Category: Drama
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SHORT FILM: WILD SUMMON
“Wild Summon” is a 2023 natural history fantasy film directed by Karni (Arieli) and Saul (Freed), which reimagines the life cycle of a wild salmon through the lens of human experience. The film follows a female salmon who, upon reaching maturity, embarks on a perilous journey from the river to the open sea and back…
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5 BAMBOLE PER LA LUNA D’AGOSTO aka FIVE DOLLS FOR THE AUGUST MOON
“5 bambole per la luna d’agosto,” aka “Five Dolls for the August Moon,” is a 1970 surreal giallo (Italian thriller) written by Mario di Nardo, based on a story by Mario Bava, who also directed the film. The film unfolds on a secluded Mediterranean island, where a group of wealthy industrialists, their wives, and companions…
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DANCER IN THE DARK
“Dancer in the Dark” is a 2000 musical drama and the final installment of Lars von Trier’s unofficial “Golden Heart Trilogy” (following Breaking the Waves and The Idiots). Set in 1960s rural America but filmed with a stark, Dogme 95–-influenced realism, the film follows a Czech immigrant named Selma, who is slowly going blind and…
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BONNIE AND CLYDE
“Bonnie and Clyde” is a 1967 landmark American crime film directed by Arthur Penn. Set during the Great Depression, the film follows the real-life story of Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), a small-time ex-con, and Bonnie Parker ( Faye Dunaway), a restless waitress, who fall in love and embark on a violent crime spree across the…
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IF…. (NSFW)
“if….” is a 1968 British satirical drama directed by Lindsay Anderson and is regarded as one of the defining films of 1960s British cinema. Blending realism with surrealism, the film is a scathing critique of institutional authority, class privilege, and societal repression, set against the rigid backdrop of an English public (private) boys’ school. It…
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FOXCATCHER
“Foxcatcher” is a 2014 psychological drama and true crime biopic directed by Bennett Miller and written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, based on the harrowing real-life events involving Olympic wrestlers Mark and David Schultz, as well as eccentric millionaire John du Pont. The film explores themes of power, manipulation, loneliness, and the toxic…
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GOJIRA aka GODZILLA (54)
“Gojira (ゴジラ)” aka “Godzilla” (1954) is the original kaiju (giant monster) film that launched a global franchise and established the titular creature as an enduring symbol of nuclear destruction and environmental reckoning. Directed by Ishirō Honda, with groundbreaking special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film is both a gripping science fiction drama and a somber…
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SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT
“She’s Gotta Have It” is a landmark 1986 independent film and debut feature film of director Spike Lee, who also wrote the film. Shot in black and white on a shoestring budget over just twelve days, the film is a bold, witty, and stylistically innovative portrait of sexual agency, identity, and freedom. At the center…
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A PÁTY JEZDEC JE STRACH aka AND THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR
“a pátý jezdec je Strach,” aka “And the Fifth Horseman Is Fear,” directed by Zbyněk Brynych, is a 1965 Czechoslovak psychological drama set during the Nazi occupation of Prague. It is a chilling, surreal, and Kafkaesque meditation on totalitarianism, internalized terror, and the dehumanization of individuals under a regime of fear. Rather than depicting overt…
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JOYRIDE
“Joyride” is a 1977 crime drama with elements of a road movie, directed by Joseph Ruben, known later for The Stepfather and Sleeping with the Enemy. The film stars Desi Arnaz Jr., Robert Carradine, and Melanie Griffith, marking one of Griffith’s first significant screen appearances. It captures the disillusionment of 1970s American youth through a…
The Other Cinema 