Tag: HD

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 / 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 / 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 / Documentary

On the eve of World War I, Jews in European ghettos and market towns were transfixed by a new sensation: motion picture images from Palestine. Many had never seen a movie before and some cried as they escaped the cold Russian landscape for a moment, on a celluloid pilgrimage to the land of milk and honey.

March 4, 2024 / Arthouse

Film adaptation of the short Büchner story of the same name, which tells of the stay of the psychotic Sturm und Drang poet Lenz in the home of the Alsatian priest and philanthropist Oberlin. The poet, whose pathological hallucinations are becoming increasingly unbearable, hopes for help from the gentle clergyman. But Oberlin, too, knows no advice; he regards his friend’s illness as God-given.

March 4, 2024 / Experimental

A bilaterally symmetrical (west to east) fusion of human, biomorphic and mechanical shapes in motion. Has to do with the spontaneous generation of electrical energy. A fairly rare demonstration of the Sabattier effect in motion. Numbered after the film stock of the same name.

March 4, 2024 / Comedy

Luciano Persichetti is hypersensitive and convinced that he has paranormal powers. Susanna, a parapsychology student with whom he is in love, tries to help him interpret the paranormal warning messages he is receiving. When Luciano turns out to be haunted by a mysterious killer who calls himself “The Guardian Angel”, Susanna discovers that Luciano’s paranormal powers are not real at all.