Author Archives: rarefilm

Dove vai in vacanza? / Where Are You Going on Holiday? (1978) Mauro Bolognini, Luciano Salce, Ugo Tognazzi, Stefania Sandrelli, Pietro Brambilla, Comedy

Dove vai in vacanza (1978)
Three shorter comedies: In “Saro Tutta Per Te” (I Will Be All Yours), Tognazzi is Enrico, a dentist who has agreed to vacation with his ex-wife at her lover’s villa. In “Si Buana” (Yes, Buana), Villaggio is Wilson, a man in charge of a group of tourists in Kenya. In the final episode, “La Vacanze Intelligenti” (Intelligent Vacation), Alberto Sordi is Remo, a greengrocer who, along with his wife, gets sent on a vacation by their well-meaning children who want to “improve” their parents’ minds by sending them off to see Etruscan tombs, hear performances of atonal modern music, and appreciate the wonders of avant-garde modern art.
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Medea (1988) Lars von Trier, Udo Kier, Kirsten Olesen, Henning Jensen, Drama

Medea (1988)
Medea is in Corinth with Jason and their two young sons. King Kreon wants to reward Jason for his exploits: he gives the hand of his daughter, Glauce, to Jason as well as the promise of the throne. In exchange, Medea and the boys are to be banished. Jason explains that his actions ensure a rich future for Medea and her sons. She asks that she be allowed to stay; Kreon refuses. She asks for one more day, and begs Jason to seek the king’s permission to allow their sons to stay in Corinth. Jason agrees and Medea prepares a gift for her sons to give to Glauce. Will Medea leave peacefully?
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Roberto Succo (2001) Cédric Kahn, Stefano Cassetti, Isild Le Besco, Patrick Dell’Isola, Biography, Crime, Drama

Roberto Succo (2001)
‘Kurt’ claims to be a sales rep. He also claims to be English in spite of his heavy Italian accent. Kurt is an habitual liar and a dangerous driver, at the very least. In the south of France he meets Léa, age 16. Between his increasingly strange dates with Léa, Kurt engages in a number of armed robberies, some successful, some not… The police are perplexed by a series of crimes including disappearances and a murder. They conclude that they are dealing with a madman… After he proposes, Léa breaks up with Kurt. The attempt to find a new girlfriend leads to a shooting by Kurt, now calling himself André. Léa’s information identifies Kurt/André as Roberto Succo, psychiatric patient and parental murderer. The police hunt for Roberto covers three countries.
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Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat (1944) Phil Rosen, Sidney Toler, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat (1944)
Thomas P. Manning, businessman and chess expert mysteriously shot in a locked room, dies clutching some chess pieces. Police are baffled, and finally abandon the case. Six months later, victim’s daughter Leah Manning, stung by a scurrilous book about the case, enlists the aid of Charlie Chan and Number 3 Son. Additional murders follow, leading to a climactic confrontation in a seemingly deserted “Fun House.”
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Dangerous Money (1946) Terry O. Morse, Sidney Toler, Gloria Warren, Victor Sen Yung, Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Dangerous Money (1946)
A treasury agent traveling aboard a ocean liner confides to fellow passenger Charlie Chan that he’s on the trail of a counterfeiting ring operating from the South Pacific and has survived two recent attempts on his life. Chan helps him avoid a third but is helpless to prevent a knife thrown in his back in the ship’s club room. Although the ship will be docking shortly in Samoa, Charlie is confident that he will unmask the killer before then. Among the suspects are an elitist reverend and his wife, a beautiful young woman traveling with forged papers, a shady loudmouth of a salesman, a larcenous ship’s steward, and a professional knife-thrower.
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Love Kills (1991) Brian Grant, Virginia Madsen, Lenny von Dohlen, Erich Anderson, Mystery, Action, Crime

Love Kills (1991)
Glamorous fashion photographer Rebecca is getting even. Angered by her husband’s infidelity, she takes a lover – a mysterious hunk she fist met during a photo shoot. He’s exciting. He’s handsome. And, after a night of lovemaking, he confesses he’s a hit man hired by her husband to kill her. The stranger also says he’s had a change of heart and wants to be Rebecca’s protector. But Rebecca’s husband, a renowned psychologist, insists the man is a former patient with a hidden, twisted agenda. Both men can’t be right. Both could be lying. As the circle of suspense closes in on her, one thing is clear to Rebecca. Any choice she makes could be more than wrong…it could be fatal.
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