A Summer at Grandpa's

The story is about how a young boy and his sister spent their summer holidays at their grandpa's place as their mother was sick in the hospital.

Liked the leisurely countryside life depicted and the interesting characters encountered in the film! Great acting by the two kids!

Internet Movie Database Link

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 2: Remnants

This is the second part of a trilogy that documents people living in the city of Shenyang before and after their houses were torn down.

Liked how the inhabitants were able to act naturally in front of the camera and spoke freely about what they thought! The songs that they listened to were very nice and the snowy landscape was pretty! Felt that the ending was a bit abrupt though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Koko, a Talking Gorilla

This is a documentary about a gorilla who was trained to use sign language to communicate with her trainer.

Liked the philosophical questions raised by the interviewees and watching the everyday life of the gorilla with her trainer! Was impressed by how smart she was!

Internet Movie Database Link

The White Balloon

The story is about a young girl who wanted to buy a goldfish for new year but had to ask other people for help when she lost the 500 tomans that her mother gave her.

Liked the interesting storyline and the resourcefulness of the little girl! Quite amazed by how the director managed to inject so much drama in a simple story!

Internet Movie Database Link

Not Without You

The story is about a father who brought up his daughter single handedly only to face a series of red tape when he tried to register her for school.

Liked the beautiful black and white cinematography and the cool dream sequence! The ending was nicely executed too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Donkey in a Brahmin Village

The story is about what happened when a professor brought a stray donkey home and asked a mute girl in the village to take care of it.

It was interesting to see how the presence of the donkey affected life in the village! Nice satire that showed how the Brahmins were superstitious and intolerant of others!

Internet Movie Database Link

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 1: Rust

This is the first part of a trilogy that documents the lives of workers in the city of Shenyang before and after they were laid off as the factory went bankrupt.

Liked how the workers were able to act naturally in front of the camera and spoke freely about what they thought! Learnt a bit more about the situation in China through this great documentary! I am already looking forward to the next two parts of the trilogy!

Internet Movie Database Link

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels

The story is about three days in the life of a widowed housewife named Jeanne Dielman who stayed with her son.

Liked the rhythmic sound of the protagonist opening and closing the doors as well as switching on and off the lights! I was impressed by how organised and neat she was! The dishes that she made on screen looked delicious too!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Name of a River

The story is an autobiography of an influential Indian director called Ritwik Ghatak done in an abstract mythical style.

Liked the nice songs in the film but wished that I had more background knowledge on the Indian history and fables to understand the film even better!

Internet Movie Database Link

Scenes of City Life

The story is about life in Shanghai during the mid thirties.

Liked the special sound effects in the film! It was interesting to gain an insight into the thoughts of young people during that time!

Internet Movie Database Link

Nazarin

The story is about a priest living in a rural Mexican village during the early twentieth century. He tried to live a holy life but this caused unexpected conflicts as it was against social norms.

Liked the interesting story and the ambiguous ending! Not really sure if the priest was a fool or simply a religious fanatic though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Humanity and Paper Balloons

The story is about the plight of poor people during the Tokugawa era. One of them was the wife of a ronin and she makes cheap paper balloons at home.

Liked the interesting plot but was depressed by the pessimistic view of life!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Cow

The story is about a young man's love for his cow and what happened when he discovered that it was missing one day. The cow had died but the villagers tried to hide the truth from him.

Liked the interesting depiction of the rural life in an Iranian village! I could tell that the young man really loved his cow through his interaction with it!

Internet Movie Database Link

Daybreak

The story is about a young girl who moved to Shanghai together with her boyfriend during the early thirties. Their boss was rich and powerful and he often abused his power.

Liked the flashbacks of the couple's happier moments and the actress's nice smile!

Internet Movie Database Link

And Quiet Rolls the Dawn

The story is about one family's daughter who was suspected to be missing when she did not return home from work as usual and its impact on the neighborhood.

This was a late seventies film, so there was no mobile phone for the daughter to call home during that time. Liked the social commentary on the role of women in Indian society and the depiction of a typical daily life at the rural Indian neighborhood!

Internet Movie Database Link

Black Girl

The story is about an African woman coming to France to work as a maid and how she felt about it.

Liked the voice-over narration that described the protagonist's feelings! A little bit shocked by the ending though. This would make great teaching material for new maids and their potential employers!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Girl Who Sold the Sun

The story is about how a handicapped girl decided to work in the city by selling newspapers whose title is "The Sun".

Learnt a bit more about the lives of street children in Africa! Was impressed by the little girl's optimism and resourcefulness!

Internet Movie Database Link

Nine Days of One Year

The story is about the struggles of a group of nuclear scientists in Russia during the sixties.

Liked the speech on the role of war in advancing science and vice versa! The inner monologue of the workaholic scientist's wife was interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Bakery Girl of Monceau

This is the first part of the "Six Moral Tales" series by Eric Rohmer. The rest of the films in the series are "Suzanne's Career", "My Night at Maud's", "La Collectionneuse", "Claire's Knee" and "Love in the Afternoon".

The story is about how a young man befriended a beautiful girl whom he always bump into in the street. The beautiful girl disappeared mysteriously without leaving her contact number. The young man roamed the streets in search for her and he became a regular customer of a bakery in the process as he wanted to save time on his meals. Will not reveal too much of the rest of the story but he eventually faced a moral choice in the end.

Liked the narration that described the thoughts of the protagonist! The pastry in the bakery looked really delicious!

Internet Movie Database Link

The House is Black

This is a documentary about lepers living in Iran. Their condition is described alternately between a man narrating facts and a woman reciting poetry.

Liked the sound of poetry and how it matched the images shown! The ending was pretty good as it showed how the children of the lepers felt about their parents!

Internet Movie Database Link