Category Archives: Drama

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014****LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL****directed by and starring: ROBERTO BENIGNI with HORST BUCHHOLZ,MARISA PAREDES

Posted on April 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

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Posted in Comedy, Drama, World Cinema

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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014*** THE MASTER*** directed by PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON with PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, JOAQUIN PHOENIX, AMY ADAMS, LAURA DERN

Posted on March 24, 2014 | Leave a comment

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Posted in Drama, psychological thriller

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 *** THE COOK, THE THIEF,THE WIFE, THE LOVER *** directed by PETER GREENAWAY *** with MICHAEL GAMBON, HELEN MIRREN ***

Posted on March 3, 2014 | 1 comment

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) Poster

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Posted in Drama, SURREAL COMEDY/THRILLER, Transgressive Comedy

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MONDAY, 03/18/2013 — “WE HAVE A POPE” (2012) directed by Nanni Moretti —

final-pope-quad-smallNanni Moretti joins forces with the great French actor Michel Piccoli to tell the story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope. Never the front runner and completely caught off guard, he panics as he’s presented to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square.

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Posted on March 17, 2013 in Comedy, Drama

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MONDAY, 03/11/2013 — “BEFORE THE RAIN” (1994), directed by Milcho Manchevski — EASTERN EUROPEAN SERIES

The circularity of violence seen in a story that circles on itself. The first film made in the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, Milcho Manchevski’s Before the Rain crosscuts the stories of an orthodox Christian monk, a British photo agent, and a native Macedonian war photographer to paint a portrait of simmering ethnic and religious hatred about to reach its boiling point. Made during the strife of the war-torn Balkan states in the nineties, this gripping triptych of love and violence is also a timeless evocation of the loss of pastoral innocence, and remains one of recent cinema’s most powerful laments on the futility of war. Awarded Golden Lion for Best Film at 1994 Venice Film Festival.

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Posted on March 11, 2013 in Drama, Political Drama, war film, World Cinema

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MONDAY, 03/04/2013 — “WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS” (1985), directed by Emir Kusturica — EASTERN EUROPEAN SERIES

The Yugoslavian When Father Was Away on Business (Otac na Sluzbenoh Putu) takes place in the early 1950s. The title is a euphemism: because of the strained relationship between Yugoslavia and the USSR, various private citizens have disappeared in the middle of the night, accompanied by the police. A delightfully warm comedy, seen through the eyes of a six year old boy who thinks his father is away on business, when in actuality he’s been sent to the mines for having an affair. Nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

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Posted on March 4, 2013 in Comedy, Drama, Family Drama, Political Drama, World Cinema

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MONDAY, 02/25/2013 — “BURNT BY THE SUN” (1994), directed by Nikita Mikhalkov — EASTERN EUROPEAN SERIES

“Burnt by the Sun” depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union. Mikhalkov’s powerful portrait of viciousness during the Stalin era won the 1994 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The film also received the Grand Prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival among many other honors.

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Posted on February 22, 2013 in Drama, Family Drama, History, Political Drama, World Cinema

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MONDAY, 02/18/2013 — “GOD’S COMEDY” (1995), directed by João César Monteiro —

João de Deus is the manager of an ice-cream shop owned by an ex-prostitute, Paraíso dos Gelados (Ice-Cream Paradise). Through a unmoved desire of perfection, he seeks, through cleansing and purity to attain heaven. The surrounding world, however, does not comply with his decaying vision of lust and decay as a way of achieving his purpose.
Dryly comic, disturbing and deservedly honored with the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion when it was released, God’s Comedy is one of the most flagrantly perverse films you’re likely to see.

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Posted on February 16, 2013 in Drama, Transgressive Comedy

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MONDAY, 02/11/2013 — “BLACK ORPHEUS” (1959) — BRAZILLIAN SERIES

Directed by French director Marcel Camus, this superb retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek legend is set against Rio de Janeiro’s madness during Carnival. This movie earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

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Posted on February 7, 2013 in Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Music, Romance, Romantic Drama, World Cinema

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MONDAY, 02/04/2013 — “CENTRAL STATION” (1998) — BRAZILIAN SERIES

central-do-brasil-poster051An emotive journey of a former school teacher, who write letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, in search for the father he never knew. This Oscar-nominated drama follows the interplay between Dora and the boy during their journey to Brazil’s remote Northeast region, their bond growing ever stronger with each mile logged.

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Posted on February 2, 2013 in Drama, Road movie, World Cinema

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