Reel 2013
Reel 2013
13min | Short , Drama | 21 March 2014 (Sweden)
Storyline:
It is the last day before Victor has to move to another city with his parents. So he and his best friend Robert do all the things they liked to do together so much: skateboarding, spraying, hanging out. But something is different this time.
Director: Jens Choong
Writer: Jens Choong
Stars: Fanny Ketter, Toft Hervén, Norin Lindgren
Country: Sweden
Language: Swedish
Release Date: 21 March 2014 (Sweden)
Pig Pen 2016
Pig Pen 2016
1h 25min | Drama , Thriller | 2016 (USA)
Storyline:
Forced to fend for himself on the streets, 13-year-old Zack has just been pushed out of his dysfunctional home by Wayne, his mother's sadistic boyfriend. When the two are brought back together by a murder, only one will survive this bloody tale of revenge.
User review:
This movie is one dark and depressing story about a young boy and his mother and her violent boyfriend and what happens to them all over the course of a few days.
A lot of the story is told in flashbacks; that illuminate the decisions that the boy and his mother make to try and survive in a cruel world.
Ups & Downs 1981
Ups & Downs 1981
1h 37min | Comedy
User review:
I only took the time to track down this film, because one of the writers is my headmaster at my private school. He attended that same school as a child and has also taught there. This movie is representitive of our school. A North American Co-Ed School with British roots; strict but with heart.
The movie never focuses deeply on one character, but jumps from thread to thread, all of which are easily believed private school situations. At the beginning this can be annoying, keeping the characters straight takes a few scenes (uniforms and all)but the deeper you go into the film, the more satisfying they get.
The movie has its funny and dramatic parts. The acting is good and the setting is perfect. Good authentic Rugby scenes.
I recommend it if you have any interest in private school life, which is honestly the lead in the movie. Obscure and hard to find pick it up, it is worth a look.
Another Country 1984
Another Country 1984
1h 30min | Biography, Drama , Romance | June 1984 (UK)
Storyline:
Based on the award winning play by Julian Mitchell, the film explores the effect of Public School life in the 1930's on Guy Bennett as his homosexuality and unwillingness to "play the game" turns him eastwards towards communist Russia.
User review:
In 1983 Julian Mitchell wrote a play based on fact about a young man (Guy Bennett) who, seeing the constraints of British society circa 1930, embraces his sexuality in a time when even the words were criminal, sees through the sad folly of the British class and empire system, and eventually abandons England to become a spy for Russia. The played starred a young 21-year-old Rupert Everett and a 20-year-old Kenneth Branagh as Guy's heterosexual roommate Tommy Judd, an obsessed Marxist as ready to leap out of the norm of British society as Guy – but for different reasons. Director Marek Kanievska adapted Mitchell's challenging play for the screen, and in 1984 ANOTHER COUNTRY became a sterling recreation of the play and a controversial film introducing the extraordinarily talented and continuingly popular Rupert Everett (who remains one of the few 'out' actors enjoying success in Hollywood). Colin Firth assumed the role of Tommy and Cary Elwes became the gay love interest for Everett's Guy Bennett. The film is one of the finest examinations of the rigid, archaically proper British schools for young men (Eton) where class is paramount in importance, rank reigns, and medieval views of sexuality and out of line thought are treated with public corporal punishment and (worst of all!) the inability to rise in the ranks of the 'important' lads. Throughout the film there is a powerful parallel between Guy's striving to become the head of the class being thwarted by his pursuing is passion for his love of men, and the 'religious zeal' approach of Tommy's absorption in Marxism, seeing Communism as the only way to correct the 'vile sickness' of current British politics and social strata. The undercurrents of bigotry are brought into focus when a fine young lad (Martineau) is caught in a sexual act with one of his classmates and is shamed into hanging himself. And when Guy's sexual tryst with James Harcourt is 'discovered', Guy is beaten in front of his compatriots, prompting him to see (with Tommy in agreement) the dead-end of British society and leave the remnants of a once glorious empire behind.
As a delightful Special Feature on this very well made DVD there is a scene from the stage production in the year prior to the film, and the dialogue between Rupert Everett and Kenneth Branagh is incisive and brilliant. This film is a masterpiece, not only in the screenplay, but also in the sensitive direction, the exquisite cinematography, and the amazingly superb acting of not only Everett and Firth, but of the entire large cast. An absolutely brilliant film.
The Eye Above the Well 1988
The Eye Above the Well 1988
Het oog boven de put (original title)
1h 34min | Documentar y | 29 September 1988 (Netherlands)
Storyline:
A poetic depiction of life and ritual in the south Indian state of Kerala. We see how knowledge is passed down from generation to generation: within the family, through the village economy, and especially from teachers to students. Performance footage shows how song, dance, martial arts, and religion constitute the building blocks of a culture.
User review:
I cannot comment on the subject matter since the film simply has to be seen for it to be grasped. That the idea(s) in the film can hardly, or not as effectively, be expressed in any other medium, serve to credit cinema. Above its existential/philosophical accomplishment, this film can also stand as proof, above most others, of cinema as a medium of expression. This film had an hypnotic effect on me. It is the depiction of a world view — a near impossible task in itself –, and a beautiful one at that.
Director: Johan van der Keuken
Writer: Johan van der Keuken
Country: Netherlands
Language: Dutch
Release Date: 29 September 1988 (Netherlands)
Also Known As: The Eye Above the Well
Meu Pé de Laranja Lima 2012
Meu Pé de Laranja Lima 2012
1h 39min | Drama | 19 April 2013 (Brazil)
Storyline:
My Sweet Orange Tree begins with José Mauro de Vasconcelos (Caco Ciocler) receiving an edition of his finished novel. Then, the film starts to tell the story from the writer's memories, through flashbacks. Zezé (João Guilherme Avila), a boy of eight years who lives in Minas Gerais in a very humble house with his family, consisting of his father (Eduardo Dascar), an unemployed and alcoholic, and his mother (Fernanda Vianna), which works to support the home and his brother and sisters. Despite the lack of understanding, affection and the aggression suffered by from his father and school colleagues, the boy has a great skill for storytelling using his imagination. With financial difficulties, the family has to move. At the new home, Zezé finds an orange tree, which he talks everyday. However, for being extremely extrovert he got involved in several confusions. One of them, he tries to ride on the bumper of Manoel Valadares, the "Portuga" (José de Abreu), but is caught and spanked. The boy feels humiliated and wants revenge, however Valadares ends up understanding Zezé, which turns to share his world of fantasies, and a new friendship arises.
User review:
In my opinion, the best debut so far: A must-see, exciting movie, accurate interpretations, flawless script (suggests more than shows), beautiful music and cinematograph, which transports the viewer to another time (there are some abrupts cameras movement). A dramatic film could slip easily into the fussiness. Marcos Bernstein dose emotions gingerly, without weighing the hand. He could have made a movie with a script more classic like Chico Xaveir or Two Sons of Francisco, but choose another path. People of any age will understand the choices of the director and enjoy the movie. The acting of John Avila and José Guilherme de Abreu are worthy of Oscar. By the way, if you choose Meu Pé de Laranja Lima for Brazil's representative on the prize of the academy, has a chance to be one of the nominees. Many tears (I left dehydrated, needed to take 1 liter of water after the session)
Director: Marcos Bernstein
Writers: Marcos Bernstein (screenplay), Melanie Dimantas (screenplay)
Stars: João Guilherme Ávila, José de Abreu, Caco Ciocler
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Release Date: 19 April 2013 (Brazil)
Also Known As: Mein kleiner Orangenbau
Over the Edge 1979
Over the Edge 1979
1h 35min | Crime , Drama | 7 July 1979 (Japan)
Storyline:
A group of bored teenagers rebel against authority in the community of New Granada after the death of one of their own.
User review:
I generally dislike teen movies. Mainly because they're so unrealistic, romanticized versions of high school and teen life. Usually featuring a bunch of stereotypes and some dumb, superficial plot. "Over the Edge," hovever, is one of the few teen movies that actually gets it right.
The movie focuses on a bunch of teens living in the boring, lifeless town of New Granada. A place with with nothing to do. No mall, no movie theaters, not even a fast food place. Nothing to give them somewhere to go or something to do. The adults in the movie can't be bothered with them and are more interested in bringing people into New Granada and developing the town rather than meet the needs of the town's youth. This makes the teens restless and bored and they resort to drugs, guns and crime to keep them occupied. The also misbehave in school and frustrate their teachers.
Daybreak 2008
Daybreak 2008
1h 15min | Romance | 20 February 2008 (Philippines)
Storyline:
The whole movie occurs entirely in one place; a big white vacation house in Tagaytay, Cavite and only with two male characters. In a single narrative time, intending by way of voyeurism, the film allows viewers to discover what happens when two men spend one night contemplating whether to break up or continue their relationship.
User review:
Perhaps in the play it was Juliet that said "Parting is such sweet sorrow." but in this movie there are only two Romeos. Romeo 1 is a young doctor named William. He's opted for a more traditional route and now has a wife, recovering from an ectopic pregnancy. He realizes that he only somewhat loves her and has decided to move to Australia. Romeo 2, J.P. is his true love. The two apparently met a year or two ago but the back-story is left vague. Romeo 2 also has a girlfriend and a charter-boat business but the two have arranged this evening together, apparently not the first time.
William knows he must say goodbye to J.P. or decide to go for what he really wants and change his plans… Or perhaps convince J.P. to abandon his family and his business and come along to Australia.
Escape from Sobibor 1987
Escape from Sobibor 1987
2h 23min | Drama , History , War | TV Movie 12 April 1987
Storyline:
During WWII, the death camp at Treblinka had an escape, causing the Commandant at a similar camp in Sobibor to vow that his camp would never experience the same thing. But those who were its captives, the Jewish laborers that had been spared from the ovens, knew that they were on borrowed time and that their only hope was to escape… the only question was how to do it. However, because the Germans would kill an equal number of others whenever a group attempted to escape, the captives knew that if ever an escape was tried, all 600 prisoners in the camp would have to be included… logistically precluding any ideas about tunnels or sneak breakouts. Indeed, to have such a mass escape could only mean that the Ukrainian guards and Germain officers would have to be killed, which many of the Jews felt simply reduced themselves to no better than their captors… thus making it a struggle of conscience. And therein lies the story, with the film being based on a factual account of what then happened at that Sobibor prison.
User review:
Without doubt the most emotionally moving film I have ever seen.
The atmosphere created cuts through the fact that it is a movie and puts any normal person actually there.
How to Be a Man 2013
How to Be a Man 2013
1h 25min | Comedy | 15 March 2014 (USA)
Storyline:
When former comedian Mark McCarthy is faced with a rare form of cancer, he hires a young, impressionable cameraman to document his crude and comical lessons on what it means to be a man for his unborn son.
User review:
Proud of your boy I'll make you proud of your boy Believe me, bad as I've been, Ma You're in for a pleasant surprise
I've wasted time I've wasted me So say I'm slow for my age A late bloomer, Okay, I agree
Den bästa sommaren 2000
Den bästa sommaren 2000
1h 31min | Comedy , Drama , Family | 8 March 2000 (Sweden)
Storyline:
The summer of '58, the year Sweden almost won the world championship in soccer over Brazil, Yngve Johansson accepts two children to live with him during the summer, as told through the eyes of a young boy. His name is Mårten, and the other child's name is Annika. She is a rough girl, with many problems. The three of them do not get along, and Yngve is a true dictator to the children's eyes. However, when the children discover that their new guardian has a crush on their teacher (Cecilia Nilsson), they do what they can to bring the two together. Soon enough, the three will discover that they have a lot more in common than they previously imagined, and together they can make their lives worth living again. This is a sweet story about life in Sweden in the mid 1900's. It is about family, love, hate, innocent friendship that we all can relate to, and much, much more. The movie invites laughter as well as tears, and the actors, both the young and the old, are very talented and the best Sweden can offer. One will never forget the scene when Yngve believes the children enjoy speed bumps!
User review:
When I sat down to watch this movie I was rather depressed. "Den bästa sommaren" changed that.
Wonderful film about two orphans spending their summer holidays together in late 50s Swedish countryside. Their "father" for the summer is a seemingly square and restrained coroner, struggling for self-respect and gaining respect from others. With the 1958 soccer World Cup (which was held in Sweden) as a background, the three of them, and the kids' teacher, find their lives changing – for the better.
A Boy Named Cocoy 1992
A Boy Named Cocoy 1992
27min | Drama , Short
Storyline:
A young man arrives in Manila to find work. There he meets another boy who helps him and takes him in. Slowly, he realizes that this guy is gay and may be helping him just for sex. This breaks his heart and disillusions him. He picks a fight with him but feels obligated to return the favor. So he allows him to get physical with him and then leaves soon after because he is not gay and can't deal with the situation.
Director: Piedro de San Paulo
Writer: Piedro de San Paulo
Stars: Jebong So, Brian Olaivar, Andrew Jimenez
Country: Philippines
Language: Filipino | Tagalog
Hans Roeckle und der Teufel 1974
Hans Roeckle und der Teufel 1974
Hans Röckle und der Teufel (original title)
1h 15min | Family , Fantasy | 5 July 1974 (East Germany)
User review:
This movie is based on a contemporary children's book, not the usual Grimm Brothers stock. Hans Röckle is a puppeteer, inventor, blacksmith and more. He is challenged by the Devil (in almost a dozen fancy costumes) who offers him even more inventiveness, against his soul should he ever make money with an invention, build something twice, or cease inventing for 7*7 hours.
The inventions help his fellow men: an automatic sewing kit (fancy animation), a weather-controlling flute. However, the contract with the devil had a clause that the devil can take any invention as plaything for his mother. But even without devil's intervention, the things often have less than desirable effects on people's lives. Roeckle has seen the country of "Tomorrow & Aftertomorrow" in a magic telescope, where poverty and illness are overcome, somehow a communist paradise… so he brings his inventions there, with his amazing Time Boots.
