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Alex van Warmerdam’s award-winning second feature is set in a remote small Dutch village in the early 1960s. The village is actually just one street of a new town that was never completed, and the behavior of its inhabitants is invariably determined by their unsolved sexual problems, leading to a number of comic situations depicted in a tradition of absurdist black humor.
Hoping to make a fresh start, Léo, a jazz musician, takes up temporary residence with his friend Bony, a young writer who is struggling to get his work published. One evening, Léo strikes up an acquaintance with a woman taxi driver, Cora; in spite of her impulsive and moody temperament, he cannot help being attracted to her. When Bony meets Cora, he too finds her irresistible, but he lacks Léo’s self-confidence to make his move. Cora is not a woman that any man can possess readily. She is like a wild animal, a creature that revels in its freedom. Will either Léo or Bony be able to tame her…?
Captain Donald King of the British Army goes to India just as World War I breaks out, convincing his comrades that he is a coward. In reality, he is on a secret mission to rescue British soldiers held prisoner there.
Boy recounts the true story, one that briefly shocked Japan in 1966, of a married couple who trained their ten-year-old child to fake being hit by autos so they could collect damages from the shaken drivers.
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Renko, a girl in the sixth grade, is at first unperturbed by her parents’ decision to separate. With the companionship of her boyfriend, Minoru, and Sally, a classmate in the same boat, Renko gradually realises the practical implications of divorce, and tries repeatedly to get her parents to reconcile. An old man teaches her about the need to forget the past…
In this film, an Italian industrialist who has made his fortune using some shady tactics, unwittingly becomes the victim and entertainment for four retired jurists. These four men, though retired, make it a practice to keep their legal skills sharp. Whenever a suitable villain stumbles across their path, they conduct a trial with all the trimmings. It is a form of play, but these virtuoso lawyers are quite serious about it.
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Haru no mezame was Naruse’s third full-lenth post-war film — and a delightful surprise. It turns out to be a slice of life film, centered around a couple of years in the life of a rural high school girl — played by 16 year old Yoshiko Kuga — still a tiny bit plumpish — and not full grown. Almost no plot to speak of — just normal events of school and home life and hanging around with friends.
