Nobody

Nobody (2021)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Ilya Naishuller

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, and some names which were surprises to me when I saw the opening credits, so I won't spoil it for those that don't know either

From: Universal

This was pretty much what you'd expect from the director of Hardcore Henry and one of the writers of John Wick. As typical, a modern trailer did not sell me completely on a film. Yet, I hadn't been to a cinema in 2 ½ months and last night I had no other plans so I gave the movie a shot-turns out, I should have expected the nutty moments (although it is not as bizarre as Henry by any means) and graphic violent moments.

Bob Odenkirk plays the hilariously named Hutch Mansell, a former badass who settles down into a drab suburban life. However, circumstances happen and the old Hutch returns; considering the director's Russian, no surprise that this is the nationality of the main villains. Thankfully the action was not first person like Henry, thus it was shot cleanly and never became nauseating. There are chuckles along the way in between all the graphic bloody violence and dozens of dudes getting wrecked. You do have to wait a bit to see the action-that said, this first setpiece was a delight and a nice cathartic release as Hutch finally starts kicking ass.

Like with Hardcore, at times the movie tries hard... perhaps too hard at times. It was still an amusing good time that many action fans should enjoy. Me, I enjoyed the surprisingly eclectic soundtrack. Some of the tunes were of the type that my (late) mom would have listened to, but others were definitely in my wheelhouse; furthermore, at times those songs are used in unexpected ways. At least at my screening, this pleased the audience; I mean, there was applause when the end credits began! While initially a surprise, the idea that those people may not have been to the cinema in months and were just happy to see something they enjoyed in a theatrical setting.

Morning Patrol

Morning Patrol (Prioni Peripolis) (1987)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Nikos Nikoladis

Starring: Michele Valley, Takis Spyridakis, Liana Hatzi, Nikos Hatzis, Panos Thanassoulis

From: Greek Film Center

Somehow, this is my first Greek movie. Finally being able to check one out was the main goal of what I wanted to see last night. This one in particular came about from a mutual writing a positive review & its availability in HD on YouTube. It is not director Nikos Nikoladis' most famous work but at the end I'll explain why that wasn't selected.

It is one of those arty post-apocalyptic films which-thankfully for me-wasn't either too obtuse or too pretentious. A woman who has amnesia wanders the countryside then a city in Greece and discovers that things are rather odd. Power is still on and the world ending must have just happened with what is still around. Old movies play on TV and in cinemas; in addition, dialogue is sometimes heard from famous authors of the past, such as Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick. Oh, and much of the words you hear the lead say are her internal monologues. Odd, although not the strangest example in this genre I've viewed. There actually is a morning patrol that appears in the movie, as one of the obstacles along the way for the protagonist.

This is one of those movies where I don't want to give anything else away as it is best to go in cold and let the viewer attempt to figure out what it all means... as I am not 100% sure of that myself. That said, it was melancholy and dream-like without being a slog to get through or was a punishing sit. For what this was, it was pretty good; the nice direction and strong lead performance from Michele Valley definitely were assets. Like I said, this is not the most famous movie from director Nikos Nikoladis; that honor (and the only movie that has any traction in the West) is 1990's Singapore Sling. To be honest, THAT sounds like a punishing sit and would probably require me to drink a Singapore Sling or two to get through. Apparently it has lovely black and white cinematography but also contains many explicit sexual moments and is quite arthouse. This was more palpable for my tastes last night, in other words.

Rain The Color Blue With A Little Red In It

Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in It (Akounak Tedalat TahaTazoughai) (2015)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: Christopher Kirkley

Starring: Mdou Moctar, Kader Tanoutanuote, Abdoulaye Souleymane, Fatimata Falo, Rhaicha Ibrahim

From: Quite a few companies from Niger

A version of Purple Rain filmed in Niger which has a long gangly title because in its native tongue there's no word for “purple”? I'm in! Actually, I've had knowledge of this for a few years and the time finally came for me to rent this 75 minute picture on Vimeo and give it a whirl. A few years ago I saw Purple Rain.. theatrically, right after Prince passed away. That was quite the experience; my opinion of the movie was aided by how wild some of the ladies in the crowd got at seeing The Purple One. It was to the point that I was surprised panties weren't thrown at the screen! That helped alleviate the feelings I had concerning The Kid being a real A-hole for much of the film. His behavior was explained-what a horrible family he had-and he finally changed at the end but that was striking to me.

In this case, Niger is a Muslim country so certain elements are sanitized and this is more “inspired” by the film than a straight-up remake. Sure, some story beats are similar, lead Mdou Moctar (a real life music star in that region of the world) wears a purple outfit and rides around on a purple motorcycle-wrapped that color DIY style-but the lead here isn't a terrible jerk and his dad is against him playing guitar due to the “rock and roll lifestyle”, which was one of several elements taken from Moctar's real life exploits. He finds romance and yes there is a version of Morris Day's character which serves as a rival who is unhappy that this upstart moved to “his” city.

As should be expected, this was rough around the edges and is not as good as the original. That is not meant as an insult as the film is still fine and was interesting for me. Getting to see a star I otherwise wouldn't have known at all was nice, and so was seeing life in a country I know little about. Specifically, it's the region of the country occupied by the Tuareg people, and the city of Agadez in the middle of the country. But most important is the music. No, it was not covers of the Purple Rain soundtrack, which is for the best as how can anyone compare to Prince? Rather, it's music native to the region and while it is different to my Western ears, those tunes (whether electric or acoustic) are rather catchy and that was pleasant to listen to. Henceforth, I was happy to have finally checked out how a famous movie from the mid 80's inspired a story that was still unique to a specific region halfway across the world.

 

Rabid

Rabid (1977)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Starring: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage

From: Several Canadian companies

Once again I am playing catch up; once I post another review (in the evening) I'll be caught up: 

My having seen a trailer for this, its director, its run on the Criterion Channel ending in a few days and how like some movies of its type does seem more relevant in the past year... that is why I gave Rabid a whirl. It does have a simple premise where Marilyn Chambers suffers severe injuries in a motorcycle wreck that just happened to occur close by a special plastic surgery clinic. She receives experimental surgery but it goes quite wrong and develops something that-not surprising for the director-was overtly sexual and results in the spread of a rabies-like illness which does remind people of “zombies” and like some movies of its type, it is easy to be reminded of how life has been since March of last year.

