Tag Archives: groping

Little Comfort for Southern Nymphets in Wartime Italy – “Ninfa Plebea” 1996

Lina Wertmüller adapts a traditional novel to create the edgy romantic drama “Ninfa Plebea” [Eng. Title: The Nymph]. Set in an impoverished Neapolitan village in wartime Italy, this Cinderella tale of a young girl finding love and advancing her social … Continue reading

Posted in Italian Cinema, Lina Wertmüller, Stefania Sandrelli | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A feverish kiss in the mouth to Recife – “A Febre do Rato” [2011 Brazil]

Cláudio Assis is no stranger to controversy – his previous two films, Amarelo Manga and Baixio das Bestas shocked film-goers with its in-your-face imagery and outrageous characterisation. While his latest offering doesn’t exactly fall short in its frankness, “A Febre … Continue reading

Posted in Brazil, Cláudio Assis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Toying with memory and time, Chilean style – “El Lenguaje del Tiempo” [2011 Chile]

Prior to this, I’d seen only one film by Sebastián Araya Serrano – Azul y Blanco, a football-gang themed romance that didn’t particularly win me over. However, his experimental film “El Lenguaje del Tiempo” [Eng. Title: The Language of Time] … Continue reading

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kieslowski through the lens, darkly, in “Bez Konca” [1985 Poland]

By the time Krzysztof Kieslowski completed “Bez Konca” [Eng. Title: No End], he was already highly respected among arthouse circles, but his first overtly political film wasn’t particularly well received back home. Understandable – considering that Poland was under martial … Continue reading

Posted in Krzysztof Kieslowski, Polish Cinema | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Exploiting the exploiter, and the viewer, in “Paradies: Liebe” [2012 Austria]

There’s something about Austrian directors and their fetishistic delight in dissecting human nature – to tear open layers of our civilised behaviour and scoop out the primeval muck. I’m clearly referring to Ulrich Seidl and his more celebrated compatriot Michael … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Ulrich Seidl | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments