A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Sergei Parajanov, “Ambavi Suramis Tsikhitsa” / “The Legend of Suram Fortress” (1986) “The Legend of Suram Fortress” is based on an old Georgian folk tale as…
Sergei Parajanov, “The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova)” (1969) A true labour of love, this film is a meditation on the life of the Armenian poet…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Eastern European Films
Ben Ferris, “Penelopa” aka “Penelope” (2009) Lovely to look at but beautiful, almost abstract scenes of nature and long circular panning shots that lovingly savour the…
Hatoshi Matsumoto, “Symbol” (2009) A slapstick comedy about interrelationships and the impact one person can have on events around the world, “Symbol” is the second full-length…
A very moving and emotional story of a love that endures beyond death and time. A farmer fights in a war and leaves his pregnant wife at home. After a long recuperation from wounds and injuries, he returns to find his wife and newborn happy and safe ... not knowing that they are actually ghosts. The village endeavours to tell him the truth but his wife's ghost becomes angry and brings terror and death to the villagers.
Sally Potter, “Orlando” (1992) Based on British writer Virginia Woolfe’s novel “Orlando: a Biography”, this film by Sally Potter is a flimsy work that fails to…
Ten Shimoyama, “Shinobi – Heart under Blade” (2005) Based on a novel “The Kouga Ninja Scrolls” written by Futaro Yamada in the late 1950’s, this movie will…
Akihiko Shiota, “Dororo” (2006) Based on the original manga by Astroboy creator, Osamu Tezuka, “Dororo” is a fun and entertaining escapist fantasy adventure about two wanderers,…
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Guillermo del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) This is an excellent film that successfully combines dark fantasy and horror with historical drama set in fascist-ruled Spain in…
German and German-language Films
Wim Wenders, “Wings of Desire” (1987) A romantic fantasy about an angel who yearns to be human becomes a meditation on the nature of physical being…