rarefilmm | The Cave of Forgotten Films Posts

March 4, 2024 / Animation

Whispered to by an ancient tree, young shepherd Mihály dreams of more than his simple existence among grass and sheep. The journey he embarks on brings him into contact with golden birds, a dragon and a fair damsel The film’s incredibly rich visuals are based on the animation transfiguration of late Gothic, early Italian Renaissance frescoes, altarpieces and tableaux. Based on a poem by János Pilinszky.

March 4, 2024 / Adventure

Factions of French and Portuguese face off in an attempt to colonize Brazil. A Frenchman is held captive by a tribe allied with the French that, despite the insistence of the man that he is French, mistakenly believes him to be Portuguese. The brother of the tribe’s chief was murdered by the Portuguese, and the tribe intends to eat the Frenchman as revenge. The man is given a wife and made to assimilate into the tribe, even with his impending demise.

March 4, 2024 / Drama

During World War I in Norway, a shipping magnate goes bankrupt, and the family being used to a high-spending life moves to a summer cabin with moonshine and smuggling as a way out. Love and art are sacrificed in the hunt for old honor, with the children as victims.

March 4, 2024 / Arthouse

In the wake of a young man’s suicide attempt, his family gathers in their large house in the country, where complex interrelationships play out against a tense vigil. Winner of the 1991 Jean Vigo Prize, Desplechin’s rarely screened featurette displays many of the hallmarks of his mature style: the deft handling of a sprawling cast of characters (played by several Desplechin regulars, including Emmanuelle Devos), the nuanced understanding of family dynamics, and the wide-ranging literary allusions. All come together in an incisive, poignant examination of the myriad ways we deal with tragedy.

March 4, 2024 / Television

Made as part of “All the Boys and Girls of Their Age”—a critically acclaimed anthology series conceived around decade-specific rock-and-roll soundtracks that marked a moment of renewal in French cinema and helped launch a new generation of directors including Olivier Assayas and Claire Denis—Mazuy’s television film centers on Christine, a high schooler in late 1970s France who is enamored of John Travolta. When Christine is randomly picked up and seduced by Nicolas, a brooding teenager fascinated by Friedrich Nietzsche, they immediately face obstacles to their relationship, but nevertheless develop an awkward yet intense romance.

March 4, 2024 / Documentary
March 4, 2024 / Horror

Excellent adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s provocative short story, still has impact. Unsettling depiction of the banality of evil. Like the short story, the film begins casually with the start of the annual ritual lottery and grows more intense as we slowly realize the lottery’s purpose. Its main character, Tessie Hutchinson, learns too late the dangers of not speaking up, and of blindly following and supporting tradition. Tradition is symbolized by lucky “Old Man Warner”(77 years in the lottery). Like the short story, the film is shocking because of its matter-of-fact tone: the lottery is depicted as just another mundane yearly event. Spare, powerful, and thought-provoking.

March 4, 2024 / Experimental

Remember Me is a dark, obsessive and emotive treatise on death. Its aim is to explore the intimate, personal and often secret relationships that people have with mortality and loss. The film uses original and found footage to capture the complex web of emotions which surround death and to create a passionate journey through difficult private territories.