Panj é asr (2003)

English title: At Five in the Afternoon
In May 30, 2009, when I saw this film for the first time, I wrote in this blog:

"In occupied Afghanistan, there is a clash between women who want the end of
Taleban oppression, and the conservative men who cling to the rules set up by
that regime. An ambitious woman attends classes and wants to be the country's
president one day.

There isn't much to say about this film; it isn't very good. The first 15
minutes are fine, and then it's just not anymore. Camerawork is first rate
though, and one can sense the director's (or the cinematographer's, perhaps) eye
for composition."

The summary I wrote is fine, but could be better. I could mention, for example, that there is a surge of refugees that storm their village. And that her brother is missing and his wife has a baby that is dying of hunger.

The evaluation is pretty much the same after having seen it a second time (although perhaps one should not take my "the first 15 minutes" assessment too seriously). It is worth mentioning that one of the good scenes involves a girl who wears glasses. Her speech comes off as deeply heartfelt, and is a noteworthy achievement of realism. It is worth mentioning further that the film is about the sadness and hope and despair of women, and that it superposes a non-realistic, fablelike structure on realistic set-pieces. It does that, however, in a mostly tacky, repetitive and slow manner.

My rating does not change: 33

Occupe-toi d'Amélie! (1949)

English titles: Keep an Eye on Amelia; Oh Amelia!

Based on a play by Georges Feydeau, first performed in 1908.

Amélie is a courtesan, supported by her lover, a military officer. She is to feign marriage to another man so the latter receives an inheritance. In the midst of all that, a foreign prince wants her as his mistress.

An amusing farce, creatively transposed to the cinema. The boundaries of the several levels of diegesis are deliberately blurred: the story we watch is seen as a play being performed in a theater, the spectators interfere with the action, etc.

Rating: 63

Taking Care of Business (1990)

An escaped convict finds an executive's filofax and takes his place.

Slightly amusing comedy of mistaken identities. The most interesting part of the film is probably the one at the meeting with the Japanese businessman, wherein the film satirizes advertising of second-rate products.

Rating: 51

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

The dead come back to, uhn, animation, in Louisville, Kentucky.

This is my second viewing. While this is an entertaining film, it does not have a lot more than simple entertainment (for a special kind of audience, granted) to offer.

Rating: 50 (unchanged)

My One and Only (2009)

The difficult adolescence of two boys whose mother leaves her unfaithful husband and travels from city to city in search of an advantageous new marriage.

A film with its share of bittersweet humor and psychological insight. The problem is that almost every time emotions are involved it becomes artificial and afraid of not following a standardized formula for ensuring the viewer's empathy (thus losing it, at least in my case).

Rating: 42

Crésus (1960)

English title: Croesus.

A shepherd living at a mountain community finds a rocket case containing money bills. He does not know what to do with all the money.

Interesting low-key humor. Authentic locations. The film manages to instill some originality into somewhat predictable situations.

Rating: 52

A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

Based on a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1859.

A complex story. A man spends 18 years in the Bastille without a trial (by order of a cruel aristocrat). He is freed and taken to England. The nephew of that cruel aristocrat falls in love with the old man's daughter. The main character in all this, however, is an assistant to a distinguished lawyer who is also an alcoholic. He helps acquitting an important character and become friends with the the young lady (and falls in love with her).

Melodramatic to the core. Well made. Watchable.

Rating: 51

O Homem do Pau-Brasil (1982)

Based on the life and works of Oswald de Andrade, a Brazilian writer who was one of the main persons responsible for Brazil's Modern Art Week, in 1922, in the city of São Paulo. The film narrates his amorous adventures amidst discussions about art, politics, Brazilian identity, etc.

A film that appears to succeed at getting its subject through to the viewer. But I don't think it is a particularly interesting film, especially for those with no particular interest in Brazil and its beginning-of-the-century intellectuals. The acting style is very theatrical, as supposedly imposed by the filmmaker's concept of the movie.

Rating: 42

A Família do Barulho (1970)

A prostitute lives with two men. One of the men is aggressive, the other is passive.

A collage with funny moments, and unfunny ones (the latter are more frequent than the former).