It is not my favorite David Cronenberg movie and was rough around the edges. That said, it may help me that I've never seen the similar Shivers, which I've seen quite a few say is better. Rabid was still a nice bit of body horror and paranoia over a mysterious illness set in rural Quebec and then Montreal, full of garish and large 70's vehicles, including station wagons that are probably as rare as hen's teeth now. That and the amusement of legendary adult star Chambers having a scene in an X-rated joint did help provide enjoyment when there were some rather harsh and sad moments. If you look at Marilyn's Wikipedia page, what a life she had: she was in and out of the adult scene as she wanted a mainstream acting career but her past did haunt her... she had some disco songs-one of which actually is heard in the film-dabbled in politics, was arrested for BS reasons while performing in strip clubs, had drug issues that she was able to beat, and died in her late 50's due to an aneurysm.

Anyhow, it was still an entertaining piece of Canuxploitation which does in part suffer because the director went on to bigger and better things; the fact that Chambers actually delivered a solid performance-perhaps she would have had a legitimate career if she hadn't stumbled into X-rated features-does help. Apparently, the 2019 remake from the Soska sisters actually isn't bad, although at times I've disagreed with those that say a horror remake is worth seeing (most will disagree, but that Suspriria remake was overlong pretentious claptrap). I am sure that one day in the future I'll find out for myself.

Dead Presidents

Dead Presidents (1995)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: The Hughes Brothers

Starring: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, Rose Jackson

From: Hollywood Pictures/Caravan Pictures

Me seeing some heist films late last month made me realize that I should always check out others in that genre at least once in awhile; this is an example where that act is but one of a few that are presented. It is accurate when I've seen complaints that a lot is stuffed into this two hour runtime (a young Black man named Anthony Curtis grows up in late 60's NYC, he enlists in the Marines and experiences the horrors of war in Vietnam, he has to adjust to post-war life, he and his pals decide to do a daring heist which of course does not go as planned) and perhaps it'd have been even better if it had been like a 3 hour epic tale or even a miniseries.

That said, what was present was still pretty good overall. It was refreshing to see a view of that time period from the Black perspective. Once Tony (yes, the obvious joke is eventually made by someone) returns home he realizes there's a new Black Power movement and that was quite the eye-opener for him. I was always interested in the various people he interacted with, from his baby mama to his pals, including Chris Tucker in a role where he had some actual dramatic moments and was able to deliver a nice performance. And as always it's great seeing Keith David. There was also a nice “I saw what you did there” cameo from a famous face at the end. Believe it or not, it is loosely based on a famous 1981 robbery of a Brink's truck; the event was so infamous it has its own Wikipedia page. Some of the people involved were members of the militant Black Liberation Army movement, including Tupac's stepfather; no kidding.

For me-and others-the real standout of the movie is not the Danny Elfman score, the visceral graphic moments or the cinematography-though all of those elements were presented well. Larenz Tate as Curtis was great but even he is eclipsed by the knockout soundtrack. Old R&B and funk is of interest to me anyway but quality tunes were selected that also managed to fit each particular scene. There's several James Brown songs, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and others. Aurally it was delightful. I am glad there is a nice HD print that can be streamed as somehow this has not been released past DVD. Who knows what the holdup there is although I have some ideas. With any luck, one day it will be out on Blu or even 4K UHD as the movie's good enough where it deserves more attention.

Three Strangers

Three Strangers (1946)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Jean Negulesco

Starring: Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, Robert Shayne

From: Warner Bros.

Last night on Turner Classic Movies they showed a run of movies featuring Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet-do you believe they were in 9 motion pictures together?-and this atypical film noir is one I selected both due to it fitting in my schedule and me hearing about this film before.

Geraldine Fitzgerald gets Lorre and Greenstreet together as there needs to be a trio unfamiliar with each other for the purposes of wishing on a Chinese idol... specifically, they three go in on a ticket for the Grand National (this is set in late 30's England during Chinese New Year and for those not in the UK and are unfamiliar w/ Grand National, it's a legendary steeplechase horse race still held today) but they have to follow various guidelines; this is depicted as a large statue of what is identified as Kwan Yin. It is loosely based on actual Buddhist deity Guanyin. Believe it or not, one of the writers of this unique tale was John Huston, although he was not the director.

After the beginning, the trio do not get back together until the end; instead, three separate stories are shown, one of which is a crime case-that's why this is technically a noir. As others have noted in their reviews, with a movie that is unconventional by nature it is best not to reveal any of the surprises that occur. Instead, I'll note that this odd duck story is immensely helped by all the talent in front and behind the camera. I've been meaning to see more Lorre anyhow and among all the very good performances here, he was great as an alcoholic character who is different from his wheelhouse in ways I won't spoil.

I was happy that I derived plenty of enjoyment from this quirky and unforgettable tale that is perfect for noir fans that want to see something on Chinese New Year.

The Entity (A Bad Movie From Peru)

The Entity (La Entidad) (2015)

Runtime: 80 minutes

Directed by: Eduardo Schuldt

Starring: Rodrigo Falla, Daniella Mendoza, Carlos Casella, Mario Gaviria, Analu Polanco

From: Star Films

Turns out, the Peruvians can make found footage as bad as anyone else!

A few nights ago on Twitter I saw someone mentioned they had seen this motion picture, one that beforehand was unknown to me. Their opinion of this was quite a bit better than mine. The main draw of this was for sure seeing a native production from Peru for the very first time. This being a lame version of a found footage flick hasn't soured me on the country's output in general by any means-an explanation will be given as to why this was rather lousy, to be kind.

A group of youths in an A/V class decide to do a project revolving around... reaction videos. That's peculiar but there are other moments that strain credulity. One video in particular is spotlighted, and it is not charming and heartwarming like 2 Girls, 1 Cup... rather, it is of someone being tortured and killed. Those that see that end up dying; hmm, why does that sound familiar? That is not the only aspect which seems tired and hackneyed. Now, plenty of horror at least halfway decent will have recognizable beats or ideas lifted from famous works of old. There's no shortage of those that manage to do this and feel fresh or at least are engaging-this had dumb yelling young adults making foolish decisions and (in what actually isn't a first for the genre) film themselves committing crimes! Then again, there is also security footage shown of this action and yet nothing happens there with them and law enforcement...

Except for a few subtle moments that were chilling, The Entity was lame and wasted an interesting idea that may have been better served in a traditional narrative. Without spoiling much, it does relate to the Spanish conquering the region a few centuries ago. Oh, and this was filmed in 3D! That was made clear as breaking & entering occurs for the sake of the crew pilfering “3D cameras”; in 2D that makes some moments look really foolish. I feel foolish myself as I should have tried to find a better motion picture from the country of Peru.

Union Depot

Union Depot (1932)

Runtime: 67 minutes

Directed by: Alfred E. Green

Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, David Landau

From: Warner Bros.

Wanting a change of pace and a short 67 minute runtime meant that last night was the time for me to check out a Pre-Code effort I've heard swell things about from a few different folks, and it was praise I agreed with.

It is set in a metropolitan city train station and while many side stories are shown-the majority of them lasting only seconds long-the focus is on two main plots: hobo Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (who has Guy Kibbee as a buddy) stumbles upon a large wad of cash and meets up with chorus girl Joan Blondell, who is on the run trying to avoid a crazed self-professed doctor-who actually was terrifying & had an unforgettable appearance-and detectives looking for a criminal... his crimes won't be revealed here as it does factor into the first plot.

It is an intricate story presented in a clear fashion against a vivid backdrop which is never visually or aurally dull and has plenty of colorful characters present: people of different ethnicities, sailors, drunks, a priest, gypsies, tramps & thieves... it was a vibrant setting and mixed in a few different genres in its 67 minutes. It is not light, fluffy entertainment, despite the presence of some laughs. It has serious drama and a dark undercurrent of the Great Depression running throughout. Yet the movie is never a bummer and in fact was a very good diversion for its brief length, featuring great locations-the action is not just in the station-a quality cast of Warner Brothers regulars and nice direction/cinematography. I should check out movies of this vintage with an increased frequency.

Pulgasari!

Pulgasari (1985)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Shin Sang-Ok

Starring: Chang Son Hui, Ham Gi Sop, Jong-Uk Ri, Gwon Ri, Gyong-Ae Yu

From: Korean Film/Shin Film Productions

As I won't otherwise be discussing any kaiju films before Godzilla vs. Kong is released (not that I won't revisit one or two and just keep that fact private) it was the right time for me to finally see the most famous-and infamous-movie from North Korea... one whose backstory is for certain more interesting than than the movie.

After all, when the director and his actress ex-wife are abducted by Kim Jong Il back when he was just the son of a ruthless dictator and is forced to make movies for North Korea before they are finally able to flee in 1986... that is an amazing story that has been turned into a book (A Kim Jong-il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator’s Rise to Power, by Paul Fischer) and would make for quite the documentary or longform podcast series. Even more incredible is that some of the Toho crew that worked on the original Godzilla movies along with one of the men in the suit (Kenpachiro Satsuma) were tricked to work on Pulgasari-they thought this was a Chinese production.

Admittedly a difficult proposition, I chose to divorce the movie from the bizarre circumstances under which it was made, or the repugnant regime of its country of origin. On its own, it is a primitive yet entertaining tale which of course has some propaganda as it shows a village of farmers fighting against an evil empire with the assistance of a magical creature molded out of rice and brought to life via blood-long story-and loves eating iron. It is campy and has a rather silly synth score which was an aural surprise; be that as it may, Pulgasari was at least a good time and had a logical story anyone can get behind where poor people do battle against evil richer A-holes. It was a special kind of evil for the heels to demand the villagers' tools so they be created as weapons to use against them. I know I was not the only one to note the irony of poor people against a corrupt regime, because North Korea... even if it was supposed to be an analogy of Japan's occupation of the peninsula way back when.

It does have a unique setting (to me) of feudal times instead of 20th or 21st century. Then again I've never seen any of the Daimajin films of the 60's which take place in a similar era. As long as you are not bothered by seeing a piece of propaganda made in a totalitarian country where its citizens have been horribly mistreated for decades, the director was under duress and some of the crew was there via false pretenses... it was strange and shlocky without being a painful time. As an aside, hopefully Godzilla vs. Kong is as awesome as it could be.

I Revisited The Mesrine Movies Yesterday...

and I was happy to see both those 2008 efforts again. It was the first time since I randomly saw those by myself in my city's local cinema back a decade ago when they briefly played foreign pictures. I talked about both in this post.

Cabiria

Cabiria (1914)

Runtime: 125 minutes

Directed by: Giovanni Pastrone

Starring: Carolina Catena, Lidia Quartana, Dante Testa, Umberto Mozzato, Bartolomeo Pagano

From: Itala Film

Here's an obscure Italian silent which deserves to have more renown:

It was not until recently that I had even heard of this epic silent movie and that is a shame; this deserves more attention. As others have argued, techniques that were first attributed to Griffith and DeMille perhaps should be acknowledged as being done by Cabiria first. For certain, Fellini (this is why one of his most famous works is Nights in Cabiria), & Lang were inspired-and possibly also John Milius-plus the strongman character of Maciste is first seen here. What an odd character history: appearing in many silents before returning in the 1960's sword & sandal era where outside of Italy the film's titles substitute a more famous strongman, like Hercules or Samson.

The film concerns events in actual ancient history, both in Italy and Northern Africa back in the Second Punic Wars (the second century B.C.) although naturally things are altered for dramatic effect. The movie starts off with a bang: the first half hour features a volcano erupting, a pirate raid, a Temple of Moloc-a great and expansive set-children sacrifice and Hannibal crossing the Alps with his troops & elephants. To be specific, the key plot point is that the titular Cabiria is a young girl of noble birth who is kidnapped; a spy named Fulvius and his slave Maciste are on the hunt for her, a task that takes years. To address an uncomfortable aspect: yes there is blackface & brownface. That noted, it is far from being as heinous and nauseous as in The Birth of a Nation.

It is a fun adventure with strongman feats, impressive sets, action, drama, intrigue... it is quite the spectacle. Of course the storytelling is not perfect but for myself that did not do irreparable harm to my enjoyment of this epic-as always YMMV. It was restored in 1990-with any luck it will receive a new HD restoration in the future so it can truly shine.

The Guard

The Guard (2011)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: John Michael McDonagh

Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, Fionnula Flanagan

From: Quite a few Irish and UK companies

Sometimes I should be better in selecting films. That goes for popular modern comedies of the past 10 to 15 years... the rare few I've seen haven't always blown wind up my skirt or even were considered “funny” by me. I was hoping this film (chosen because of high ratings and it being an Irish production filmed in Ireland as appropriate St. Patrick's Day entertainment) would be fine considering it had some names I knew and a familiar yet solid-sounding premise of two opposite law enforcement members having to work together to crack a case, in this case an international drug ring.

Unfortunately, this wasn't that funny to me aside from sporadic laughs. A major issue is that the lead Irish man we follow (played by Brendan Gleeson) is not a charming rogue cop sort of character... instead I found him to be quite a boor-a rude and unpleasant A-hole who I did not really enjoy following-the fact that he's also a weirdo and a racist did not help his cause. A crying shame, because acting-wise there's no carping about Gleeson's performance. The straight-laced FBI agent played by Don Cheadle was far more tolerable to me but the movie does not rise above “meh” despite the general idea being fine and me having no issue with Mark Strong playing-shock of shocks-a villain.

This has two other things I don't particularly care for, which is “awkward humor” and “F bombs being dropped way too often”, which are two of the many reasons why I don't watch as many modern movies in general as many others on Letterboxd. The Guard falling flat for me is just something I'll shrug my shoulders about and move on; it did present rural Ireland and there's one scene where Irish is spoken, so it at least provided the sights and sounds for last night. If only I did not regret finding another motion picture from the land of shamrocks & leprechauns that was more likely to kiss the Blarney Stone, so to speak.

RIP Yaphet Kotto

What a great actor who should have had a much storied career; at least he was in some very good to great motion pictures.

Unfaithfully Yours

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Preston Sturges

Starring: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Kurt Kreuger

From: 20^th Century Fox

A dark screwball comedy, and it works? I felt like a change of pace from what I've seen as of late so I went with a film a mutual gave glowing praise to last month and along with a few other Preston Sturges pictures was just added to the Criterion Channel. Ergo, me getting to see something that did live up to expectations.

At first glance, it may sound as funny as a heart attack that the plot consists of a famous aristocratic conductor who hears from a detective his wife is cheating on him so he fantasizes of killing her... but it is not offensive or tasteless, promise. At first it is pretty funny as Rex Harrison is able to deliver rapid-fire dialogue filled with highbrow praises, all w/ aplomb. Then he gets the news from the detective and eventually there is a dark section which shows some serious events. That was necessary in order to set up an amazing final act that plays off of what was shown in the second act.

What great performances from both Harrison and Linda Darnell as the saccharine sweet couple. There's also a nice supporting cast, scenes shot rather well, and naturally there is lovely classical music heard throughout... with a spotlight on Rossini, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. It was in fact remade in the 80's as a Dudley Moore starring vehicle; that hasn't been seen but I will presume that is not as delightful or as fun as this. The OG movie has acres of great, unforgettable dialogue, quality slapstick, sight gags, and the innate ability to weave in those macabre elements and still have a hysterical comedy. Like with the lead's occupation, Sturges conducted this movie like a maestro. In the future, it is possible I'll do deep dives on the screwball comedy genre, Sturges, Harrison and Darnell.

Wira

Wira (2019)

Runtime: 109 minutes

Directed by: Adrian Teh

Starring: Hairul Azreen, Fify Azmi, Dain Said, Hilal Azman, Henley Hii

From: Many Malaysian companies

Until a few days ago I had no knowledge of this motion picture; the draw for me was not just its country of origin being Malaysia (a country I hadn't seen any films from before) but also it was discovering that a co-star was Yayan Ruhian of The Raid fame... who also did the action choreography. That was plenty enticing for me.

The plot itself is standard: a young man-formerly a famous martial artist in the area-returns home after time in the military. He has to defend his family from a local gangland leader (who does illegal activities that is fronted by a condom factory) after his sister caused trouble at an underground MMA event. Their dad also works at that factory and it should come as no surprise that the workers are treated rather poorly. Family is the key component of this movie, which leads to a rather corny moment in the final act that clashes with the rest of Wira.

Other than that, it was a standard movie inspired by The Raid-in that category, it's not the best or the worst of its type-which at least provided the requisite thrills that genre fans desire. After the build-up in the first half, the back half has plenty of fights, sometimes involving machetes and swords. It was shot in a clear manner with the camera moving all about, but not in a nauseous Olivier Megaton fashion. Perhaps there were shots that would have benefited from the camera being elsewhere as it would have hid a blow clearly not landing; that said those flubs did not ruin the experience. Of course, Ruhian's extended fight was the highlight, although there is a quality brawl on a bus and another nice sequence was seeing many dudes get wrecked in their apartment complex.

While it presents familiar beats and only a small amount of the scenic Malaysian rural life was presented (otherwise it was generic city life and warehouses) it was still nice to hear the language and see that family is the keystone of life, at least in this universe. Then again, this also has the siblings' dad have a machete stuck in a flowerpot just outside their apartment...

Cosmic Sin

Cosmic Sin (2021)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Edward Drake

Starring: Frank Grillo, Bruce Willis, and plenty of other familiar names who I hope got paid well

From: Various companies that I hope are ashamed of themselves

I finally saw one of those atrocious Bruce Willis direct to video releases... and atrocious it was. To be frank, all the bad buzz inspired me to rent it via Amazon; it is playing at one cineplex in Orlando and if I had seen it that way, this would have been the worst film I ever saw theatrically-excusing The Room, which at least is funny bad. Cosmic Sin did not feel like it dragged during its 88 minutes but otherwise was just dreadful all around.

In the year 2524 (if man is still alive...) first contact is made with aliens but of course they aren't friendly so our “heroes” are gonna bring the fight to them on a colonized planet. It's a wet dishrag of a story that is totally not engaging or interesting, filled with stock situations presented poorly, lame characters and putrid dialogue. It rips off many films of the past, from The Avengers-or so I heard-Independence Day, Armageddon, Stargate, and many others... including Ghosts of Mars! To think that this turd actually has other famous names: Frank Grillo in a role even smaller than the one Willis had, Costas Mandylor, Perrey Reeves, Lochlyn Munro, Johnny Messner, Adelaide Kane, and even Lana of WWE fame.

The biggest sin is how damn cheap this was. The micro budget shines even brighter than all the LED lights hung up that (unsuccessfully) try to disguise how much of this was shot in some warehouse somewhere. The “future” technology includes early 21st century automobiles and Glocks that aren't modified in any way... heck, early on is an obvious toy pistol. There are mech suits which look like cheap crap and feature helmets which obviously weren't designed to go with the suit. If that's not bad enough, Willis-who was comatose throughout-played a character who was a literal genocidal maniac yet he wasn't a villain. This was all just so worthless and a waste of time as it wasn't an enjoyable kind of bad movie experience.

Paragraphs could be written of how Old Bruce has ruined his legacy with each awful direct to video product he barely appears in, sleepwalks through and has a body double as often as 21st century Steven Seagal. I won't do that; instead, regret will be noted at how he's pissed away his legacy and doesn't care anymore (and not even when it comes to acting, considering his anti-mask stance) which is disappointing for the star of Die Hard and other memorable efforts. I know now to avoid his new films in general as if they were COVID.

The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Moartea Domnului Lazarescu) (2005)

Runtime: 153 minutes

Directed by: Cristi Puiu

Starring: Ioan Fiscuteanu, Luminita Gheorghiu, Doru Ana, Serban Pavlu, Dana Dogaru

From: Mandragora

Somehow, my first Romanian movie. It's not a scene I have avoided on purpose-it just turned out that way. It is not something I am proud of, when there are directors like Cristian Mungiu making highly-regarded films. This effort from Cristi Puiu has been highly regarded for the past 15 years and as it is on Netflix, that is how last night was spent.

It is a rather dark comedy concerning the titular Lazarescu, a man about to turn 63 who lives alone in his shabby apartment, a trio of cats his only companions. He had surgery for his ulcer years ago and is a hard drinker; one night his health deteriorates. Neighbors do assist him and call for an ambulance, but they act condescending to him by berating him for abusing the bottle on a bad stomach. From there, a lady EMT is the only one who cares for him as his health falls at a rapid rate and he is shuttled around to different hospitals because the doctors are A-holes (including one guy who I'll describe as “Romanian Abe Lincoln”) who act deplorably even if it sucks that they are overworked and presumably underpaid.

It is 2 ½ hours yet did not feel that lengthy as we see our title character degenerate into a mess, the whole situation becoming more absurd the longer it goes. As the director was a hypochondriac for a few years and thus had much experience with the Romanian health care system, I can assume it is as bad as portrayed. Then again, there's a recent documentary (Collective) which I haven't viewed but I hear it's about how corrupt and dysfunctional the Romanian health care system is... if I ever visit Bucharest or Transylvania, I sure as hell hope I never get sick there. For all his faults, I did feel sympathy for how Mr. Lazarescu was treated.

I do regret not having done any sort of dive on Romanian film until last night; for certain more will be seen from this point on out. One detail I do have to share which brought the biggest laugh from me: our lead has a room in his apartment that has photos and posters of... Kim Wilde! It is established he has an adult daughter who lives in Canada so an assumption can be made that he's lived in the apartment for decades and that was her bedroom-and it hasn't changed since the 80's. It is a funnier scenario to mention that either this near senior citizen is a huge fan of Ms. Wilde or that she was still mega-over in Romania back in the early 21st century.

 

The Fist Of Death

The Fist of Death (El Punode la Muerte) (1982)

Runtime: I saw a version that was 87 minutes long

Directed by: Alfredo B. Crevenna

Starring: El Santo, Grace Renet, Cesar Sobrevals, Steve Cheng, Carlos Suarez

From: Victor Films

Not even C-3PO Oracle can save this El Santo picture.

In the past year I have seen a few Santo movies, mainly due to a channel that is now defunct (the El Rey Network; a shame that it went away) and last night I happened to stumble upon-via YouTube, if we are to be frank-the second to last movie he ever starred in... although to be honest, his role seems more like a supporting one here. Like some of his movies beforehand (and plenty of Mexican television) this nonsense was filmed in South Florida.

From description it sounds like a gas: a woman and her sister (both played by Grace Renet, the sort of gal that Russ Meyer would have loved... so did the director of this, judging from her skimpy tops that somehow held on) are in a “Far East” country and both want a magic rock which is tied to a jungle girl named... Jungle Girl, and she has a wolf as a companion, actually a German Shepherd. I was not joking about the whole oracle thing: it is simply a C-3PO mask! The balls to do something so blatant... if that sounds appealing, then I am making it much more enjoyable than it was. The movie's low budget shines brighter than that C-3PO mask, whether it's the incredibly lame “action”-the nadir “fight” between a tiger and Santo where the tiger is OBVIOUSLY tied around the neck but it was supposed to be a free wild animal-and because this had an immediate sequel (The Fury of the Karate Experts) the ending is a giant popcorn fart that was not satisfying whatsoever. “Dreary” is the best description of this movie, even with all the cleavage and bouncing around on display.

Santo was around 65 when this was made, so him not doing all that much was understandable; at least he was in great shape for his age. I cannot defend his sidekick, informally known as Carlitos; he was a bald mustached buffoon who was odious comic relief and judging from other reviews, what he did here was actually tolerable in comparisons to other pictures. Another luchador (Tinieblas; he's large in comparison to other luchadors) is the villain's henchman and he does more in terms of fighting. I presume Fury is about as “good” so I'll note it was a sad end to Santo's movie career-he passed away two years after this was released.

Extraction

Extraction (2019)

Runtime: 116 minutes

Directed by: Sam Hargrave

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, David Harbour

From: Netflix

At least this wasn't Cherry.

I did not see this movie when it first dropped on a service that I only sign up for once in awhile; much of their lineup doesn't appeal to me and their interface becomes worse and worse each time. The fact that on my new 4K TV that is the only app which is sluggish... but I want to see a few foreign efforts on there this month and as my TV is able to use Netflix's Dolby Vision capabilities, that is why I'm signed up.... and recent messageboard/other site praise is why I finally gave this a shot. I know why many did not love this but at least it delivered on the R-rated action and did look nice in Dolby Vision.

TYLER RAKE (judging from how Cherry is apparently an appalling disaster, the Russo Brothers must have been the ones to name this character) is a mercenary who is tasked to rescue an Indian drug lord's son from a rival drug lord in Bangladesh but of course he is conflicted about his life and some of his past behaviors. It is not the most original story and the characters are not in-depth creations. Yet that was what I expected and the action scenes-which were plentiful-did satisfy with all the carnage & people getting wrecked. I did laugh that one scene had Rake literally shoving children down, but only because they actually wanted to kill him. Now, the complaint concerning how India and Bangladesh were tinted yellow and the recent phenomenon of those that aren't film fans noticing how certain foreign locations have that look and suspect it has nothing to do with portraying the warm temperatures of said location... I won't comment on that except to say that is a valid discussion and it's something I've noticed for years now and just have never mentioned in public before.

Anyhow, I can't complain about the cast as a whole-they were fine w/ the material they were given. Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani and David Harbour in his small role were the highlights. It gave me enough entertainment where I can say it was pretty good even with its faults and cliché plot points. It was nice to see the India and Bangladesh settings; I know there have been complaints over how both countries are portrayed; that's another thorny issue I would rather not dive in... but from that same messageboard, someone who would know about such things says that life in the latter's capital city of Dhaka is unfortunately as dangerous and corrupt as portrayed in Extraction.

Soleil O

Soleil O (1970)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Med Hondo

Starring: Robert Liensol, Theo Legitmus, Gabriel Glissand, Bernard Fresson, Yane Barry

From: Grey Films/Shango Films

During each March Around the World event, many of the films I check out are from familiar countries which I have seen plenty from before. It is nice when I can view something from a less heralded filmmaking scene. In this case, it is a film from Med Hondo, from the west African country of Mauritania, not to be confused with the African island country of Mauritius. As many may not be able to locate Mauritania on a map, it is right below Morocco... or technically, the “disputed territory” of Western Sahara. Much of this was filmed in France but that was alright as there's YouTube if I want to see what life if like in the country; sadly, it's one of those African countries that have faced many struggles in the past few decades and are still mired in it now.

This tale is of a young adult male from the country who is able to emigrate to France; however, he explains discrimination and racism, whether blatant or subtle. I do not want to give too much else away; even if it is familiar themes, it was told in an interesting way as many different techniques were used to keep it fresh & engaging. There's some absurdist moments, dark comedy, a docudrama feel, obvious French New Wave influences, and more. The final act does have a surreal dreamlike vibe to it. As I say too often, the themes presented here are still all too real in these modern times; I can't say how things are in France but in the United States... O broaches difficult subjects yet isn't a punishing or agonizing viewing experience.

For a motion picture that was made for a small amount of cash and filmed over the span of several years, it was an intriguing and thoughtful film which can be relatable to anyone. Thankfully, Scorsese's World Cinema Project was the driving force behind the efforts for a 4K restoration of Soleil O (Oh, Sun in English) and is easily found on sites like the Criterion Channel.

Guns At Batasi

Guns at Batasi (1964)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: John Guillermin

Starring: Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton, Mia Farrow

From: 20^th Century Fox

Tarantino approved.

While it was released a few weeks ago, it was just this past Sunday night that I listened to The Empire Film Podcast where Edgar Wright and QT spent three hours discussing both the cinema experience and unheralded British film, inspired by a list that Scorsese compiled for Wright. I haven't loved everything either has done and QT has apparently done some bad things on set-although plenty of great directors fit into that category-it was still a fascinating listen. Both went down their own rabbit holes of exploring other UK works; Tarantino discovered this John Guillermin film starring Richard Attenborough.

Richard plays a Sergeant Major at a base in what is implied to be Kenya shortly after it becomes independent. He is rather uptight, fussy and obsessed with the pomp & circumstance of his position. Others mock him and in essence think he's a real dork. When things go bad, though... he is not an incompetent dunce way over his head but rather his knowledge and abilities will be quite useful in this scenario. As what happens often in modern Africa, governments are overthrown in cops on a seemingly frequent basis and because of circumstances, the Sergeant Major is in charge that night and suddenly he proves himself to be worthy. Complicating matters is that in the hall is both a member of Parliament (Flora Robson) and a UN secretary (Mia Farrow).

Naturally, there is talk of colonialism and how “right” it was that Europeans went to Africa, exploited it, and caused all sorts of problems, which is a big reason why there have been so many coups on the continent. This is more drama than action, but no complaints there as it was all riveting seeing how each of the Sergeants reacted to the siege while the Major was the most adept and kept his cool the entire time when the chips were down and clearly the others would have made a mess of things. The widescreen cinematography (from Douglas Slocombe) was quality but Attenborough was

On the podcast, both Wright and QT noted that after they went through Scorsese's suggestions, they went down their own avenues and saw other British obscurities. That was how Quentin came across this; through this and other pictures, not only did he reassess the career of Guillermin, he now finally appreciated Attenborough as an actor. Even filmmakers can change their mind on others in their field after increased knowledge. This was what QT's favorite British discovery from 2020; it is as of now available in 1080p on YouTube; it'd be something I would have been happy to pay for beforehand, and after last night, I would not have regretted the cost.

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery (1978)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Michael Crichton

Starring: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris

From: Dino De Laurentiis Company/Starling Films

This is also known as The First Great Train Robbery in the UK:

A movie I am not counting in my March Around the World list, for a specific reason I'll address at the end. That is no slight against this heist movie, seen early last night on Turner Classic Movies and was a first time watch. All the talent involved did inspire the viewing... after all, a Michael Crichton movie that he adapted to screen from his own novel, starring Sean Connery & Donald Sutherland, one of the last movies that Geoffrey Unsworth did cinematography on, a score from the legend Jerry Goldsmith (which was a delight) and it had an interesting premise loosely based on a real life event? Why the heck not?

The story of several thieves scheming to do an “impossible” heist of gold bars from a train in 1855 Victorian England and the movie itself does not rise about being “fine” yet that is no insult. Sometimes I am disappointed that something isn't better but otherwise I can't carp too loudly about a movie that is still good. After all, it was interesting to see all the steps that were taken to put the plan in motion. This requires such tasks as creating molds for all the safe keys... which means that both Connery and Lesley-Anne Down have to go undercover for this purpose. All those machinations were interesting, even if at times the movie did lag a bit.

