Terry on the Fence (1986)

This is another CFF movie worth highlighting. Kids just can't keep out of troubles, and this film portrays such a kid very well. The acting is just great.

It would be rated 5 or 6 out of 10 for a regular movie because some parts of the plot seem unconvincing. But such flaws are often found in this kind of films. So, as a CFF production this gets 7 of 10 from me.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354096/
My vote: 7 of 10

Operation Third Form (1966)

Of dozens of CFF films I have watched, this one I enjoyed most so far. Very funny and entertaining.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0170334/
My vote: 7 of 10

Where Pigeons Go to Die (1990)

Just a good movie. [1] It's a sentimental drama dealing with family values and relationships between three (actually four) generations. It deeply touches your heart and raises a lot of emotions. Make sure you have some Kleenex nearby before watching it.

Considering the topic of family values, Avalon (1990) comes to mind. This is the second time I mention Avalon on this blog. The first one was in the review for Son of Rambow (2007). Should I write a separate review for Avalon? Well, it's a rather long tale depicting the decay of family values over the 20th century. And that's all about it. Enjoy reading two reviews in just one blog entry. :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100923/
My vote: 8 of 10

[1] Reviews that start with a phrase "Just a good movie" are going to be short, simply stating that I like this particular title. They are not really reviews, just a few notes describing what is this movie about or why I think it's worth watching.

PS. No, this blog isn't dead at all. Stay tuned. :)

Ты забыл, во что мы играли? (Have you forgotten what we used to play?) (2010)

I've never thought I'd post a review of a Russian movie here, but here it is. As the saying goes: never say never. Apparently, there are gems in this country's cinematography.

This film is about reminiscences of one's youth. One can recall precisely what has happened when they were young. One can come back to the place where this happened. In three years, or even in a decade later. However, one can never return exactly what has happened.

Why? There are many reasons. A "return" suggests that the person and the the things or people the person wants to return to have been separated, have evolved  independently for some time. On the material side of life, there's always a possibility to catch up - basically, just to accept the physical changes that took place in lives of the separated parties.

However, on "spiritual" level it's almost never possible to get in sync with a person or a thing left behind, abandoned for some significant period of time. This is because our mind is driven by our memory, the things that we learn interactively, the situations we happen to be involved in. Being separated, we face different challenges that prompt different reactions of our mind. One can hardly pass to another person all the cognitive experience they've gathered through their life. And as such we start to "think differently", to not understand each other.

Basically, this film teaches us to always keep up with people who we think we love or care about, be they our relatives, or friends, or whoever we think we want to be in touch with. Watch the movie with English hard-subs here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g37N3eoQ9s):



Traditionally, there are actors who sort of overact, e.g. the house buyer, or the mother of the protagonist. I think that this kind of acting is exceptionally good for theater performances, but it simply doesn't suit movies well and rather ruins them. That's why I dislike Russian cinema in general. Other than that, the movie is a well-played classic coming of age drama.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2699212/
http://www.kinopoisk.ru/level/1/film/540824/ (in Russian)
http://video.finar.ru/ (official site of the movie in Russian with an option for Google Translate to English)
My vote: 7 of 10

Who Killed Mrs De Ropp? (2007)

Wanna know how stories are created? How imagination works, and how surrounding things can spontaneously inspire us in an unexpected way? Then this movie is a must watch!

It's a wonderful, moving and exciting tale depicting a free flow of mind, showing how simple things - like a sight at the window, or a picture on a wall - can spark an incredible story that is solid and interesting to follow, even though the story itself may be a complete nonsense! :)

This film stars Bill Milner whom I've already mentioned in my review for Son of Rambow (2007), and although his appearance is very short, he does a great job as always.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031295/
My vote: 8 of 10

Kibrit (Matchsticks) (2011)

Beliefs and opinions often differ, which makes disputes and arguments almost inevitable. People like wrangling at least to try to convince others of their "rightness" and superiority. Ain't it great? However, people rarely like to be convinced of anything by anyone, and the best way to avoid this is to build a border. Easy said, easy done.

What purposes do borders serve? To separate some people from others. To not let others through. To outline a territory belonging to the people. Hence a need to guard the border and maintain its borderline.

Recently I stumbled upon the following quote:

"When you think of it, borders are paradoxical. They connect what they aim to divide." (source)

After putting more thought into this observation it becomes clear that borders are artificial, unnatural constructions, especially if they aren't real but only imagined, or supposed to exist at certain locations. What this leads to is that borders change over time. Either because of natural processes that move borders physically, or as a result of social processes - people living nearby are likely to interact with each other more or less closely in one way or another. Not to mention a desire of some people to expand their territories, which isn't uncommon, too.

Forces that guard the borders, on the other hand, can rarely accept this. Their sole task is to prevent such changes. And when the changes nevertheless happen, a war comes.

This short movie precisely depicts the process described above. In its abstract animated world people are presented as matchsticks, and this is not accidental. People are often hot-headed, and inflammable heads of the matchsticks perfectly emphasize the fact. This peculiarity of human nature only adds fuel to the fire of war.

And what has it all started from? Ah, just from some differences in opinions and beliefs. In this short film we may observe disastrous consequences of establishing borders aimed to isolate such differences. We may see that border in no way help prevent arguments. Conversely, they can cause even bigger arguments. A model of a physical border and an armed war used throughout this movie should certainly not be taken literally. The scenario may apply to any kind of arguments between people.

Watch it on Facebook at the link provided (no FB account required).

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150285891343548
My vote: 8 of 10 (although there isn't an IMDB entry for this title, so this is my appreciation, not a vote)

De grønne slagtere (The Green Butchers) (2003)

At first glance, this movie is full of mad characters. A brain-damaged guy overcaring for animals so much that he kills almost all of his family in a car incident on a trip to a zoo just to save a life of a deer. Afterwards his brother starts to hunt animals and collect their skeletons at his home until he's forced to become a butcher to tame his insane hobby. Then a priest who ate his own wife. And a few other personages with similar deviations...

Nice people aren't they? After a friend of the ex-hunter starts to kill people in order to spice up meat products at their butcher shop, the plot seems to go way far from sanity and common sense. You may begin wondering what the point of the film actually is?

Don't be mistaken here. A popular today (esp. in modern Asian cinema) genre of trash-horror doesn't apply to this movie at all. Neither do bare 'drama' or 'comedy' as specified at IMDb, in my opinion. I'd call it a black Scandinavian comedy. Maybe even a black ironic Scandinavian comedy.

So what's the irony, anyway? As I see it, the message is simple: there's not a single sane person in this world. Everyone is crazy in one way or another. To a smaller or larger degree. And this movie, being an act of art, simply utilizes hyperbole to present the idea.

How could one live in such a crazy society? Watch the movie to see how it resolves. In a nutshell, we just have to put up with the fact and accept people as they are. We should remember that we ourselves can look insane in other people's eyes. And that's OK.

To my surprise, both brothers mentioned above have been played by the same actor - Nikolaj Lie Kaas. I didn't even realize that until I watched the movie and took a look at the film credits. Wonderful performance, in my opinion.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342492/
My vote: 7 of 10