Taking a breather from the Paris, Texas shooting, Wim Wenders hopped a plane, camera in hand, to look for the Tokyo enshrined by the late Yasujiro Ozu (whose work Wenders dubs “the sacred treasure of the cinema”). What he found instead, documented in this filmic journal, was an urbanized dislocation not far from the forlorn emptiness he coached out of German and American vistas. Whether abstracting businessmen teeing off atop skyscrapers or the rigorous, artisanal craft of building a wax sandwich display, Wenders scrambles for humanity seeping through neon and steel – a humanity linked, inevitably, to the old Japan of Ozu’s films (rebellious tykes, cherry blossoms, tranquil countrysides). A far less queasy piece of hero-worship than Lightning Over Water, the picture meditates not so much on Ozu the filmmaker than on Ozu the vanishing feeling, motifs and images reconsidered in a modernized Japan circa 1983 (the trains that fill the Japanese master’s pictures with notions of inexorable movement have now become bullet expresses, gliding with smooth, ominous impersonality). Elsewhere, Wenders bumps into Werner Herzog (who bitches about having to space-travel to find pure images nowadays), Chris Marker (whose Sans Soleil would make a superb double-bill with Tokyo-Ga) and two aged Ozu stalwarts, gracious, dignified leading man Chishu Ryu and anecdotal camera operator Yuuharu Atsuta. Wenders’ eulogy for a culture alienating its own roots is built, characteristically, upon cinema’s capacity for regenerative beauty, though his links to Ozu are, if anything, more tenuous than his affinity with Nicholas Ray – Ozu’s images distill life, Wenders’ etherealize it. Cinematography by Edward Lachman.
Read More »
Tag Archives: english subtitles
Be khatere Hanie / For the Sake of Haniyeh (1994) Kiumars Poorahmad, Mahvash Afsharpanah, Rahim Hoodi, Ali Ghorbani, Drama
The skipper goes to the sea with 14 other man to catch fish. However, all execept the skipper are drowned and the people blame the skipper for the death of their dear ones. Meanwhile, Haniyeh, the skipper’s little daughter is paralysed and the skipper and his family leave Tangak for Bushehr…
Read More »
Targets (1968) Peter Bogdanovich, Boris Karloff, Tim O’Kelly, Arthur Peterson, Thriller
Seemingly happy gun enthusiast Bobby Thompson (Tim O’Kelly) tells his wife Ilene (Tanya Morgan) that he’s feeling disturbed, but she hasn’t time to hear him out. Aging horror film star Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff) reluctantly agrees to a public appearance at a drive-in, even though he’s bitter and has announced his retirement. Their paths will eventually cross, as Tommy embarks on a wave of modern horror that outpaces anything in Orlock’s old movies.
Read More »
Smoking Room (2002) Roger Gual, Julio D. Wallovits, Miguel Ángel González, Francesc Orella, Francesc Garrido, Drama
A man tries to get a smoking room approved at the company he works at. While there is initial support from other employees, many end up backing out and change their opinions towards how the company should be run.
Read More »
Des Filles en Noir (2010) Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Elise Lhomeau, Léa Tissier, Elise Caron, Drama
Noémie and Priscilla, two teenagers from a modest background, nurture the same violence, the same revolt. They seriously worry their families, who feel that these girls are capable of anything.
Read More »
The Cement Garden (1993) Andrew Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Andrew Robertson, Alice Coulthard, Drama
After the death of her husband, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue and Tom begins to suffer from a mysterious illness. Aware that she is going to have to go into hospital she opens a bank account for the children, so that they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. Unfortunately she also dies and Julie and Jack (the older, teenage children) decide to hide her body in the basement so that they can have free reign of their household. Soon Tom has taken to dressing as a girl whilst Sue has become increasingly reticent, confiding only to her diary, meanwhile Jack and Julie sense an attraction developing for each other. However Julie’s new beau, Derek, threatens to unearth the many dark secrets within this family as he becomes increasingly suspicious of Jack.
Read More »
The Destructors / The Marseille Contract (1974) Robert Parrish, Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn, James Mason
When a US intelligence agent is unable to bring a ruthless drug baron to justice, he resorts to hiring a contract killer. But the man he is put in contact with turns out to be an old friend.
Read More »
Le doux amour des hommes (2002) Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Renaud Bécard, Claire Pérot, Marie-Joséphine Crenn, Drama
It’s a story about Raoul, a young man living at the beginning of the 21st century, who is part of the most fragile, unnecessary and appealing fragment of society. He goes from woman to woman, looking for love that seems unobtainable. But then he meets Jeanne, destined for freedom and tragedy…
Read More »
L’étrange Madame X / Strange Madame X (1951) Jean Grémillon, Michèle Morgan, Henri Vidal, Arlette Thomas, Drama
Can a person really lead a double life? It looks as though Irène can. On the one hand, she is the wife of Jacques Voisin-Larive, a big name in the publishing world. On the other hand she pretends to be a simple chambermaid when she is with Etienne, a handsome young cabinetmaker. But what will happen when Irène gets pregnant?
Read More »
Virgem Margarida / Virgin Margarida (2012) Licinio Azevedo, Iva Mugalela, Hermelinda Cimela, Sumeia Maculuva, Drama
1975, Mozambique’s rebirth. The young revolution sweeps the streets of Maputo from prostitutes and bad habits. Sent to re-education camps deep in the countryside, they will become «new women». Margarida, a sixteen year-old girl, was mistakenly taken. This is their story. Women bounded by adversity.
Read More »