It was all in good fun, especially at the sight of Old Sean doing most of his stunts, including on top (and side) of a moving train. I was entertained by that romp even if it wasn't a must-see in the genre. Originally it was going to be my UK movie for the month of March; that changed as after this movie I finally listened to that Empire podcast w/ Edgar Wright and Tarantino. I haven't loved everything Wright has done and the same goes for QT-that does not even take into account the allegations of on-set behavior. However, it was still a fascinating listen which I'll discuss more tomorrow. I'll make the excuse that this has an American director and was produced by an Italian to have a UK movie on the March Around the World list come tomorrow that I had no knowledge of until I heard the aforementioned podcast episode.

Ran

Ran (1985)

Runtime: 162 minutes

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada

From: Greenwich Film Productions/Herald Ace/Nippon Herald Films 

Of course Ran is a film I've seen before... but that run was before Letterboxd was ever a glimmer in anyone's eye. This month seemed like the right time to see what isn't my favorite or best Kurosawa, but is probably his last great motion picture, like most people say it is.

Akira must have liked Shakespeare; Throne of Blood was his version of Macbeth, The Bad Sleep Well was inspired by Hamlet and Ran is a samurai-era Japan take on King Lear. I will operate under the assumption that many are familiar with it whether it be other film adaptations or even high school English class. Thus, no time needs to be spent explaining how it's someone who relinquishes power to his children and due to various machinations, this decision becomes tragic. It did not take too much in the way of changes to make it fit to this era; however, the changes that WERE made helped made some of Lear's subtleties more pronounced, to this movie's benefit.

Besides a strong story with universal themes that have made it a favorite on stage & screen, it of course looked tremendous in how it was framed and shot. Both the score from Toru Takemitsu and the Emi Wada costumes are aces; in fact, the latter won an Academy Award for it. The movie was colorful (literally, at times) and with a strong cast & some graphic moments, it was not a long sit despite being over 2 ½ hours long and featuring long static shots throughout. As people seem to like my shorter reviews & many others have waxed poetic about this better than I could, Ran is a must-see motion picture for people like us.

Vampire

Vampire (1979)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: The all-timer name of E.W. SWACKHAMER

Starring: Jason Miller, Richard Lynch, E.G. Marshall, Kathryn Harrold, Michael Tucker

From: Believe it or not, one of the companies was Mary Tyler Moore's!

In the first of two reviews I'll be posting today, here is a random television movie, the existence of which I only discovered a few days ago-long story. The people involved did intrigue me; after all, it's a failed pilot (which is why one of the writers was legend in that medium Steven Bochco) which starred Jason Miller-and get this, he played a character who at one point struggles with his faith-E.G. Marshall and Richard Lynch, who played the titular character and was the most memorable aspect w/ his performance. There's also Jessica Walter and unfortunately for just one scene, Joe Spinell.

Lynch was buried underground a few decades ago; he was arisen as a church was constructed right by his makeshift tomb. He gets involved with art theft (!), Miller rats him out, he gets revenge, so Miller wants revenge of his own... and Marshall is an old foe of the bloodsucker. Now, in '79 it managed to be a popular year for vampire pictures. An obvious comparison can be made with Salem's Lot... and this is no Salem's Lot.

But for me that was alright. It is on the dry side and because they were hoping this would be a television series, an open-ended conclusion happens. What are assets: the famous faces in the cast getting the chance to act. There's no graphic moments or anything that could be considered “pants-soiling” terrifying; there's still some creepy moments and the biggest names do elevate the material with their talent. The San Fran setting and a creepy score from Fred Karlin also helps. This obscure oddity is not a must-see but was not the worst way to spend an hour and a half. At least there was a short scene in a discotheque.

Furie

Furie (Hai Phuong) (2019)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Le Van Kiet

Starring: Veronica Ngo, Mai Cat Vi, Thanh Nhien Phan, Kim Long Thach, Khanh Ngoc Mai

From: Quite a few Vietnamese companies

Good buzz since this was released two years ago plus this being foreign movie month meant that last night was the time to finally give this a shot. It's no The Raid by any means but for action films of the past decade from the Pacific Rim Asian region of the world, it was fine as I have seen worse.

The plot is simple... it's a mom and daughter, only she was formerly a gangland boss in Saigon and now she is a debt collector in a rural town-which provides nice scenery. Their relationship is rocky and daughter gets kidnapped, so mom tracks her down-and of course she knows martial arts. The plot at times has its ups and downs; some of the mom and daughter drama I did not love. Thankfully the action is more rock-solid and delivers the adequate amount of thrills that genre fans are looking for.

A big asset is the movie being anchored around the solid lead performance of Veronica Ngo, who in the duration acts both like a badass and a vulnerable mother. I understand she was in The Old Guard but gets zero fight scenes (lame) and was also in The Last Jedi... besides having no memory of that, let's not get re-litigate my thoughts on the movie! The aesthetics are nice, also: in the beginning it is a lovely rural village they are in... once they reach the big city, plenty of neon colors are shown. Organ harvesting is probably far overblown in terms of how often it actually happens... but it does make for good movie villains.

Naturally it does not reinvent the wheel; that said, it was a slice of action I did not mind consuming.

Close-Up

Close-Up (Nema-Ye Nazdik) (1990)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami

Starring: Various Iranian people starring as themselves

From: Several Iranian companies

As stated before, these March Around the World events can at times give me a kick in the keister to see some things I've been putting off, or try out something from a country whose product I've barely scratched the surface on. In this case it is perhaps the most highly regarded film from Iran. It just happens to be the sort of movie I can't reveal much about, thus a not as lengthy review.

That is because it's a documentary of sorts where a real life case (a man impersonates a famous Iranian director to try and swindle a rich family) is followed, and the family does recreations of those past events. Sounds simple yet through this device the movie presents much information and many ideas concerning a number of topics, from cinema itself (the impersonator-Hossein Sabzian-was more than happy to be filmed) to life in Iran. As I did not know as much as I should concerning Persian life, that was informative. Also came the realization that I perhaps do not want to ever get arrested in that country as their legal system is for certain different than in the US. Also, tape recorders-at least at the time-were not that common.

