Napló gyermekeimnek (1984)

 English title: Diary for My Children

In 1947, an orphan girl who had been living in the USSR returns to her native Hungary and goes to live with a woman who wants to adopt her. However, the girl does not get along with her prospective stepmother, who is a fanatic supporter of the Stalinist regime, the same one which killed the girl's father.

While perhaps not aesthetically remarkable, this film tells an important story about a regrettable historical episode, and it does it with honesty and clarity.

Rating: 51

La grande illusion (1937)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on December 1, 1988.

World War I. Two French officers end up in a German prison camp. They meet some compatriots there. They plan an escape. They are transferred to another camp. And so on.

This is not a bad film, but it is overrated. Those who don't mind being bombarded with good sentiments will have a good time, I suppose.

Rating: 62 (down from 65)

The Proud Rebel (1958)

In the aftermath of the American Civil War, a widower moves North in the hopes of finding a doctor who will operate on his mute son. In the mean time, he finds work in a spinster's ranch and helps her fight against her crooked sheep-raising neighbors.

Slightly ridiculous Western which nevertheless has some enjoyable moments. Its purported lesson is perhaps that, while sometimes you must put a price tag on things you thought you couldn't, what you get (or give) for free is in the end infinitely more valuable.

(I watched it in a bad pan-and-scan print, with poor definition and distorted colors.)

Rating: 40

Mysterious Island (1961)

Second viewing; previously viewed without the beginning and dubbed in Portuguese on January 27, 2001.

Loosely based on Jules Verne's novel.

A group of escaped prisoners and one guard board a balloon which takes them to an island, where they land; some time later, they are joined by two women who survived a shipwreck. On the island they encounter gigantic animals; they also meet a notorious scientist who is carrying out some experiments.

Entertaining and well-made science-fiction adventure with good special effects employing stop-motion animation.

Rating: 54 (down from 59)

Örökbefogadás (1975)

 Worldwide English title: Adoption

A working class woman who is not married wants to have a child. Her married lover refuses to assist her. Conveniently, she lives near an orphanage.

This film won first prize in the Berlin Festival, which seems invariably to award very heavy dramas with socially significant themes. This film fits that description to a tee, and might as well have been part of some national campaign designed for boosting adoption numbers in Hungary. It also holds a very feminine-centric point of view.

Rating: 38

Starship Troopers (1997)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on November 4, 1999.

Earth is attacked by gigantic bugs from another planet, and counterattacks.

Its ideological categorization is ultimately undecidable, despite its vague satirical airs. It does work pretty well as entertainment, though.

Rating: 60 (unchanged)

Mourir d'aimer... (1971)

 English title: To Die of Love

In 1960s France, a female teacher enters into a romance with one of her high school students. His parents don't approve of the relationship, and throw the book at the teacher (not literally, of course, that would be too cruel!).

While apparently it is fairly faithful to the real events which inspired it, there is at least one minor detail which, in my opinion, makes an important difference: in real life the student was 16, but the actor who plays him was 21 at the time of filming (the woman, on the other hand, was younger than the actress who plays her, for what it's worth). So, film viewers do not get the real picture, no matter how factually precise the film is. Aside from this, it is a clearly biased film, and, to be quite frank, a somewhat tedious viewing experience.

Rating: 40

Total Recall (1990)

 Third viewing; previously viewed on January 2, 1991 and July 20, 2001.

A construction worker has recurring nightmares about Mars; he undergoes a memory implant procedure which goes wrong, and after which he is hunted by some agents linked with the Martian government.

Sci-fi action thriller with an imaginative plot and very vivid imagery with an emphasis on violence. It is an engaging film, albeit a slightly disturbing one; the leftwing orientation of its storyline contrasts with stylistic elements wich are more commonly associated with the Right. Christopher Mulrooney's short analysis calls it "Borgesian", presumably because of its parallels with Theme of the Traitor and the Hero.

Rating: 73 (up from 67)

Take a Hard Ride (1975)

 Here's the IMDB synopsis: "After selling his cattle in town, ranch owner Morgan unexpectedly dies, and his foreman Pike has to deliver the payroll to Sonora, despite the perilous journey during which he's followed by many shady characters who want the money."

Undistinguished Western whose only notable feature is its cinematography.

Rating: 16

The Survivors (1983)

Second viewing; previously viewed between 1983 and 1986.

The paths of two men cross in the same day they both lose their respective livelihoods. One of them is a calm, pragmatic man; the other is the opposite of that and decides to become a survivalist. To make matters worse, an assassin is out to get them because they could implicate him in a murder.

Passable satire of rightwing ideology which is slightly better in the first half than in the second.

Rating: 52 (unchanged)

Fontane Effi Briest (1974)

English title: Effi Briest.

A woman married to a man much older than her has an adulterous affair. The husband finds out about it years later.

This literary adaptation was filmed in a distanced way with lots of voiceover narration. It seems the filmmaker was trying to convey a sense of the protagonist's loneliness, and of the sterility of 19th-century bourgeois conventions. I'm not sure he was successful, though. Perhaps it would have been preferrable to let that effect emerge out of the situations themselves. Anyhow, although the result was curious and occasionally hilarious, the overall effect was of slight annoyance.

Rating: 45

Schindler's List (1993)

Second viewing; previously viewed on March 19, 1994.

The story of a man who employed Jews during World War II, thus saving their lives.

While perhaps not as great as I thought upon my initial viewing, this is definitely a well-made film, both in terms of writing and of realization. According to some pieces I've read, there are some historical inaccuracies in it, but I don't think they are enough to detract significantly from it.

Rating: 64 (down from 69)

Anna Karénina (1935)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on September 10, 2000.

In 19th century Russia, a married woman with a young son meets an officer and starts an affair with him. Since her husband will not give her a divorce, she faces a difficult decision.

The novel -- or its plot anyway -- is so well-known that it is perhaps futile to dwell on it; this concise adaptation is very well-filmed -- the ball sequence is a particularly remarkable highlight, well filmed and well staged. One curious aspect is that with every passing day this story becomes more dated, and yet interest from audiences lingers on, as successive adaptations attest to.

Rating: 64 (unchanged)