Interested persons be warned that the copy which was shown a few months ago in Canal Brasil (the one I watched) is practically unwatchable. The saturation of white is very excessive, rendering several scenes an incomprehensible blur. The audio, too, is a little difficult to understand. I ignore whether this film possesses a better copy somewhere. In fact, to be completely on the safe side, I must acknowledge the possibility that the film was photographed that way, for some mysterious artistic reason.

Rating: 31

Berlin Express (1948)

Right after the end of World War 2, persons of various nationalities embark on the train from Paris to Berlin. One of them is the German member of the "facts-finding commission", who has a plan for the rebuilding of Germany. Members of the Nazi underground want to stop him from speaking at a conference.

Far-fetched thriller which has next to nothing of remarkable, the most conspicuous exception being of course the location shooting in the postwar ruins of Frankfurt and Berlin.

Rating: 32

Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Englisht title: Fistful of Dollars.

Remake of Yojinbo. A stranger rides into a town which is being devastatated
by two clashing clans' fight over power.

At one point a character, during a spying mission of sorts, says "this is like playing cowboys and indians". No, seriously. From which it is definitely established that the Italians invented postmodernism. Otherwise it is just another unnecessary remake. Granted, the music is good, and the film is rather well directed considering its low budget. But it simply doesn't rock.

Seen in a dubbed version.

Rating: 45

Walk Don't Run (1966)

A middle-aged industrialist can't find a room in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics and rents some space in an apartment from a young woman. He later brings in a young man.

Unnecessary remake of a good comedy of 1943 (The More the Merrier) which I don't remember well. The first half hour is entertaining (probably due to elements borrowed from the earlier movie), the remainder is a little arduous to watch.

Rating: 37

The Wild Bunch (1969)

A gang of robbers, after a botched job, decide to do one more (and hopefully the last one for some of them) for a Mexican general: robbing a train with weapons. They are pursued by a man who used to belong to the gang.

Very good western, which I saw for the second time. Although my appraisal diminished a bit, it is still high. It is a very entertaining movie and has a wonderful cast. This time I saw the longer version (I think my first viewing was of the shorter one.)

Rating: 72 (down from 90)

Los abrazos rotos (2009)

A filmmaker recalls the incidents of his life concerning his love affair with
one of his actresses, the mistress of a millionaire.

In December 18, 2009, I wrote in this blog:
"In this, a Barbara Stanwyck lookalike plays an Audrey Hepburn lookalike in a
film produced by her Anthony Quinn lookalike husband. Los abrazos rotos's
primary contribution to universal wisdom is that you shouldn't ignore someone
who looks dead: he might be faking it just to see if you will ignore him. At a
particular point in the film, I yearned for a truly awful car accident to
happen, and my wish was promptly granted. Am I the psychic or is the filmmaker?
I couldn't find other reasons for this film's existence."

This is possibly one of my finest pieces of writing, but a second viewing of this film didn't piss me off as much as the first one had. And I even found a second reason for this film's existence, as given by the last sentence issued by the protagonist in the film: "A film should be finished, even if it has to be done blindly." This is the verdict on "Girl and Suitcases", the film within Los abrazos rotos; the latter feels like something which was blindly done right from the start. It just accumulates events, characters, and references to other films, without much of a center.

Rating: 45 (up from 20)

Everybody's Fine (2009)

A widower doesn't get a visit from his four sons, so he decides to visit them.

A remake of a 1990 Italian movie, which I saw but can't remember in detail. The idea is to examine the contradictions which are embedded in familial relations. The intended tone seems to be one of affectionate criticism, but turns out rather tame. The Italian original seemed more incisive, but my memory may be playing tricks on me, or maybe I was more easily impressionable back then.

Rating: 43

Jungle Book (1942)

Based on a novel by Rudyard Kipling, first published in 1894.

Mowgli is a boy raised by wolves who returns to civilization and is antagonized by one villager. When Mowgli finds a secret treasure his enemy covets it.

The plot is devoid of surprises for one who has been through an animated remake prior to this, not to mention dozens of Tarzans in the various media. In fact, the film is built primarily on the striking visuals and on the charisma of Sabu.

Rating: 51