Author Archives: rarefilm

Köshpendiler / Nomad: The Warrior (2005) Sergey Bodrov, Ivan Passer, Kuno Becker, Jason Scott Lee, Jay Hernandez

Koshpendiler (2005)
Rebirth of a nation. Not since Genghis Khan has anyone united the Kazakh tribes. Jungar tribesmen of Mongolia rule Kazakh land, but a prophecy has it that a descendant of Genghis will unite his people. Oraz the Wise travels the land looking for the child who will fulfill the prophecy. He finds that infant and protects him from the warriors of Galdan, the Jungar king. Oraz recruits one lad from each Kazakh tribe and teaches them the art of war, loyalty, and camaraderie. Two are the best: Mansur and Erali. They are like brothers. Each must prove himself; both fall in love with the same young woman; both fall into enemy hands. At what cost does a prophecy come to pass?
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As You Desire Me (1932) George Fitzmaurice, Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Erich von Stroheim

As You Desire Me (1932)
Budapest bar entertainer Zara is a discontented alcoholic who is pursued by many men but lives with novelist Carl Salter. A strange man (Tony) shows up on Salter’s estate claiming that Zara is actually Maria, the wife of his close friend Bruno. Maria, Tony claims, had her memory destroyed during a World War I invasion ten years ago. Zara doesn’t remember but leaves with Tony to Salter’s dismay. Bruno, now an officer in the Italian army, tries to coax Maria’s memory back on his large estate. No one is really sure if Zara is Maria, and when Salter shows up with a mental case that he claims is the real Maria, everyone on Bruno’s estate is desperately searching for the truth.
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Divá Bára (1949) Vladimír Cech, Vlasta Fialová, Jana Dítetová, Marie Brozová

Diva Bara (1949)
Tale Bozena Nemcova served as a template for a romantic story about a courageous, self-made girl scorned daughter of a shepherd, who is not afraid of anything – neither night nor swim. But the superstitious villagers about her telling all sorts of strange things, even seeking union with the powers of hell. Bold and courageous Bara stupid prejudices of their fellow men almost suffer. Energetic girl brings her pieces to boil the whole village.
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Pillow to Post (1945) Vincent Sherman, Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, William Prince

Pillow to Post (1945)
With a war on and most men being drafted, Howard Oil Supply Company has no salesmen left. So daughter Jean hits the road and does not make one sale. She finally gets one tentative sale with the Black Hills Oil Co., but Earl wants dinner with her. With the shortage of housing due to the war, Jean needs a military husband to get a place to stay in Clayfield, which is next to Camp Clay. She gets Lt. Mallory to act as her husband just to register. Then things go wrong as his commanding officer is there and believes them to be married. It gets worse as Don’s mother shows up and then Jean’s father.
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Tito i ja / Tito and Me (1992) Goran Markovic, Dimitrije Vojnov, Lazar Ristovski, Predrag Manojlovic

Tito i ja (1992)
The story of a ten years old boy who, as most of the children in Yugoslavia of the fifties can hardly imagine his life without the great national leader – marshal Tito. In his school, he wins the contest for the best Tito’s composition. His reward is the participation in “Tito’s native land” march. He claims in his work that he loves Tito more than his Dad and Mom, which makes them desperate. He does not understand what is so confusing and weird in his love towards the leader. This march will be a difficult temptation for him. Unaccustomed to nature, walks and independent living, harassed by the teacher, Stalinist, he fails, gets lost in the mountain and his life changes.
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The Man with a Cloak (1951) Fletcher Markle, Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern

The Man with a Cloak (1951)
In 1848, a young Frenchwoman, Madeline Minot, goes to New York City to see Thevenet, the grandfather of her fiance. Thevenet had been with Napoleon and may be sympathetic to the political aims of his grandson. She finds the old man in very bad spirits, living in a large house with a housekeeper and a butler who are just waiting for him to die (and perhaps helping him along a bit) so they can inherit his fortune. They see Madeline as a threat to their plans. She is aided in her dealings with these strange people by a mysterious man in a cloak.
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