Author Archives: rarefilm

Abrir puertas y ventanas / Open Doors, Open Windows (2011) Milagros Mumenthaler, María Canale, Martina Juncadella, Ailín Salas

Abrir puertas y ventanas (2011)
Buenos Aires at the end of summer. Marina, Sofia and Violeta are alone in the family home after their grandmother, who had brought them up, has died. They have to come to terms with her death, each in her own way. Marina concentrates on her studies while looking after the household, whereas Sofia becomes obsessed by her appearance and goes out with friends. As for Violeta, she wanders around between bedroom and sitting room where, from time to time, she receives an older man. Discord, laughter, meanness, gestures of affection determine the rhythm of this period of uncertainty, until one day in autumn Violeta disappears without warning…
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Hebi no michi / Serpent’s Path (1998) Shô Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Shiro Shitamoto, Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Hebi no michi AKA Serpent's Path (1998)
Serpent’s Path and its companion piece Eyes of the Spider (Kumo No Hitomi) both start from the same premise: a man taking revenge for the murder of a child. Kurosawa used this premise as the jumping-off point for the two films rather than their definition, resulting in a pair of works which are not so much occupied with revenge, but with the mental processes of human beings in situations that have placed them outside everyday life.
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College Holiday (1936) Frank Tuttle, Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen

College Holiday (1936)
Sylvia Smith and Dick Winters share a romantic kiss at a dance, but Sylvia is called away before Dick can learn her full name. Sylvia’s father is about to lose his California hotel, the Casa Del Mar, thanks to the financial blundering of his new business partner J. Davis Bowster. The mortgage is held by eccentric heiress Carola P. Gaye, whose current fascination is with the ancient Greek-style eugenics championed by Prof. Hercules Dove.
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Anything for John (1993) Dominique Cazenave, John Cassavetes, Seymour Cassel, Peter Falk

Anything for John (1993)
An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for studying and depicting the human character. In-depth, candid interviews with his wife and muse Gena Rowlands as well as his most trusted friends and co-workers like Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel, etc. Clips from Cassavetes’ greatest films, and many rare photos illustrate this touching documentary.
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