesn’t need to be justified, but there must at least be a purpose behind making the film. We are instead given some unconvincing reason for Dino’s actions, and the non-existent characterisation leads us to not so much care about any of the protagonists. Even the presence of seasoned actors fail to redeem it, and coupled with mediocre technical features, the film has turned into a bit of a disaster.

Even Jean-Marc Barr suggests during an interview among the DVD extras, that the film is likely to fare better on DVD rather than the cinemas. Well, perhaps it’ll gain cult-status down the line as Italian films often do, but then again, I wouldn’t count on it, as this is one of the most atypical Italian films I’d seen of late. I have to admit that my only reason for watching the film was Isabella Ferrari. She doesn’t disappoint – in fact, this is one of her more daring appearances in film, and perhaps that’ll be the only reason one would want to have it in their collection.

Amazon.it DVD Link [PAL] Isabella Ferrari and others in E la chiamano estate [2012 Italy]

 

The Nudity: Isabella Ferrari, Caterina Valente, Eva Riccobono, Jean-Marc Barr, Filippo Nigro, Christian Burruano, and others
As suggested above, the film is replete with intermittent scenes of nudity and sex, some of which are explicit by today’s standards. Isabella Ferrari in particular hits the charts following her notorious performance in the 2008 film Caos Calmo. icon wink Isabella Ferrari and others in E la chiamano estate [2012 Italy]

Isabella Ferrari Caterina Valente Jean Marc Barr Filippo Nigro Eva Riccobono e altri TR HQ E la chiamano estate 1024x504 Isabella Ferrari and others in E la chiamano estate [2012 Italy]

Isabella Ferrari, Caterina Valente, Eva Riccobono, Jean-Marc Barr, Filippo Nigro, Christian Burruano, and many others take their kit off in the Italian shocker of a film, “E la chiamano estate” aka “And They Call It Summer”.

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An ode to a baroque artist: “Tous les matins du monde” [1991 France]

Posted on June 6, 2013 by TR
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To do full justice to Alain Corneau’s beautiful masterpiece “Tous les matins du monde” [Eng. Title: All the Mornings of the World] would require a deeper understanding of classical music than I possess, but that still couldn’t stop me from writing about it. Because this film will get to even the most untrained of ears through its sheer visual brilliance, and captivating performances from some of French cinema’s finest.

Set in the seventeenth century, the film gives a fictional account of two of the famous musicians of their age – the renowned viola player Monsieur de Sainte Colombe (Jean-Pierre Marielle) and his erstwhile student and court musician Marin Marais (Guillaume, and later, Gérard Depardieu). It begins with a middle-aged Marais, suddenly overcome by remorse, pauses his lesson to recount his youth, and explains to his aristocratic students the essence of music, and with it the story of the person who taught him all he knew – Sainte Colombe.

We follow Sainte Colombe’s story from the night his beloved wife dies while he’s away performing at someone else’s deathbed. Inconsolable, he retreats into his secluded cottage, almost ignoring his two young daughters. Madeleine (Anne Brochet), the eldest of the two, grows up to become an accomplished musician in her own right, and it is then that a young Marais, son of a shoemaker, approaches Sainte Colombe pleading to be taken as his pupil. He agrees after recognising Marais‘ natural ability, but they fall apart over Marais’ desire for fame and fortune. Madeleine offers to teach Marais all that she knows without her father’s knowledge, and soon they become lovers.

Having gained his knowledge, Marais joins the king’s court as a royal musician, and stops visiting her. Unable to come to terms with their separation, Madeleine’s health deteriorates, and as years pass by, descends into a long period of illness. Middle-aged, she requests the presence of the now famous Marais at her bedside to play for one last time the music he composed for her when they were still in love. He agrees, hoping to use the occasion to also obtain the manuscripts of Sainte Colombe during the visit, but instead, has to retreat in shame after playing for Madeleine. She dies shortly after, heartbroken. Marais and Sainte Colombe eventually make peace in one of the memorable passages of play, when Marais approaches Sainte Colombe with the humility of a student that he once was…

This sweetly painful melodrama is ‘decorated’, as if to compete with the flamboyance of the baroque period it represents, with spectacular performances by the three main cast – Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne Brochet, and Gérard Depardieu. Together with the excellent production design and the cinematography, they lift this film to stratospheric heights rarely seen in biographical dramas. It rightfully won a clutch of César awards the following year, and without a doubt, is Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Box-set [PAL] An ode to a baroque artist: Tous les matins du monde [1991 France]
This is an excellent value-for-money 4-DVD box set of an eclectic array of films featuring Gérard Depardieu – the collection from which this film was reviewed.

 

The Nudity: Anne Brochet and Guillaume Depardieu
There are four scenes of nudity in the film – when a young Marais walks past a bathing Madeleine, when they connect and fall in love, when Marais decides to leave, and finally when an older Marais visits Madeleine for one last time.

Anne Brochet et Guillaume Depardieu TR HQ Tous les matins du monde 1024x496 An ode to a baroque artist: Tous les matins du monde [1991 France]

Alain Corneau’s haunting melodrama “Tous les matins du monde” aka “All the Mornings in the World” also features nudity from the beautiful Anne Brochet and Guillaume Depardieu.

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