Reviews

This is a film which definitely makes an intelligent audience think. Beginning with its title, and on to its mysterious locations, characters and situations, this is a wonderful film addressing issues pertinent to all generations, and any culture. The script, the acting (particularly the village dwellers), and the art direction are especially outstanding and creative.

As a bonus, the movie provides an opportunity to view a seldom-seen national cinema (at least in the West), namely Bulgarian cinema. Besides the film itself which will leave you thinking for a long while, after watching this, you may wonder what other pearls like this one from Bulgaria remain unseen by other audiences, and why?

The above said, the film is typical of its director late in his career. The 96 year old Portuguese master, said to be the oldest major director still working, is known for the above traits in most, if not all, his films in the past decade.

While that style worked for me in 5 or 6 of his last 9 films I've seen, I expected more from a film billed as a historical epic. In my view, the film did little to advance my knowledge about this legendary Portuguese king, Sebastian. The synopsis read prior to my viewing gave me all the insight I still have.

I learned next to nothing about this king in the 2 hours plus (seems like 3 hours) duration of the movie. The script certainly did very little to explain why he is an enigmatic legend. In fact, there is only vague reference to his upcoming battle against the heathen Muslims, the main theme the director wanted to explore in the film according to his interviews.

That relevance to today's "battle" between the Christian Western World and the Muslim World is indeed timely. However, unless one is told in advance by a film festival catalog, a review, or the director's own comments, one would probably not notice this supposed statement at all. But knowing in advance, I looked for this relevant message, this connection between the sixteenth century and today in the most subtle ways. I just could not find it. I hope other users can see more in this film than I did. And if they do, please write about it.

Paris, 1914. A well-known psychiatrist becomes more and more involved with his patient Marie, an illiterate but kinky seamstress. They both share a fetish for silk...a strong sexual one.

So far, not so strange for a French art film. But it gets more interesting as the psychiatrist develops a thesis - one about this fetish. This thesis and the real fetish both characters share blend into one weird love story indeed. Many have found the plot especially well written. It won the award for Best European First/ Debut Script at Angers in 1994.

This Brazilian French co production from 1987 is one of the masterpieces from acclaimed director Carlos Diegues (BYE, BYE BRAZIL, ORFEU). This may be the best film of his long career, and definitely the best, or one of the best Brazilian dramas of the mid and late 1980s. Brazil made the transition to a democracy in the mid 80s, and this movie explores that transition well, though it's not its central theme by any means. This film is really a social drama about a struggling saxophone player from the suburbs. As a result of his girl friend's disappearance, his ride (he takes a lot of trains, the metro system) through Rio exposes him to things which make him lose his theretofore relative innocence. As such, the film is a fascinating trip through Rio's (mostly under-) world. Cameos/small roles by some of Brazil's best actors enhance the experience, as well as the poignant performances by the young people inhabiting the film. Long available in PAL, it is now also available on NTSC. So the American market, and others on that system can see it. That is those who didn't see it back in 1987 & 88. It did get a pretty wide release as an art film everywhere, I remember. I first saw it then. But now, 13 years later, it is especially appealing to Brazil watchers, as one sees how much has changed there, and how much remains the same. The movie features a great soundtrack by Gilberto Gil, and a couple of performances by famed Brazilian Rock Artist, Cazuza, who died of AIDS, a few years after the film was made.

