Tag Archives: leg spreading

Self-discovery, the trippy way: “Crystal Fairy” [2013 Chile]

Sebastián Silva’s English language feature “Crystal Fiary” [Full Title: Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, and 2012] is a character study of two American tourists in Chile with very different outlooks. I had seen only one other film from the … Continue reading

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Muscovite fetishes seen through lens: “Intimnye mesta” [2013 Russia]

Writer-directors Alexey Chupov and Natasha Merkulova’s début feature “Intimnye mesta” [Eng. Title: Intimate Parts] is an amusing observation of the sexual mores and fetishes among a group of urban Russians. Principal character Ivan (Yuriy Kolokolnikov) – a photographer, is preparing … Continue reading

Posted in Russian Cinema | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

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

Posted in Italian Cinema, Paolo Sorrentino | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Oksana Borbat and Valentina Vyntu in “Hutorskie strasti” [2008 Ukraine]

This is one of my ‘guilty-pleasure’ posts as I wasn’t in a mood for anything particularly deep this week. Ukrainian director Aleksandr Parkhomenko’s “Hutorskie strasti” translates as Hamlet of Passion, a comedy that resembles one of the gleefully naughty stocking-fillers that … Continue reading

Posted in Ukraine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Michael Winterbottom, Rachel Weisz, United Kingdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments