Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My Ain Folk

This is the second part of a trilogy that forms the autobiography of the director who spent his childhood in Scotland during post World War II. The first part of the trilogy is "My Childhood" and the last part is "My Way Home".

Liked the nice outdoor scenery and the scary depiction of the possessive grandmother!

Internet Movie Database Link

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Sweet Movie

This is a critique on communism and capitalism through a beauty pageant winner's journey in the capitalist world and a female ship captain's encounters in the communist world. Sweet stuff like sugar, candies, milk and chocolate are featured.

Liked the nice soundtrack and the realistic documentary footages! Learnt a bit on Russian, Polish and German history through this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Pepe Le Moko

The story is about a notorious French gangster who stayed in the Casbah of Algeria to escape the police but began to miss home after befriending a beautiful French lady.

Liked the unique urban landscape of the Casbah and the battle of wits between Pepe Le Moko and Inspector Slimane!

Internet Movie Database Link

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Picture Me

This is a documentary about the fashion industry seen through the eyes of the models, fashion designers and the agencies.

Felt a bit dizzy at the start as it looked like a home video filmed using a hand held camera but got used to it after a while. Liked the scrap book animation and the in-depth interviews with the models! It would be interesting if they included interviews with middle aged photographers to show the other side of the story!

Internet Movie Database Link

Monday, September 13, 2010

Claire's Knee

The story is about a middle aged man's obsession over a young girl's knee after he met his old lover at a mountain resort who was staying at a single mother's family with two teenage daughters.

Liked the nice scenery and the interesting conversations between the middle aged man and the women at the resort!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Death of a Cyclist

The story is about what happened after a professor and his lover killed a cyclist in an automobile accident.

Liked the psychological study of the protagonists and how the director made use of the sly art critic and the idealistic female student to shed more light on their characters! Learnt a bit on Spanish history in the process too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Girlfriends

The story is about how a fashion designer from Rome became friends with a group of rich women in Turin during her business trip.

Liked how the director illustrated the different approaches that these women took to balance both love and career! Great acting by all the actresses!

Internet Movie Database Link

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Last Letter

The story is about a Jewish mother who lived in Russia during World War II writing the last letter to her son before her execution by the Germans.

Great acting by the actress who played the Jewish mother! The shadow and lighting effect was interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Trees WIthout Leaves

The story is about how a family fell apart seen through the eyes of a little boy. He became a writer when he grew up and came back to his hometown to reminisce about the past.

Liked the close relationship between the boy and his mother! The director also described the little incidents in his childhood really well!

Internet Movie Database Link

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Sandcastle

The story is about a young man enquiring about his father's past after his grandfather died and just when he was about to enter National Service. His father was involved in the Chinese Student protest in 1956 and was exiled to Johor Bahru before he died of cancer.

Liked the nice National songs but still preferred Kit Chan's version of "Home"! Thought the film would provide some kind of documentary insight into the Chinese Student protest, so I was a little bit disappointed when it did not.

Internet Movie Database Link