Author Archives: rarefilm

O diaheiristis / The Building Manager (2009) Periklis Hoursoglou, Evangelia Adreadaki, Efstathia Tsapareli, Drama, Comedy

O diaheiristis AKA The Building Manager (2009)
The story of 50-something Pavlos unfolds in an unspecified modern-day Greek city, portraying the man’s midlife crisis with a light and gently ironic tone. Pavlos takes over custodial duties from his aging mother and immediately has to deal with a disaster involving a sewage pipe. The fix-it job becomes complicated and creates an apt parallel to Pavlos’s increasingly complicated personal circumstances. At heart Pavlos is gracious and kind, and he tries to be a good husband, son, and building manager. But the ensuing state of affairs turns him into a morose and angry man whose nerves sometimes snap. Will Pavlos succeed in fixing the broken sewage pipe before he can fix his own “broken” life? Director and screenwriter Periklis Hoursoglou, who plays the lead role, has shot a drama with comic touches and gentle socio-critical accents. Hoursoglou succeeds in creating a faithful, entertaining, and even touching portrait of “ordinary” interpersonal relations.
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Witchcraft / Myrkrahöfðinginn (1999) Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Hallgrímur H. Helgason, Stefan Jorgen, Drama

Witchcraft (1999)
The young and fanatical Jon is appointed pastor to a remote church in 17th century Iceland. As is custom, he marries the widow of his predecessor, a woman much older than he is. He is ardent in his fight against Satan, and the villagers don’t dare to question his authority. When he falls for a beautiful young woman, Jon is convinced witchcraft is at work, and his crusade leads to cruel executions of innocent people. The stronger his lust, the deeper his madness drives him in his religious fervor.
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L’avventuriera del piano di sopra / The Lady Upstairs (1941) Raffaello Matarazzo, Vittorio De Sica, Clara Calamai, Giuditta Rissone, Comedy

L'avventuriera del piano di sopra AKA The Lady Upstairs (1941)
Misadventures of a young lawyer who, left alone at home for the departure of the jealous wife, is having to help a lady living in a top floor apartment, who asks him to host her to save her from the wrath of her husband. The young man offers his bed to the lady, content to sleep on the couch. The next morning, upon awakening, the lady is already gone, but at the same time is also missing a precious necklace of great value.
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Virdzina / Virgina (1991) Srdjan Karanovic, Miodrag Krivokapic, Ina Gogálová, Slobodan Milovanovic, Drama

Virdzina AKA Virgina (1991)
The story takes place in Yugoslavia at the end of the 19th century, in an isolated village near the Adriatic sea. Because of the extreme patriarchal culture there is a superstition that families without male heirs are cursed. When the wife of a farmer gives birth to their fourth daughter, father decides that the child will be brought up to become a so-called “Virgina” and that she will live as a man, so that she can work and be the family heir. This heartbreaking story of Virginas life is told with strong words, augmented with harsh inviroment.
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Outrage (1950) Ida Lupino, Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

Outrage (1950)
A young girl is raped while coming home from work. The trauma of the attack turns her away from her parents and her fiancé, and, unable to face society, she runs away and, using an assumed name, takes a job on an orange ranch. A young clergyman takes an interest in her, although she won’t confide in him. When a ranch hand tries to kiss her, she relives her terrifying experience and nearly kills him. She is arrested but when her identity is established and the facts of her case are brought forth, the clergyman convinces the court that it is society that should shoulder the blame. He helps rebuild her faith and send her back to her parents and fiancé.
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Norway / Norvigia (2014) Yannis Veslemes, Daniel Bolda, Yannis Bostantzoglou, Alexia Kaltsiki, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Norway (2014)
Photophobic Zano, arrives in the big city for the very first time. The year is 1984 and Athens beckons. A vampire and a fine dancer, Zano quickly gets devoured by the dark underbelly of the capital city.All he really wants is a “warm” girl. Strung out and down and out, he ends up at disco Zardoz, a hive of scum and villainy, where he meets Alice, a prostitute, and Peter, a Norwegian drug dealer. Lured into their shady shenanigans, the three of them will traverse mountains and descend into the core of the earth, all the way to the Kingdom of Mathousalas. Norway puts on shiny new shoes, dances the night away with colorful scoundrels and only bites when absolutely necessary. “Norway descends upon the Mediterranean”.
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As Bodas de Deus / The Spousals of God / God’s Wedding (1999) João César Monteiro, Rita Durão, Joana Azevedo, Comedy

As Bodas de Deus AKA The Spousals of God AKA God's Wedding (1999)
All seems lost. And then, in an old, lonely and icy park two shadowy figures meet: those of Deus and a Messenger from God. The Messenger gives the crook (the temporary state of poor João de Deus) a suitcase stuffed with money. His mission accomplished, the Messenger leaves. João counts the bank notes. The silent waters of a nearby lake are disturbed when a heavy object plunges in. João goes to see what is happening. A young girl (Joana) is drowning. João throws himself into the water and carries the unconscious Joana off to a convent (Capucines?). How Responsible! João de Deus returns to the park to recover the case and its precious contents: happily, nothing has been touched…
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The Roost (2005) Ti West, Tom Noonan, Karl Jacob, Vanessa Horneff, Horror, Thriller

The Roost (2005)
Creatures of the night find new prey on the scariest night of the year in this horror story. It’s Halloween night, and four friends – Allison (Vanessa Horneff), Elliott (Wil Horneff), Trevor (Karl Jacob), and Brian (Sean Reid) – are on a road trip en route to a friend’s wedding when their car breaks down after running into something. Looking for help, the four happen upon the farmhouse of an elderly couple, Elvin (Richard Little) and May (Barbara Wilhide), which is located next to a huge barn. Elvin and May have already become lost in the darkness of the barn, and soon two of the lost travelers are suffering the same fate as they search for friendly strangers. However, while they can barely see a hand in front of their face, they discover they’re not alone in the barn, which has become home to a huge swarm of bloodthirsty bats. The Roost is framed by an introduction and postscript from a television horror show host, played by Tom Noonan.
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Behold My Wife (1934) Mitchell Leisen, Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, Laura Hope Crews, Drama

Behold My Wife (1934)
After Michael Carter’s fiancée commits suicide, Michael vows to seek revenge on his wealthy family, who sabotaged their marriage. He drives across the country angrily, and lands up at a saloon, where he is shot by an Indian, Pete. Pete’s girlfriend, Tonita nurses Michael’s wound and falls in love with him. Michael realizes this, proposes marriage to Tonita – a perfect revenge for his prejudice family. They marry and he takes her to New York, in full Indian dress hoping to embarrass the family. The press and society mock the Carters – to Michael’s delight. Tonita’s confused as to why Michael doesn’t want to consummate their marriage. At a coming out party for Tonita, set up by Diana (Michael’s sister), Tonita’s a big hit. Michael becomes angry for his family has “won”. Tonita realizes the true reason for their marriage, and finds comfort with Bob, Diana’s lover. Diana catches Tonita and Bob together and kills Bob, but, Tonita takes the blame and is arrested, for this is the perfect …
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