Born in 1910 in New York City Arthur Jacob Arshawsky better known to the world as Artie Shaw went on to become one of the best clarinetists in American music history. Brigitte Berman uses interviews with Shaw his colleagues and his last wife Evelyn Keyes to provide needed insights. These are supplemented by Shaw’s music and clips from two of the films from the late 30s in which he played himself.
Month: March 2018
A sailor named Albert is late for his own wedding, but a bigger problem occurs when he gets a message from the Navy saying he can’t marry for certain legal reasons. Everyone jumps to conclusions and thinks there’s another woman out there with a claim of some kind.
Natsuko nurses a helpless crush on her roommate Mitsu and tries to possess her for herself by generating conflict between Mitsu and her boyfriend, Hideo. Mitsu discovers what is happening and throws Natsuko out of the apartment. But Natsuko cannot bring herself to sever the one-way emotional bond.
After Japan’s loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The seemingly cold, cynical son secretly grieves for his defeated father and the values that the war destroyed, while the daughter tries to prevent father from taking his life and to find her own place in the new Japan
For more than three decades, aging Iranian Mohamad Sardari has worked as a crossing guard at a desolate train station. Through the years, Mohamad has done little to stifle the loneliness and boredom inherent in the job. Meanwhile, back at his family home, life is similarly uneventful: Mohamad’s wife passes the time sewing night and day, especially since the couple’s son left to join the army. As time passes, Mohamad mechanically continues to do his duty.
A cynical millionaire announces that he intends to disguise himself as a hobo and give a million lire to anyone who treats him nicely. As a result, every bum in Rome is given the royal treatment on the off-chance that they’re the millionaire.
A super-efficient secretary at a department store falls for and marries her boss, but finds out that taking care of him at home (and especially his spoiled-brat daughter) is a lot different from taking care of him at work.
In late-19th-century Shanghai, brothels are known as “flower houses.” A small and confined world unto themselves, the brothels offer an alternate universe for the well-to-do male clientele. But for the women who work within, the brothels are no fantasyland; they either succumb to this reality or fight against destiny.