Color of Pomegranates

The story is about the life of an Armenian poet called Sayat Nova.

Liked the visual aesthetics in the form of colorful costumes and nice props! The plot is near to non-existent but the inter-titles helped me understand what was going on.

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Syndromes and a Century

The film compares the working conditions of doctors working in a rural hospital and those working in a city hospital. The rural hospital is closer to nature and the doctors had a closer relationship with their patients.

A little bit abstract for me as there is not much of a plot. Thought the interview questions were pretty interesting and the songs were nice!

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Up the Yangtze

This is a documentary about people living along the Yangtze river who had to move as the construction of the Three Gorge dam neared completion.

Liked how the director focused his story on one family and contrasted their life with their daughter's life who quit school to work on board of the cruise ship! Nice scenery of the Yangtze river and the dam looks huge, perhaps even bigger than the Marina Barrage!

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72 Tenants of Prosperity

The story is about how the tenants on a street in Hong Kong helped each other in times of crisis.

A little bit messy as the director tried to fit as many big name actors and actresses into the film as possible into the plot but I liked the marketing strategies of the two mobile phone shops! They were pretty innovative!

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Through the Olive Trees

The story is about the process of making a film and describes the actual story of the actor and actress who were victims of an earthquake.

Loved the off-screen speeches by the lead actor, the beautiful Z-shaped path that was carved into the mountain and the final scenes! Don’t really understand why there was a need for so many NG scenes though.

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Memories of Murder

The story is about how the police tried to track down a serial rapist in a small town.

I liked this better than "Mother" as the plot was more focused on making sense of the clues rather than on other miscellaneous sub-plot! Great acting by Song Kang-Ho who was also the lead actor in "The Host"! The final scene expressed what he felt over the whole incident very well!

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The Mad Fox

The story is about how an astrologer became mad and his encounters with a fox.

Liked the interesting plot, nice music and amazing special effects! Really impressed by their set design!

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Germany, Pale Mother

The story is about the life of a German family before, during and after the second World War, narrated by the daughter who was born during an air raid.

Liked the mix of documentary footage and the film as well as the exploration on the effects of war on the human psychology! I thought the hairstyle of the mother looked quite similar to that of Princess Leia from "Star Wars". Wonder if it was a coincidence or a direct influence.

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Burying Old Alive

The story is about life in Korea many years ago when famine was common and there was a custom that required old people to be carried to the top of the mountain to die once they reached seventy years old. People were also more superstitious then and relied heavily on the advice of the shaman.

Liked the interesting storyline and the anti-shaman message! There were several scenes that were completely black except for the subtitles. The audio output was not disrupted though, so it was like watching a radio play. Thought it was a very unique experience!

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A Page of Madness

The story is about a woman who is a patient at psychiatric clinic. Her husband works as a janitor at the clinic and their daughter is getting married.

Liked the interesting special effects and the nice soundtrack! It is a pity that the condition of the film is not too good.

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Boy

The story is about a boy and his dysfunctional family that consisted of him, his father, his step mother and his younger brother.

Liked the weird music in the background and how the boy's introspective character was shaped by his environment! Learnt a little bit more about Japan's society at that time through this film too!

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Le Franc

The story is about a poor musician who is about to be thrown out from his home for not paying his rent but decided to buy a lottery ticket to change his luck.

Liked how the real and fantasy sequences gelled together! The characters were pretty interesting too!

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Always: Sunset on Third Street 2

The story is about life in a small neighborhood in Tokyo during the late fifties.

It was a little bit difficult to identify the characters at first without prior knowledge of the original film but I was able to slowly deduce their relationships along the way. Liked the little stories of the different characters! The young girl who worked at Suzuki Auto looked quite cute with her two ponytails!

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Do the Right Thing

The story is about how a small incident sparked a racial riot in a black neighborhood.

Liked the plot and the interesting characters in the film! Could tell that the director was telling a story close to his heart although I was lost on some of the real life references.

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Mother

The story is about a mother investigating a murder mystery that allegedly was committed by her dim-witted son.

Great acting by the mother! Liked the twists and turns in the murder mystery! Was really taken aback when they revealed who the real killer was!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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