While leaning on fairy tale standards, this story unfolds quite nicely and somewhat surprisingly. I found it very worthwhile watching. Pity the bizarre puppets weren't shown more often :^)
Director: Hans Kratzert
Writers: Gudrun Deubener (scenario), Ilse Korn (fairy tale "Meister Hans Röckle und Mister Flammfuss")
Stars: Rolf Hoppe, Peter Aust, Simone von Zglinicki
Country: East Germany
Language: German
Release Date: 5 July 1974 (East Germany)
Filming Locations: Wernigerode, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
College Boys Live 2009
College Boys Live 2009
1h 34min | Documentary | 9 June 2009 (USA)
Storyline:
In a quiet Orlando, Florida, suburb three young men struggle to escape the wreckage of their pasts and create new lives for themselves. Their new home is CollegeBoysLive.com, a voyeur web cam house rigged with 32 cameras, where their every move is watched by thousands of paying members. The site's creator claims CollegeBoysLive.com is simply about showing that "it's okay to be gay." But the neighbors insist it's a pornographic whorehouse and sue to have them evicted. This intimate and provocative documentary examines a complex subculture, but at its heart is the universal search for family and acceptance.
User review:
Saw this at a small film festival showing (in Sydney) recently, and it really surprised me. The title and subject matter made me think it'd be on the cheap and salacious side. But in fact there's not much here in the way of gratuitous sex or nudity. Instead, it's a frank picture of a group of young gay men running a site showing constant streaming pics from the many cameras in their home – and then really delving into their lives. I think the folks who directed & edited this film did a great job, bringing the human stories out. The doco was shot over an extended period of time, and what it ends up showing is a very clear picture of why the various guys chose to agree to be a part of the unusual set-up, and then following what comes next. Bickering about money, or boyfriends – drunken fights and love spats and problems with the neighbours – stories from these kid's past, some of whom have had a rough time of it. Like any good reality show, you'll end up sympathising with or getting annoyed at certain personalities, the wild ones the quiet ones and the odd ones, wondering what will happen next with each kid. And the interesting side of it is – is that watching a doco like this, or watching Big Brother or The Real World, or watching 'reality porn' – all have a related voyeuristic appeal. People are attracted to watching other people's lives, and sometimes to being watched (though the financial incentive may be the main factor for most of the guys here), and it can be quite liberating for people who would otherwise feel isolated (the way a gay kid in a small town might feel), but we all have different limits about when things have gone too far. At times it's funny and dramatic and sad, and it's fairly unusual to see a film depicting a bunch of young gay guys so genuinely, letting them speak for themselves. They allow themselves to be filmed (for their website, and for this doco) in a way most of us would hate, but the rest of their lives are full of human drama the same as any of us. Recommended!
Director: George O'Donnell
Stars: Zac Adams, Jonathan Greer
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 9 June 2009 (USA)
Seconds Apart 2011
Seconds Apart 2011
R | 1h 29min | Horror , Thriller | 7 July 2011 (Russia)
Storyline:
Seth and Jonah are twins with a dangerous ability: telepathy. Things start to spiral out of their control as their classmates end up dying in twisted and bizarre ways. The police suspect them. But, jealousy begins to divide them and soon they can no longer trust each other. Leading up to a horrific battle against themselves.
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content
User review:
Identical Twins Edmund and Gary Entin star in Seconds Apart. The title refers to the fact that the two were born exactly that way to their mother. In point of fact for purposes of this film understand that they can't be apart for a second.
Devil’s Knot 2013
Devil's Knot 2013
1h 54min | Biography, Crime , Drama | 12 March 2014 (Philippines)
Storyline:
Based on the actual events of the West Memphis Three, where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three "devil-worshipping" teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town's need for justice and the guilt of the accused.
User review:
For decades now, Hollywood has been mining the headlines for inspiration. It was only a matter of time before studio executives turned their attention to the West Memphis Three: a trio of teenagers who were convicted – most likely wrongfully – of murdering three young boys and sentenced to life in prison. You might imagine that the resulting movie would be every bit as disturbing, tragic and thought- provoking as the actual case itself. But Devil's Knot is more respectful than effective as a film, covering the facts without really getting to the heart of the matter.
On a summer day like any other, Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon) waves goodbye to her little boy Steve as he heads off on his bike with his two friends. It would be the last time she sees him alive. When three bodies turn up in a rain-washed river, the local authorities conclude that the murders bear shades of a Satanic ritual. As a result, other leads – a bloodied man stumbling into a diner near the scene of the crime, a young man (Dane DeHaan) with an odd interest in the boys – fall by the wayside. Instead, three teenagers with an interest in the occult – Damien Echols (James Hamrick), Jason Baldwin (Seth Meriwether) and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (Kristopher Higgins) – become the targets of a community and legal system eager to find answers, even if it means looking in all the wrong places.
First Position 2011
First Position 2011
1h 35min | Documentary | 10 August 2012 (Taiwan)
Storyline:
First Position follows six talented young dancers (ages 9-19) from five continents as they prepare for a worldwide ballet competition that could transform their lives overnight.
User review:
Producer/Director Beth Kargman has put together a wonderful documentary that follows six young ballet dancers to the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the most important of all ballet competitions worldwide.
The prizes at the competition include awards of recognition, scholarships, and work with major dance companies. The dancers are in several age ranges and ethnicities and include 11-year-old Aaron Bell, Joan Sebastian Zamora, a dancer from Colombia, Michaela Deprince,a black dancer, Jules and Miko Fogarty, of mixed ethnicity, pretty Israeli Gaya Bommer, and all-American girl Rebecca Houseknecht.
Erik of Het Klein Insectenboek 2004
Erik of Het Klein Insectenboek 2004
1h 37min | Adventure , Family , Mystery | 9 December 2004 (Netherlands)
Storyline:
In this movie -after the classical Godfried Bomans novel of the same Dutch title- with musical elements, Erik is a Dutch ten year-old schoolboy who is studying insects at school, and gets shown and explained a bit about them by his kind and knowledgeable nature-loving grandfather, whose country estate is a good place to do so and turns out to have a book on insects, which allows Erik to pass for one night, rather like Alice in Wonderland, as a miniature man among thus giant-looking, talking insects, who discuss their and other species and their lives with him, mainly winged ones, such as bee, fly and wasp.
User review:
For the amount of money (E 5 million, with only +- 10% for effects) its fantastic. Some bad acting on the butterflies, but a visual masterpiece for that amount of money. Script could have been better, but I can understand some of the changes in the story. Editing is kind of crap, it looks like somebody needed to get rid of 60 minutes but didn't know how. Most of the acting is good, and a fantastic voice for the snail "Wij izss hier ze baazs!" van Johnny Kraaykamp Jr. The kid plays OK too. I wonder what the Dutchees will create when they get the chance to make a E 50 million movie. ( And don't go Ocean Warrior on me 🙂
Too bad the rainworm doesn't die in the end.
Dimenticare Venezia 1979
Dimenticare Venezia 1979
1h 50min | Drama | 14 April 1979 (Italy)
Storyline:
A gay brother visits his childhood home where his lesbian sister still lives. They reminisce about the better past and their parents.
User review:
This movie is the best I've ever seen. It revolves around a brother and sister, both gay and involved, coming together at their mother's house. Many intricate flashbacks lead the viewer through the family's history up to the present importance of the gathering. Ironically, everything turned out exactly the opposite of what earlier years promised to bring. When the mother, an opera singer, dies, both son and daughter are faced with the reality of what they have become. This not only puts stress on them, but also challenges their relationships. The story is told with the most beautiful, almost understated visual themes, making the cinematography alone a feast.
Director: Franco Brusati
Writers: Franco Brusati (story), Jaja Fiastri
Stars: Mariangela Melato, Eleonora Giorgi, Erland Josephson
Country: Italy | France
Language: Italian
Release Date: 14 April 1979 (Italy)
Also Known As: As xehasoume tin Venetia
Baby(a)lone 2015
Baby(a)lone 2015
1h 30min | Drama | 11 March 2015 (Luxembourg)
Storyline:
Two troubled teens in Luxembourg act out their frustrations on the world, and slowly grow closer.
User review:
Baby(a)lone tells of a young Luxembourgish boy (Joshua Defays) who struggles at school and receives no guidance at home. The boy could be anyone with his anonymity—he literally has no name—and his story is one of many in a fast-paced/oversexed/narcissistic selfie culture where kids run wild. Sparks fly as teen hormones charge between the kids. They drink, smoke, run away, and burn one another with cigarettes. And wait until you hear their language!
The boy is having trouble at school because kids keep teasing him about his mother's sex appeal and her presumed promiscuity. That's not cool by any measure, but neither is fighting back by cracking a lead pipe to a kid's head, which is how the boy retaliates.
Red Dog: True Blue 2016
Red Dog: True Blue 2016
1h 28min | Comedy , Drama , Family | 26 December 2016 (Australia)
Storyline:
An iconic Australian story of family, friendship and adventure, between a young boy and a scrappy one-of-a-kind dog that would grow up to become an Australian legend.
User review:
Australia's favorite dog is back and this time he has a background of where he came from! The most loyal and Australian dog has become a worldwide sensation and has made everyone around the world fall in love with him.
A little boy named Mick (Levi Miller) has moved from Perth and into the outback with his Grandfather until he gets his life on track. Within a couple of days a storm hits and the next day after the storm he finds a little puppy covered in blue. He names him "True Blue" only to later discover he is a Red looking Dog. For a whole year they grow a friendship that could never be broken. Together we see the love they have for each other.
Wild Awakening 2016
Wild Awakening 2016
Salvaje despertar (original title)
1h 45min | Drama | 30 September 2016 (Spain)
Storyline:
Toni (Fabian Castro) and Emma (Julia Hernandez) are brother and sister who owns a stable farm. Ramon (Richie Ormon) and his son, Aaron (Christian Blanch) works for them. Toni is openly gay who loves to party, Emma has a crush on Aaron who is a closeted gay who is afraid that his father might find out, but his father also has a secret that will lead to murder.
User review:
This Spanish LGBT movie is like a cute old-fashioned melodrama, complete with one of those soundtracks that builds up the pitch to exaggerate the tension in this drama with a brother and sister both fighting to win the heart (and body ) of the hot farm hand that works on the horse ranch they own.
The story starts to unfold at the local Police Station when the siblings Toni (Fabián Castro) and Emma (Júlia Hernández) are being questioned for the sudden disappearance of Aaron (Christian Blanch) the object of their affection, who the Police suspect may have been murdered. Also with them is Aaron's father Ramon (Christian Blanch) their foreman who had always given his son a hard time if he ever suspected he was having fun.
A Boy Called H 2013
A Boy Called H 2013
Shônen H (original title)
2h 1min | Drama | 10 August 2013 (Japan)
Storyline:
Narrated and viewed from the perspective of a child in the family, Shoonen H portrays the daily trials and societal difficulties of a Christian family from just prior to the commencement of World War II to its aftermath. Distrusted as Christians, yet steadfast, the parents become sources of reassurance and discipline for the children in a society in turmoil.
User review:
This movie portrays the life of a tailor and his family from their boy's viewpoint. The locale is Kobe, Japan before, under and after the WW2. The husband and wife are protestant Christians, minority in Japanese society even today.
The father looks confident as a tailor, always having positive view of life. The mother has strong sense of mission as a Christian, sometimes excessively strong faith. For the boy, having such mother sometimes makes his daily life difficult, but thanks to his father who even takes him to his foreign clients, the boy learns a lot in life.
L’albero di Guernica 1975
L'albero di Guernica 1975
1h 50min | Drama , War | 19 November 1975 (France)
Storyline:
The Spanish Civil War, as experienced by the town of Villa Ramiro. The local count and his Fascist nephews ally with the rebels; the count's son, indifferent to politics at the outset, later makes a choice; the town's teacher, Antonio Garcia, a pacifist, tries not to take sides but to inspire the children with ideas; a beautiful eccentric woman, Vandale, brings leadership and strength to the town; dwarfs long for equality. The fictive story of Villa Ramiro is inter-cut with archival footage of the war itself. The town is near Guernica, and the local Republicans draw inspiration from its freedom tree.
User review:
I got a chance to see a rare copy of this film, and if you can find it, I recommend seeing it. Arrabal condenses the entire Spanish Civil War into the fictional events around and in Villa Rimira. He masterfully illustrates the social relationships between the different classes while creating a fascinating piece. Very visual. Very metaphoric. A must see.
Director: Fernando Arrabal
Writers: Fernando Arrabal, Francesco Cinieri (collaborating writer)
Stars: Mariangela Melato, Ron Faber, Cosimo Cinieri
Country: France | Italy
Language: French
Release Date: 19 November 1975 (France)
Also Known As: The Tree of Guernica
Filming Locations: Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Weiser 2001
Weiser 2001
1h 35min | Drama , Mystery | 18 January 2001 (Poland)
Storyline:
he hero is Paul Heller, a man who in life was successful. For many years he lived in Hamburg, where he met his wife, and he made quite a pretty good property. After 11 years spent in exile, however, Paul decides to return to the Polish, the country, which since 1989 is the ideal place to start your own profitable business.
User review:
Pawel Huelle's book "Weiser Dawidek" is one of the most wonderful novels of Polish modern literature, but it's film adaptation is not worth your time. The movie is boring, miscasted and has no magic in it. Better read than watch if you can.
Director: Wojciech Marczewski
Writers: Wojciech Marczewski (scenario), Pawel Huelle (based on the novel by: "Weiser Dawidek")
Stars: Marek Kondrat, Krystyna Janda, Juliane Köhler
Country: Poland | Switzerland | Germany | Denmark | France
Language: Polish
Release Date: 18 January 2001 (Poland)
Filming Locations: Janowice Wielkie, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
Elysium 1986
Elysium 1986
1h 58min | Drama , War
Plot:
1944. The Szekeres' are a much honoured intellectual Jewish family in Budapest, therefore they believe that they will be able to survive the Holocaust. One day the ten-year-old Gyurika does not return from the neighborhood. It is too late to learn that the well-behaved little boy was ordered by a gendarme to join the march of yellow-stared people. Gyurika still expects on the train that someone will come for him. The crazy run of his parents is in vain. Gyurika gets into the camp called Elysium, where experiments are carried out on children. Doctor Helmer grows fond of the intelligent little boy who speaks good German and is full of trust for adults again, but this does not save Gyurika from death.