Close Up is not something I love as strongly as I've seen many movie fans proclaim. That is not a slight, though-it is still a very good motion picture and one that was rewarding for me due to its unique properties as it takes the viewer on an enriching journey.

After Hours

After Hours (1985)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Griffin Dunne, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Verna Bloom, John Heard

From: Geffen

Here's another hot take from me; in a few hours I'll post another review, that one most assuredly less controversial: 

I'd rather see a movie chronicling Linda Fiorentino in real life.

During March, I won't be exclusively seeing foreign films; at times will be ones from America. What a coincidence that shortly after I decided to see this for the first time, there'd be discourse on a familiar stomping ground for me-a movie messageboard-concerning Ms. Fiorentino. There's still plenty of mystery as to why she in essence has vanished from the world of motion pictures in the 21st century; of course there's conjecture that she is “difficult to work with” but only Kevin Smith has directly made that accusation and I am sure the entire topic of “actors or actresses that have the difficult to work with and actresses are the ones punished for that attitude” is a giant can of worms I probably don't want to open. But it is odd that she retired w/ little fanfare oh so long ago. Fair or not I imagine her having a wacky life; an anecdote shared in that aforementioned thread is that about a decade ago she was dating an FBI agent and a past beau was a PI. She created a cockamamie story to FBI agent to get info that she then passed along to her ex's legal team!

While her role in that scandal was more memorable than the one she had here, that is not a stinging criticism as she was fine with the oddball sculptor character she portrayed. Beforehand I presume that my opinion would be typical of the average Letterboxd user. After all, great director, getting to see the Crappy New York City of Old, there's no aversion on my part to seeing a dark comedy. Regrettably, though... after the fastest opening credits in cinematic history, was a whole lot of awkward humor and quite frankly that usually isn't to my tastes. There weren't too many laughs, especially after some horrifying moments and bits of dialogue happened.

If that was not enough of a deterrence to me, I grew to really not like lead character Paul Hackett. Even if this was supposed to take the piss out of Yuppie culture, eventually I just did not care about all the preposterous things going on. Of course, it's been called “surreal” and the direct namedrop of The Wizard of Oz does make that clear. But again, when you don't care... this tale of that yuppie who has a horrible night after meeting a random woman in a coffee shop just did not work for me. No one is more disappointed than me that I can't share in the near unanimous praise of After Hours; however, I do have to be honest here.

To be frank, the main reasons why this has a “meh” rating instead of something lower is mostly due to all the talent & skill involved, including a quality cast full of familiar faces, including Catherine O'Hara at times resembling Jennifer Lawrence, of all people. This being a miss for me is disappointing; however, that won't weigh me down and instead I'll be excited to visit or revisit more of Marty's movies, those I am sure will be more to my tastes.

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo Hu Cang Long) (2000)

Runtime: 120 minutes

Directed by: Ang Lee

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei-Pei

From: Several companies from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and the USA

Recently, I purchased both a 4K TV and a 4K player; besides making me feel like I am properly in 2021, it allows me to check out top of the line streams from the likes of Amazon Prime. This was available in 4K for free-if you are a member of Prime-& I discovered how great the film looks in that format.

Presumably most are familiar with the basics, such as all the extensive wire-fu (a rare time where I actually enjoy seeing martial artists flying around as if they were superheroes), the leads and how the movie starts off as a tale over a sword being stolen-only for it to become a lot more complex-so I won't dwell too much on that. While it is not my favorite wuxia motion picture in terms of story or action or characters, it is still very good overall and having a great director helm it all was a huge asset.

With the big budget, it was a visual delight just from all the exotic locations they shot at... from lush woods to deserts with large dunes; it is divine in 4K and with HDR. And of course it's always nice seeing both Chow Yun-Fat & Michelle Yeoh. The action scenes-with or without the aerial moments-still impressed in 2021 between all the intricate movements, how fast they were, the camera movements/cuts & a component that can't be forgotten, the quality score... hearing those drums when business picked up was grand.

As there are interesting characters and situations-from the unrequited love between the lead pair to an older lady thief known as Jade Fox to young gal who is about to be married and wishes to be “an independent woman”... it's not a surprise in hindsight that this was a rare (at least for the time) non-English language picture that received many Academy Award nominations and winning for Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography for Peter Pal and Best Score for Tan Dun. Thank heavens this has aged like fine wine in the past two decades.

The Ascent

The Ascent (Voskhozhdenie) (1977)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Larisa Shepitko

Starring: Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergey Yakovlev, Lyudmila Polyakova, Viktoriya Goldentul

From: Mosfilm

The past few years, March has become an eagerly anticipated month for me. This is due to the tradition of March Around the World on Letterboxd, where people watch foreign pictures for all 31 days. I have never officially participated but I still see more than a dozen pictures from all around the world. Besides getting to see what others have checked out, it has inspired me to give some films a shot and see works from less renowned countries. Via the Criterion Channel I went with the final film of Soviet director Larisa Shepitko, a motion picture which has gained more recognition in the West in recent times, undoubtedly due at least in part to Criterion releasing it on disc as part of their Eclipse series.

The plot is deceptively simple: during World War II, a pair of soldiers that are part of a small regiment are tasked to look for supplies and food in what is now Belarus and was at the time occupied by the Germans. Things go wrong and the two are separated; they each have to make an astoundingly difficult choice and the ramifications are felt the rest of the way. It'd be a crime to reveal more; an important aspect to mention is that this black and white picture is deliberately paced but never boring as the duo wrestles with horrible situations set in a snowy landscape, with frequent closeups, bold symbolism and what I've read described as “heightened sound design.”

The Ascent is bleak yet intriguing, full of philosophical thought, a searing look at such topics as the weakness of man and allegories of religion and Communism as the choices the two make in dire situations also has a direct impact on innocent parties, and not just their fellow soldiers. They have to wrestle with their choices and the complexities that each man has to deal with in the aftermath; what a devastating ending. Even more tragic than the events of The Ascent is that it was the last movie from director Larisa Shepitko before she passed away in 1979 after a traffic accident. I know she sometimes had struggles in her life, at times having stay in a sanitarium. She was only 41 when she died; who knows how many more classics she could have made and if there would have been others that won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, as this did. What is certain: she belongs in the discussion of “best women directors of all time” even if only a few feature films were made.