Category: Drama
January 7, 2022 / Drama

YORU NO HENRIN (1964) AKA THE SHAPE OF THE NIGHT

——UPGRADED——

Noburo Nakamura’s film sees Yoshie Nogami work as a factory worker by day, while moonlighting as a bar hostess at night. Seduced by regular Eiji Kitami, she begins a passionate love affair, until Eiji’s demeanor changes and she is slowly forced into a life of prostitution. Living a life of despair, she eventually meets building engineer Fujii, who urges her to go straight and run away with him. But this swooning, tragic drama has other plans in store for her. A genuine rediscovery, The Shape of the Night is one of Japan’s great female-centered melodramas, to rank alongside those of Ozu, Imamura and Naruse.

WATCH HERE<span class="entry-title-primary">YORU NO HENRIN (1964)</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">AKA THE SHAPE OF THE NIGHT</span>
January 6, 2022 / Drama

SOUL HUSTLER (1973) AKA THE DAY THE LORD GOT BUSTED

January 6, 2022 / Drama

TOLÉRANCE (1989)

In the 18th century, English aristocrats had, among their better known strange customs, one really strange one: they kept “ornamental hermits” for their gardens. These were actual people who were willing to live in squalid conditions and serve as something like museum exhibits for the amusement of the wealthy. This movie takes that notion and transfers it to 18th century France. In the story, an English hermit has somehow been brought to France in the period following the French Revolution, and prior to the Napoleonic Era, a period (1795-1799) known as “The Directory.”

WATCH HERETOLÉRANCE (1989)
December 29, 2021 / Drama

IL PICCOLO ARCHIMEDE (1979) AKA THE LITTLE ARCHIMEDES

The action takes place in Florence in the 1930s. Alfred, an Englishman who moved to that city in order to write a book on Giotto, meets a boy who is fond of music and mathematics, with whom he becomes close friends. Alfred goes to Switzerland, but one day he receives an anguished letter from the boy and rushes back to Florence where he learns some terrible news.

WATCH HERE<span class="entry-title-primary">IL PICCOLO ARCHIMEDE (1979)</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">AKA THE LITTLE ARCHIMEDES</span>
December 27, 2021 / Arthouse

VORTEX (1982)

A film noirish atmosphere is created to show detective Angel Powers plow her way through the plans of a corporate businessman who seeks government defense contracts through real “corporate wars” and the manipulation of politicians.

WATCH HEREVORTEX (1982)
December 25, 2021 / Drama

ALEGRÍA (1999)

Frac, a mime who is suffering from a severe bout of depression, happens to meet a troupe of circus entertainers and immediately falls in love with one of the stars, Giulietta. But while his affection for Giulietta and admiration for the performers gives him a new lease on life, Giulietta’s father, the leader of the troupe, opposes the relationship and is determined to keep them apart. Meanwhile, Frac and Giulietta discover a gang of children who are held prisoner by a criminal leader who forces them to do his bidding, and they devise a plan to win the kids their freedom.

WATCH HEREALEGRÍA (1999)
December 24, 2021 / Drama

TÔKYÔ JÔKÛ IRASSHAIMASE (1990) AKA TOKYO HEAVEN

December 24, 2021 / Drama

NUMBER ONE (1973)

This raw Italian political melodrama investigates the underbelly of Rome in the early ’70s, exposing drugs, crime and sexual scandal. Many of the characters and episodes are based on incidents which made Italian newspaper headlines in that period. Throughout, it implies that one important behind-the-scenes personage (“number one”) is pulling the strings of the characters. The film’s tone of outrage clearly differentiates it from a more easygoing film exploring the similar nightlife of 1960s Rome, La Dolce Vita.

WATCH HERENUMBER ONE (1973)