Living in Fear: unusual and eccentric black comedy about finding redemption in digging up landmines
Chuyen Bui Thac, “Living in Fear” / “Song trong so hai” (2005) It’s mid-1975, the war has ended and the Americans have gone, and the North…
The Sky Calls: visually striking film that’s low on excitement and high on propaganda with a surprise twist
Mikhail Karyukhov and Alexander Kozyr, “The Sky Calls” / “Nebo Zovyot” (1959) A visually stunning film about space exploration, “The Sky Calls” was the first in…
Northern European Films, Russian and Soviet Films
The Sampo: good-looking film with a moral let down by watered-down story and wooden acting
Risto Orko and Alexander Ptushko, “The Sampo” (1959) A joint Finnish-Soviet fantasy production aimed at a family audience, “The Sampo” is a very loose retelling of…
Eastern European Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Arsenal: as Soviet propaganda, film is surprisingly pacifist and innovative in use of montage
Alexander Dovzhenko, “Arsenal” (1928) Notable for its skilful use of montages of images to create and build tension, excitement, urgency and other moods, “Arsenal” revolves around an incident…
Eastern European Films, French and French-language Films
Fantastic Planet: absorbing animated science fiction film with important messages and ideas
René Laloux, “Fantastic Planet” / “La Planète Sauvage” (1973) A very absorbing animated science fiction film that superficially looks as if it might have been created…
Alexander Nevsky: a well-made though not brilliant propaganda film about a Russian mediaeval hero
Sergei Eisenstein, “Alexander Nevsky” (1938) Unashamedly patriotic and stirring action-movie propaganda for the masses and the Soviet government under Joseph Stalin at the time of release,…
Taxi Driver: good study of an alienated and traumatised individual groping for purpose in a lost society
Martin Scorsese, “Taxi Driver” (1976) As a character study of a lonely and alienated man whose mind collapses under the strain of the life he leads…
Stalker: immersive film of beauty and ugliness, self-doubt and renewal of faith
Andrei Tarkovsky, “Stalker” (1979) For Western audiences used to fast action science fiction movies, “Stalker” is a very slow-paced post-apocalyptic mover with a barebones plot that…
Eastern European Films, Northern European Films
Pilot Pirx’s Inquest: thoughtful low-budget sci-fi film about how humans and other intelligent beings can co-exist
Marek Pestrak, “Pilot Pirx’s Inquest” / “Test Pilota Pirxa” / “Doznanie Pilota Pirksa” (1979) A joint Polish-Estonian production, this low-budget movie about a space trip that nearly ends…
Ashik Kerib: flat plot and hammy acting wreck ethnographic survey / travelogue of Azerbaijani culture
Sergei Parajanov and David Abashidze, “Ashik Kerib” (1988) The last completed film by Georgian / Armenian director Sergei Parajanov before his death in 1990, “Ashik Kerib”…