Director: Erika Szántó
Writers: Imre Keszi (novel), Éva Schulze
Stars: Ferenc Bács, Zoltán Nagy, Klaus Abramowsky
Country: Hungary
Language: Hungarian
Top je bio vreo 2014
Top je bio vreo 2014
1h 40min | Drama , War | 15 January 2015 (Serbia)
Storyline:
A grenade fired from a nearby hill kills the parents of a ten year old boy during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. The Boy looses his ability to speak. A lady neighbor adopts and takes care of him. The Boy is thrown out from his destroyed apartment and begins to prowl around the city with a schoolmate. Too early and too soon, he goes through the process of growing up. He learns the meanings of such words as force, death, sex. He learns how to achieve. He learns about the values. He learns what matters the most. The Lady neighbor that takes care of him tries to shelter him and protect him. Unsuccessfully. The Boy rides to fall. Death and suffering become more frequent, and more severe. When the Lady neighbor's teenage son is killed by a sniper as a collateral damage, she then rejects the Boy. The Boy escapes the siege, and shoots from a cannon at the city.Fifteen years later, the Boy – now twenty five – and the Lady neighbor meet again. They are united in pain and suffering.
Director: Slobodan Skerlic
Writers: Vladimir Kecmanovic (novel), Ales Kurt (collaborating writer)
Stars: Stanislav Rucnov, Anita Mancic, Muhamed Dupovac
Country: Serbia | Bosnia and Herzegovina
Language: Serbian
Release Date: 15 January 2015 (Serbia)
Also Known As: So Hot Was the Cannon
Filming Locations: Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia-Herzegovina
M15F1T5 (2013) Directors Cut
M15F1T5 (2013) Directors Cut
1h 36min | Crime , Music , Mystery | 3 June 2013 (USA)
Storyline:
This is an experimental Narrative movie. Although not a religious story, we (the writers) referred to a haunting question from our Christian upbringing; "what if Jesus came today". So we started writing the story with consideration of how exactly this miracle worker might be documented and possibly even followed one day. For starters, this particular messiah is gay.
Director: Brent Duncan
Writers: Raymond Carter Cantrell, Brent Duncan
Stars: Scott Higgins, Josh Gilmore, Yasmine Al-Bustami
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 3 June 2013 (USA)
Also Known As: The Tribe of Misfits
Filming Locations: Dallas, Texas, USA
Nelson 2015
Nelson 2015
11min | Short , Drama | October 2015 (Belgium)
Storyline:
Two teenage boys are looking to lose their virginity and visit a pair of prostitutes. But will the experience be anything like they expect?
Directors: Juliette Klinke, Thomas Xhignesse
Writers: Juliette Klinke, Thomas Xhignesse
Stars: Axel Capite, Arnaud Castaigne, Julie Sokolowski
Country: Belgium
Language: French
Release Date: October 2015 (Belgium)
The Black Hen 2015
The Black Hen 2015
Kalo Pothi (original title)
1h 30min | Action , Drama , History | 30 December 2015 (France)
Storyline:
We are in the year 2001, a temporary ceasefire brings a much-needed break to a small war-torn village in Northern Nepal, bringing much joy among the residents. Prakash and Kiran, two young close friends, are also starting to feel the change in the air. Though they are divided by caste and social creed, they remain inseparable, and start raising a hen given to Prakash by his sister, with hopes to save money by selling her eggs. However, the hen goes missing. To find it, they embark on a journey, innocently unaware of the tyranny brought by the fragile ceasefire.
User review:
The events in this movie takes place in Mugu during the Maoist insurgency of 2001. the first thing you need to know about this movie is that the main characters don't speak nepali as we know it. its hard to understand what they are saying and sometimes it feels like they are speaking a completely different language. There are nepali subtitles to help clear things out but if you are someone like me who don't have much talent in reading nepali then you probably wont understand most of the dialogues which unfortunately includes punchlines, ongoing jokes and some serious poetic lines as well. But its alright if you don't understand the dialogues because this movie speaks volumes through its visuals. Actually most of the storytelling is done through visual camera-work rather than dialogues. The cinematography is breathtaking and you cant really go wrong in placing the story against the backdrop of Mugu, which in itself is a very beautiful place.
The screenplay is brilliant, the acting top notch. Every character is brilliantly played. The child actors were specially good. There are very raw imagery of village life portrayed in this movie. and im surprised how dedicated these actors were to be involved in such a audacious project and to give their 100 % by sometimes even chewing on straws picked up from ground. and we thought Leo was a good actor just because he ate raw fish.
Plac zabaw 2016
Plac zabaw 2016
1h 22min | Drama , Thriller | 18 November 2016 (Poland)
Storyline:
Final day of school in a small Polish town. It's the very last chance for a 12 year old Gabrysia to tell her classmate that she had fallen in love with him. She sets up a secret meeting and blackmails the boy to show up. But what was supposed to be an intimate talk spins out of control and leads to an unexpected ending.
User review:
The plot is talking about last day at school three of 12-years old teenagers coming from different families. The director slowly showed us their worlds. You feel that in some moment something it's gonna happened but you don't know what it's gonna be… The final of this story is shocking, very strong and what is more scary- based on the real story.I have never seen in my life more stronger final of the movie.Film only for adults. Director is asking about the roots of evil and we he showed us that even children are not free from them. From the other side Bartosz M. Kowalski has touched the problem so often not absent, overworked parents who have no idea how really looks like the life of their own kids.
Director: Bartosz M. Kowalski
Writers: Bartosz M. Kowalski, Stanislaw Warwas
Stars: Michalina Swistun, Nicolas Przygoda, Przemyslaw Balinski
Country: Poland
Language: Polish
Release Date: 18 November 2016 (Poland)
Also Known As: Playground
Filming Locations: Swidnica, Dolnoslaskie
The Red Bike 2011
The Red Bike 2011
12min | Short , Drama , Family | 10 September 2011 (UK)
Storyline:
One boy, one bike, one day.
Director: Andrew Steggall
Writers: Andrew Steggall, Cynthia De Souza (development executive)
Stars: Joe Mulcrone, Dido Miles, Guy Blofeld
Country: UK
Language: English
Release Date: 10 September 2011 (UK)
Filming Locations: Bath, Somerset, England, UK
800 Balas 2002
800 Balas 2002
R | 2h 4min | Action , Comedy , Drama | 18 October 2002 (Spain)
Storyline:
Julián Torralba is a former movie stuntman in Almeria, Spain. He and several of his colleagues, who once made a living in American Westerns shot in Spain, now are reduced to doing stunt shows for minuscule audiences on the decaying set built for those old Westerns. Julián wrestles with dark memories of the death of his son, also a stuntman, and with estrangement from his daughter-in-law Laura and her son Carlos. Carlos, a young boy, becomes intrigued with his late father's life and runs away to join Julián and his band of has-beens. There Carlos is initiated into the rambunctious life of these hard-drinking faux cowboys. But when Laura, a powerful executive looking for a new site for a tourist resort, learns that Carlos has joined the hated Julián, she moves to destroy even this remnant of Julián's once-proud career. Julián and the cowboys decide to fight back the only way they know how.
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for sexual content/nudity and some violence
User review:
I liked 800 Balas despite the sentimental pap; I think it proves that Iglesias has the heart and balls to make it big in Hollywood if he wants to. He has this ability to be so entertaining, accessible and deeply felt at the same time.