Contemporary critics, including ones on this site may describe as "kitsch" the Sissy series (Princess of Bavaria, Queen of Hungary, and Empress Consort of the Hapsburgs). But this is unfair. Everything must be seen in its time frame, and not retrospectively. The fact is this three part series was highly successful. So much so, it has been available in subtitled video in at least three languages I speak, Spanish, French, and English, for years. Speak to any older movie goer, who was a kid in the late 50's from Buenos Aires to Montreal to Paris, and he or she will remember Sissy fondly. I have seen many tourists in Vienna using the Sissy series as their total source of references while touring this city. This movie and the others, not only provided popular entertainment, historical education, and restored pride in German speakers in the post-war period. It made an international star of Romy Schneider, while she was still in her teens! The trio of Sissy features, prominently including the installment this IMDb page describes, made between 1955 and 1957 were edited together in 1962 into a 140 minute feature. I had previously seen all three individual installments about the Elizabeth (Sissy) and Franz Josef of Austria, dubbed in Spanish. They are beautiful films, recreating the entire period of history of the romance between young Sissy, Princess of Bavaria and the young Franz Josef, from the very beginning to the period after the "Ausgleich" (establishment of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary). It ends on a high note, while all involved was at its peak, leaving out the all the subsequent tragic events that marred Sissy's life, and that of Franz Josef, indeed the entire Empire. While some historic details are simplified, the bulk of the story is pretty well told, despite the teenage puppy love and later melodramatic elements thrown in to please the audience, and make the most of Schneider's incomparable charm, youth and beauty. See the condensed video if you are an English speaker. In fact I believe that is your only option. The three separate films, as described on this site are available in Spanish, French, Italian, and German only to my knowledge. But the 140 minute English-dubbed version is even available in NTSC now. It is sold in the USA. I hope American Amazon.com soon offers it, hopefully once this comment appears. Enjoy it! It's a classic.

This masterpiece, filmed while the action and subject matter of the film, was at its most intense, is a must see. Featuring non-professional actors, in the neo-realist style which defined post-war Italian cinema, you will experience a lyrical view of Germany, actually devastated Berlin. This is how it was at Hour Zero, or "Anno Zero" when new currency was introduced, and the economy started again from scratch with each German receiving the same (very little) cash to rebuild their lives, and indeed their country. The film has magnificent scenes including the voice of Adolf Hitler coming from a record player among the ruins of the Chancellery, deaths in gutted buildings, and several especially poignant scenes of the young boy who has known nothing but misery during his few years of life, yet continues his fight to survive.

Hey, this definitely is one to watch. A one of a kind "German Females Shawshank Redemption goes Rock'n Roll." It was a big hit in Germany, though of course that is usually a deterrent for some odd reason. Don't let it be. If you follow video and DVD Releases, you will know it has been available for a few months now (finally) in the USA, where, I believe a movie like this would be a huge success. That is of course if it were in American English and starred Julia Roberts, instead of Katja Riemann, a big star in Germany, but of course a nobody in the US, in spite appearing in the only German movies released in the US in the past 5 years including Der Bewegte Mann - MAYBE, MAYBE NOT, and the COMEDIAN HARMONISTS. She is awesome in this role. If you like prison films, and triumph of the underdog, seemingly against all odds, run and rent this film. It is for you. As the Shawshank Redemption remains the second top-rated movie of all time here, it would follow that BANDITS should be a comparable success in the foreign film department. Additionally, it has all that female bonding which men (who usually make up over 52% of the audience) and I believe most emancipated women love to watch. See it now. You never know when these European films suddenly go out of print. In Germany, it will always be available, and is already a classic, as the previous comment indicates, and represents the majority opinion here. But no one can pinpoint why German movies are just being totally ignored since the 80s, when in fact, they have experienced a rebirth, and have become so much more accessible, so much more American, as has been the trend in almost everything in post World War II Germany. (RUN, LOLA, RUN to many is not really a movie, but a series of music videos according to many, and so can not really be called an exception.) But BANDITS is a real movie, not particularly German AT ALL. Most people will really get a kick out of it if they only gave it a shot. Watch it.

TWO STREAMS (it should have been called THREE STREAMS) is a town lying between three streams or small rivers. As these waters converge here, so do the lives of two teenagers and one young woman on holiday at a farm here. Here in this town, these characters come into contact with a mysterious man. A strange but fascinating character, he is an illegal alien in Brazil. His presence arouses unexpected developments in the lives of all concerned, and is the backbone of the script. Probably better suited as a two part mini-series than as a feature film, TWO STREAMS nevertheless, is entertaining, and graced by fine acting by a wonderful ensemble cast. Now playing at festivals, according to what I read here.