ON A TIGHTROPE is a heartwarming and beautiful documentary film with a grave backdrop. The documentary follows four children at a government orphanage in Xinjiang, China. The four are learning the ancient Uyghur tradition of Dawaz, tightrope walking. The children’s struggle to master the tightrope becomes a metaphor for their lives, as they walk the line between being true to their cultural and religious heritage and the communist party’s harsh demands for obedience.
Tag: NORWAY
Thirty-year-old Hlynur still lives with his mother and spends his days drinking, watching porn and surfing the net while living off unemployment checks. A girl is interested in him, but he stands back from commitment. His mother’s Spanish flamenco teacher, Lola, moves in with them for Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, while his mother is away, Hlynur finds out Lola is a lesbian, but also ends up having sex with her. He soon finds out he and his mother are sharing more than a house. Eventually he must find out where he fits into the puzzle, and how to live life less selfishly.
Set in 17th century Norway, The Witch Hunt tells the story of a woman who returns to her hometown after a failed marriage; she is regarded as a witch due to her use of herbal medicine and love affair and gets ostracized. With the cold somber long takes, the film examines how women are isolated in a patriarchy, condemning the fear imposed upon women by history and power. The Witch Hunt put Breien together with Chantal Akerman among the most important female directors in the history of European cinema. The film won Special Mention for Historical Reconstruction and Best Actress at the 1981 Venice Film Festival.
Siss and Unn are two 11-year-old girls. An alluring contact develops between the two girls, a relationship filled with dawning anticipation and a tacit longing for warmth and tenderness. One evening they meet, and for the first time in their lives they are thrown into a strong emotional confrontation. The next day, Unn is unable to meet Siss again. Instead, she ventures alone into the cold, lonely winter landscape.
In April, 1975, civil war breaks out; Beirut is partitioned along a Moslem-Christian line. Tarek is in high school, making Super 8 movies with his friend, Omar. At first the war is a lark: school has closed, the violence is fascinating, getting from West to East is a game. His mother wants to leave; his father refuses. Tarek spends time with May, a Christian, orphaned and living in his building. By accident, Tarek goes to an infamous brothel in the war-torn Olive Quarter, meeting its legendary madam, Oum Walid. He then takes Omar and May there using her underwear as a white flag for safe passage. Family tensions rise. As he comes of age, the war moves inexorably from adventure to tragedy.
——UPGRADED——
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.
Forever bungling private investigator Henry Brilliant has been hired by Maxine de la Hunt to protect her stepdaughter Marigold during her trip to Denmark. A real caring parent should have hired an army of P.I.s to protect Marigold from Mr. Brilliant. His name, he’s not.