Growing Up Smith 2015
Growing Up Smith 2015
PG-13 | 1h 42min | Comedy , Drama , Family | 3 February 2017 (USA)
Storyline:
GOOD OL' BOY is the story of Smith, a ten-year-old boy from India growing up in Small Town, America in 1979. While the boy's family straddles the fine line between embracing the American Dream and preserving their Indian heritage, there are barbecues, Halloween and hunting. And as Smith falls for Amy, the girl-next-door, he finds in Amy's father Butch the cowboy he wishes his own father could be. But alas, when Smith's father Bhaaskar sees Smith is quickly losing any hope of remaining a respectable Indian boy, he banishes him back to India. Nineteen years later Smith will return to America, back to a place he once called home.
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for some language and brief drug use
User review:
Just saw this film and had to say something! THESE are the kinds of films we've been missing all these years. Growing up Smith is the perfect combination of a family-kid friendly film with some teeth to it. Lighthearted with a message, funny, exuberant and most timely in today's America.
Rascal 1969
Rascal 1969
1h 25min | Drama , Family | 11 June 1969 (USA)
Storyline:
A comedy filled with tenderness as a baby raccoon snuggles his way into the life of a lonely boy. He becomes the boy's only companion during his father's frequent absences. Because of Rascal, both father and son realize their responsibility to each other.
User review:
Comedy-drama from the Disney company about a youngster (Bill Mumy, of TV's "Lost in Space") in the 1900s adopting a baby raccoon who quickly becomes the town menace. Impossibly warm and treacly saga that Walt himself might have been proud of (it seems a direct product of the late 1950s, not 1969!). However, the animals involved are consistently interesting, far more so than the hysterical grown-ups, and Mumy is solid if unspectacular (he wasn't in the same league as, say, Johnny Whitaker, though he's competent). Steve Forrest and Elsa Lanchester are unable to add much sparkle to the proceedings, and Buddy Baker's music score is teeth-grindingly sweet.
Director: Norman Tokar
Writers: Harold Swanton (screenplay), Sterling North (book)
Stars: Steve Forrest, Bill Mumy, Pamela Toll
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 11 June 1969 (USA)
Also Known As: Ein Frechdachs im Maisbeet
The Apple Tree 2012
The Apple Tree 2012
30min | Short , Drama , Romance | 15 January 2012 (USA)
Storyline:
When Gabe and Jonathan fall in love in the 1940s, they decide to spend their life together in secret. But when Jonathan unexpectedly passes away years later, Gabe is faced with the fact that many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender elders face when they move into retirement homes…he must return into the closet.
User review:
This movie is only half an hour long, but it seems like hours, or days. It reminds me of when I had measles for about two weeks as a child (before there was a vaccine), with a persistent, very high fever.
Time stopped, all senses were intensified so much they hurt, colors were hyper-saturated, and everything looked shimmery like it was baking in a desert. Nothing seemed real, and it was horrifying. It was like living in a nightmare that would never end, but the fever was so high I couldn't sleep. That was 60 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf 1973
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf 1973
1h 33min | Horror | 23 November 1973 (Finland)
Storyline:
Richie Bridgestone (whose parents are divorced) goes to spend the weekend with his father at his secluded mountain cabin. During a moonlight hike, they are attacked in the darkness by a creature that he recognizes as a werewolf. During the struggle, the werewolf falls into a ravine and is impaled by a wooden fence, but not before biting his father. Upon investigation, they find their attacker to be human and the sheriff concludes their attacker was an insane drifter. He spends the rest of the film trying to convince his mother, and his therapist that his father is now a werewolf.
User review:
So bad it becomes good again. The acting in this one is horrible,the transformations are horrible,the make up is horrible.Actually everything is horrible.But it still is fun to watch, especially if you enjoy older horror flicks.Watch it when it airs on tv,it's not worth renting or even buying it.I'm not sure whether the producers of this flick were trying to mock werewolf movies or they were trying to make a serious movie.It looks more like a comedy then anything else.
Director: Nathan Juran (as Nathan H. Juran)
Writer: Bob Homel
Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Elaine Devry, Scott Sealey
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 23 November 1973 (Finland)
Also Known As: A Maldição da Lua Cheia
Filming Locations: Redwood City, California
Belle Salope 2010
Belle Salope 2010
9min | Short | 14 November 2010 (France)
"Beautiful Bitch" / Super 16 / 9′ / 2010 / English subtitles
Directed by Phillipe Roger
Written by Morgan Simon
Produced by Ben Deiß and Simon Rey for Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg & La fémis
Broadcasted on Arte
"While with one of his clients, the young male prostitute Cédric receives a voicemail from his mother. She is going through detoxification and desperately wants him to come and visit her. Cédric embarks on a journey through Paris, attempting to get to her as fast as he can against all the odds."
"Lors d'une passe chez un client, Cédric, un jeune prostitué, reçoit un appel de sa mère. Séjournant dans une clinique psychiatrique, elle le prie de venir la chercher. Cédric va se battre contre le temps et contre l'argent pour la rejoindre au plus vite."
Dresden International Short Film Festival
Festival du film gay et lesbien Chéries-Chéris
San Sebastian Film Festival
Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1)
File size : 166 MiB
Duration : 8 min 44 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 2 650 kb/s
Tree Without Leaves 1986
Tree Without Leaves 1986
Rakuyôju (original title)
1h 45min | Drama | 15 November 1986 (Japan)
Storyline:
Haru, an aging scriptwriter, has isolated himself somewhere in the woods of Nagano to work on his first novel. As the last surviving member of his kin, he intends to chronicle the family he grew up in.
User review:
Its a common story: a human damaged by parents. Its common enough in life to resonate with nearly every viewer, which is a plus. But its so common that it needs some novelty with the similarly required depth. I do not know whether this is from Shindo's life or not, but I suspect so from the rich details that can only have been pulled from life as obvious memories.
The story is simple. A boy has a mother who is dedicated to him in every way, emotionally engaged and prepared for extreme sacrifice for the smallest pleasure for him. On the other side is a father so stern he makes Bergman's Scandinavian Lutherans seem mild. The mother dies when the boy is 11; all the siblings have fled and the boy at the end is stuck with his father, penniless. The thing is framed as the book the boy writes, now old and missing key parts of his soul. Lots of snow. Lots of lonely stares that contrast with the wide eyes of the boy, selfish and demanding.
Sweet Sweetback’s Badass Song 1971
Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song 1971
1h 37min | Crime , Drama , Thriller | 22 March 1973 (Netherlands)
Storyline:
Melvin Van Peebles wrote, directed, produced, edited, composed and starred in this powerful and inflammatory attack on White America. After the body of a black man is discovered, Sweetback helps two white 'acquaintances' in the police force to look good by agreeing to go with them to the station as a suspect. But he is forced to go on the run after brutally attacking the two policemen when they arrest and beat up a young black man.
User review:
Considered the first blaxploitation film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song features Melvin Van Peebles (who also directed, wrote, produced, edited and did music for the film) as Sweetback, a Los Angeles-area "male prostitute"/"sex performer" (who only has relations with females). He agrees to be taken in to a police station as a suspect just to make a couple cops look good (because they are tolerant towards the cathouse he lives in). On the way, they pick up a Black Panther and start beating him senseless. Sweetback bludgeons and stabs the two cops with his handcuffs (one end is open) and the bulk of the film has him on the run. Can he make it to Mexico before he's caught?
