Category Archives: Directors

Tramp after the lady: “Cão Sem Dono” [2007 Brazil]

Beto Brant can be quite frustrating indeed – like the Italian director Dino Risi in some respects, there are moments in his films that can be utterly magical, but also moments when the screenplay meanders aimlessly and the characterisation gets … Continue reading

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When can consensual sex become rape: “La condanna” [1991 Italy]

Marco Bellocchio throws the cat among the pigeons in his courtroom drama “La condanna” [Eng. Title: The Conviction] by pitting the legal interpretation of consensual sex against the dynamics of sexual politics. “Does the female expect the male to take … Continue reading

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Gravity-defying romance: “El lado oscuro del corazón 2” [Argentina, Spain 2001]

Eliseo Subiela follows-up on the romantic drama he made a decade earlier with a sequel – “El lado oscuro del corazón 2” [Eng. Title: The Dark Side of the Heart 2]. He catches up with the same protagonist after ten … Continue reading

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La Dolce Vita brought up-to-date: “La grande bellezza” [2013 Italy]

The post’s title appears misleading, but it’s not entirely off the mark. Director Paolo Sorrentino may not have set-out to reinterpret a Fellini masterpiece through his “La grande bellezza” [Eng. Title: The Great Beauty], but there are striking similarities between … Continue reading

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Obsession and guilt: “I Want You” [1998 UK]

Michael Winterbottom’s haunting melodrama “I Want You” is one more of his underrated works. For a British film set in coastal Kent and Sussex, it bears a distinctly continental flavour. Storyline: Having served eight years for murder and released on … Continue reading

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