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song has a lot of historical significance. It is an early independent film in what's considered the current "modern" style, it is one of the earliest mostly black films of its era (there were all black films earlier, such as Oscar Micheaux's work, but they disappeared for awhile), it was controversial (it initially earned an X rating (later changed to an R) and touted that fact proudly as a tagline), it was made for $150 thousand but grossed $15 million, and most importantly perhaps for some film lovers, it is credited with starting the blaxploitation craze in the 1970s. It is worth watching for students of film on those merits alone.
Sleepaway Camp 1983
Sleepaway Camp 1983
1h 24min | Horror | 18 November 1983 (USA)
Storyline:
After a horrible boating accident kills her family, Angela, a shy and sullen young girl, moves in with her eccentric aunt Martha, alongside her protective cousin Ricky. One summer, Martha sends the kids to Camp Arawak. Soon after their arrival, a series of bizarre and increasingly violent accidents begins to claim the lives of various campers. Who is the twisted individual behind these murders? The disclosure of the murderer's identity is one of the most shocking climaxes in the history of American cinema.
User review:
Slightly disturbed and painfully shy Angela Baker (Felissa Rose) is sent away to summer camp with her foul-mouthed cousin Ricky Thomas (Jonathan Tiersten). Not long after Angela's arrival, things start to go horribly wrong for anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions.
This film is either loved or hated, and with good reason, but it has been embraced more and more as the years go on by fans of the horror genre. The acting is excessively cheesy, especially from Desiree Gould, but purposely so. The kills are grisly and nasty, even if not always shown on screen. When that curling iron strikes, you know the situation. And the pedophile cook? Oh man… that is pushing boundaries that even horror films dare not cross (Freddy Krueger can be a child killer, but not a child molester).
The Fool Killer 1965
The Fool Killer 1965
1h 39min | Adventure , Drama | 28 April 1965 (USA)
Storyline:
12-year-old George Mellish, tired of beatings for both real and fancied misdeeds at the hands of his foster parents,runs away from home by hopping a freight train and lands somewhere east of the Mississippi River. The first person he meets is Dirty Jim Helliman who lives in a fantastically filthy hovel and with whom George feels a kindred spirit, both having "suffered" at the hands of a clean woman. It is (really dirty) Dirty Jim that tells George of the mythical, eight-foot bogey man called "The Fool Killer." George gets sick and Dirty Jim takes him to town where Mrs.Ova Faversham takes charge of the feverish boy. When Blessing Angeline, Mrs. Faversham's 10-year-old daughter, tells George that her mother intends to return him to his foster parents, George hits the road again. He meets Milo Bogardus, a young Civil War veteran, who has been robbed of his memory by a war wound, and is as lost in his own way as George. THey come upon a camp meeting, where the fanatical Reverend Spotts is conducting a revivalist meeting and during the religious frenzy, George blacks out. He comes to and is alone, and is unaware that the Reverend has been murdered, and starts in his search to find Milo. He finds a home with the Dodds, small town store keepers. When, at supper, Dodds makes mention of the murder of the Reverend Spotts, George blurts out that "The Fool Killer done it" and tells them the legend as told to him by Dirty Jim. That evening, while George lies in bed, a shadow appears at his window. It is the figure of a tall, gaunt apparition, ax in hand ready to strike—"The Fool Killer!"
User review:
I was a part of the filming of this movie.I appeared in at least one scene as an "extra" and was there for the filming of many other scenes.It was filmed on location in Knox County and Blount County in Tennessee in 1963 and premiered at Tennessee Theater in Knoxville TN in April 1965.The outside of Dirty Jim's house was filmed at my home place at Concord Tennessee.The cast did an excellent job.My rating is high for the cast.The plot is good but could have been handled a bit better in my opinion.Overall,this movie is worth seeing.This movie portrays a young boy befriending people while he is on his own and shows a scared but loving kid.
Director: Servando González
Writers: Helen Eustis (novel), Morton S. Fine (screenplay) (as Morton Fine)
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Dana Elcar, Henry Hull
Country: Mexico | USA
Language: English
Release Date: 28 April 1965 (USA)
Also Known As: Violent Journey
Filming Locations: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
The Kid and the Killers 1974
The Kid and the Killers 1974
1h 30min | Adventure , Western
Storyline:
Two men who have robbed a bank end up in a deadly pursuit of one another after one of them kills an innocent victim in attempt to steal the other's half.
User review:
The Kid and the Killers was shot and originally edited by Irv Rudley. a cinematographer/Editor in South Florida. The film producer, Mr. Dan Ross, took the film to New York for distribution, where some hot shot editor convinced him to re-edit the film prior to distribution. This editor chopped the film up into a disjointed mess which was then not good enough to be distributed at all. What a shame! The cast and crew spent 10 weeks in the mountains of Columbia, South America, using mostly local crew, along with the technical crew from the US. They lived on a ranch, deep in the mountains, where they had soldiers for protection from the local bandits. In fact, on one return to the ranch from a distant location, higher up in the mountains, the prop truck was followed and almost attacked by a bandit band. The crew defended itself, with prop guns and blanks, from the truck. The views in those mountains were spectacular, and Mr. Rudley took every advantage of that fact throughout the film.
Director: Ralph C. Bluemke
Writer: Ralph C. Bluemke
Stars: Jon Cypher, John Garces, Gerry Ross
Country: USA | Colombia
Language: English | Spanish
Also Known As: Drifter
Reincarnate 2010
Reincarnate 2010
1h 13min | Drama | 2010 (Netherlands)
Storyline:
A teacher and his student go on a trip to a magical island where there is urban life and tourist attractions as well as a palace and temples. Moreover, a haunting past still gnaws, spreads, mates and mutates in a loop that cannot be eliminated. It dissolves and mixes with memories affecting the present and possessing a power that can destroy the future. In this vague atmosphere, the place slowly becomes deserted like a nightmare you want to wake from but cannot resist.
Director: Thunska Pansittivorakul
Writer: Thunska Pansittivorakul
Stars: Tharapong Buasai, Ratikorn Jaruswutthiwong, Lhong
Country: Thailand
Language: Thai
Release Date: 2010 (Netherlands)
Also Known As: Jutti
Filming Locations: Ko Sichang, Thailand
Mon voyage d’hiver 2003
Mon voyage d'hiver 2003
1h 44min | Drama | 19 November 2003 (France)
Storyline:
German filmmaker Vincent Dieutre is accompanied by a close friend's teenage son on a trip to Berlin and in the process reminisces about his life as a gay man in his 2003 autobiographical documentary entitled Mon Voyage d'Hiver (My Voyage in Winter). Dieutre and his traveling companion, Itvan, visit numerous friends and landmarks, all holding special meaning to the 40-year-old filmmaker as they make their way to the German capital. As the pair grows closer as friends, Dieutre also takes on a paternalistic relationship with the boy as he details his own journey of self discovery — partially to assist Itvan with his own adult transformation, but also as a means for Dieutre's own legacy to endure. My Voyage in Winter was selected for inclusion into the Forum Program of the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival.
User review:
I've seen this movie recently, and was very surprised to see nobody commented on it yet. The point of this movie are, so obviously, not the story, the characters or the plot, but simply "the atmosphere". I'm not saying it's a good film, simply that I liked it. At the show I was attending almost everyone walked out of the theater, but I decided to just sit back and enjoy this strange "winter journey" film. It was hard to understand what it was about, but I didn't care: pointless art movie or not, it was much more bearable than "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle". Now, they didn't walk out of the that one, right?
Director: Vincent Dieutre
Writer: Vincent Dieutre
Stars: Itvan Kebadian, Vincent Dieutre, Andreas Staier
Country: France
Language: French | German
Release Date: 19 November 2003 (France)
Also Known As: My Winter Journey
Filming Locations: Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
Heartstone 2016
Heartstone 2016
Hjartasteinn (original title)
2h 9min | Drama | 28 December 2016 (Iceland)
Storyline:
A remote fishing village in Iceland. Teenage boys Thor and Christian experience a turbulent summer as one tries to win the heart of a girl while the other discovers new feelings toward his best friend. When summer ends and the harsh nature of Iceland takes back its rights, it's time to leave the playground and face adulthood.
User review:
Hjartasteinn (Heartstone) Iceland, Viewed at 2016 Venice Film Festival Director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, 34, Debut film. It's been a while since the films of Friðrik Þór Friðriksson put Iceland on the Cinema map in the eighties and nineties. This epic scale coming of age drama set in a remote fishing village far from the capital Reykjavik looks like the start of a new Icelandic wave. Fresh energy and a keen re-observing of what it's like to be a teenager on the verge of puberty, even dabbling a bit in homosexuality, makes this coming of age story something else. Against a magnificent backdrop of sea and mountains Guðmundur follows the entanglements of two simple outback families and their kids.
The film centers mainly on Thor, a sensitive twelve year old boy and his slightly older, taller, buddy Kristján who is probably gay, but also on their rough friendship with a couple of teenage girls and their problems with rough hewn parents. The performances of the two boys is astounding and Guðmundur's direction is totally assured. Given the setting this is a one of a kind new film experience on a set of old themes. Bravo! The two teenage actors, Baldur Einsasson (Thor) and Blær Hinriksson, (Kristján) are both talents to watch for in upcoming films from the Land of Geysers.
Underage 2013
Underage 2013
De Menor (original title)
1h 17min | Drama , Family | 4 September 2014 (Brazil)
Storyline:
Helena is a recently graduated attorney that shares her routine between her job as a Public Defender of children and adolescents in the Forum of the city of Santos, Brazil, and the care of the teenager Caio, with whom she lives a harmonic and honest life. Their relationship is put to the test when Caio commits a felony.
User review:
The movie does has a pretty photography, until you realize it looks pretty much as shaky camera movements and cheap instagram filters. Acting from many characters is simply poor. Caio is not wearing a shirt 90% of the time. OK, OK, we get it. He is hot. And has a huge line of pubes coming from his groin. The story is told in the synopsis of the movie. Girl has that strange sexually tense relationship with Caio. He is a junkie with a predilection for an easy life. He does actually wear more handcuffs than shirts. There are some stories inside the movie. Believable stuff as a homeless underage kid with a full sleeve tattoo. It looks like he will be more important for the story, mostly because he takes one third of the movie and another instagram still shot of a mirror. All of a sudden the story takes a spin (that was stated on the synopsis). We get a LOT of bad acting from random people. After some nonsense that seemed to be based on detective movies. One of the last and most important characters for the storyline act on such a terrible way that you really can't say if she is lying or telling the truth.
Director: Caru Alves de Souza
Writers: Fabio Meira, Caru Alves de Souza (story)
Stars: Rita Batata, Giovanni Gallo, Caco Ciocler
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Release Date: 4 September 2014 (Brazil)
Also Known As: De menor
Filming Locations: Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Beat the Drum 2003
Beat the Drum 2003
1h 54min | Drama | 2 November 2006 (Hong Kong)
Storyline:
Young Musa is orphaned after a mysterious illness strikes his village in KwaZulu Natal. To help his grandmother, Musa sets out for Johannesburg with his father's last gift, a tribal drum, in search of work and his uncle. The journey confronts him with the stark realities of urban life, but his indomitable spirit never wavers; he returns with a truth and understanding his elders have failed to grasp.
User review:
I saw Beat the Drum at a festival and talked with the producer and writer David McBrayer about this movie. He is the one who actually created the movie and it was his brainchild. The audience asked questions and he explained how he came up with the idea for the script and that it took him several years to produce because it is an inde film. Everyone loved it and applauded at the end, it was the best movie in the festival. I still think about this amazing movie and look forward to when it will be in theaters and on DVD. Why isn't it out there already? If you know anybody in the movie distribution business tell them to check it out. Beat the Drum is an amazing and moving movie experience and I highly recommend it.
Director: David Hickson
Writer: David McBrayer (as W. David McBrayer)
Stars: Junior Singo, Owen Sejake, Mary Twala
Country: South Africa | USA
Language: English | Zulu
Release Date: 2 November 2006 (Hong Kong)
Filming Locations: South Africa
Good Boy! 2003
Good Boy! 2003
PG | 1h 27min | Comedy , Drama , Family | 10 October 2003 (Canada)
Storyline:
Owen Baker is a 12-year-old loner who has been working as a neighborhood dog-walker so he can earn the privilege of getting a dog of his own. His hard work pays off when his parents let him adopt a scruffy mutt he names Hubble. Both boy and dog get more than they bargained for when Owen wakes up one morning to discover he can understand every word Hubble says, including the ominous phrase: "Take me to your leaders." Owen learns that dogs came to Earth thousands of years ago to colonize and dominate the planet. Hubble (who is really named Canid 3942) has been sent by the powerful Greater Dane on a mission from the Dog Star Sirius to make sure dogs have fulfilled this destiny. Despite the best efforts of Owen's rag-tag group of neighborhood dogs to convince him otherwise, Hubble soon discovers the awful truth about Earth dogs: "You're all pets!" Now Owen (a boy who never had a friend) and Hubble (a dog who never needed one) must work together to prepare the neighborhood dogs for a visit from The Greater Dane–or all dogs will be removed from the planet! The fate of Earth dogs hangs in the balance, and it's up to Owen, Hubble, and their canine companions to save man's best friend.
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG for some mild crude humor
User review:
I noticed this film got a low rating, maybe these people were not dog lovers. I thought the plot, if it was a plot, about the the "alien" dog was a little thin but the dogs were wonderful, the boy was great. Sometimes it's just good to go to the movies the enjoy a sweet little no-nonsense film that's just there for pure entertainment. I was entertained.
Far West 2003
Far West 2003
17min | Comedy , Short | 21 January 2003 (France)
Storyline:
In the desert no one can hear you scream.
User review:
Eric (though he prefers Ricky) is unhappy that he has to leave Paris for a week to visit his grandfather on the farm. He'd much rather practice his dance routines with the boys he hangs out with.
His grandfather is a rough no-nonsense farmer who's got little patience for a spoiled boy from the city. Plus Ricky is gay and has never come out to his grandfather and doesn't like the idea of having to be closeted for the week.