Bilal
Year: 2008
Country: India
Genre: Documentary
Director: Sourav Sarangi

Mark: 1 to 5 [1]

Plot: The story begins inside a small partitioned room in central Kolkata. Almost nothing is visible inside. In fact, Bilal’s parents don’t need any light to see things around; they are blind. Bilal is just three years old and he has an infant brother. Both can see. So together they live as if in a game of seeing and not seeing. Though of a very tender age, Bilal is fully aware of the physical handicap of his parents. He knows how to communicate with them through sounds and touch. He is never jobless – be it guiding his blind parents through the traffic or training up the art of making mischiefs to his brother. Whenever Bilal is in the mood for mischief, his parents become strict, and their son jumps into the world outside. Bilal tastes life on street from his elders – it’s hard. But he never gives up. Very unusually for our times, Bilal’s upbringing and care seems to have become a collective responsibility of all the neighbors. The film tells this curious story by observing the little boy over a year and capturing rare moments of sharing love, fun, cruelty and hope.

Personal View: Reading the plot you could imagine a wonderful movie, that s what I thought. A home-made movie, no-sense, few illumination that can remind us of  Christiane F. , this is a movie of kind that you think that can’t be worse, than few scenes after, it’s worse. The worst movie I saw at Film Festival!

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Zero
Year: 2009
Country: Poland
Genre: Action /Drama
Director: Pawel Borowski

Mark: 1 to 5 [1]

Plot: The day rises in a huge unspecified metropolis. A cell phone rings in a big manager’s cabinet on an international corporation’s building. A businessman looks at the cell’s screen for a while, and then he finally answers. It is a sloppy fat guy calling from a van, driven together with his strange friend. He asks for the decision regarding a certain person. After hesitating for a while, the businessman confirms the job. He does not suspect that his “yes” sets in motion stream of incidents which would affect fate of some persons. This is the beginning of multi-plot story, where the fate of many characters is interlaced by the consequences of their decisions.

Personal View: Imagine a suspense scene where all your emotions are all together waiting for the next moment, then a music very strong comes, for a while you think “What the hell? Had to be loud this way?” , but ok was a suspense scene so no problems, the movie is developing itself and you just don’t think and? The music again saying “Something is about to happen, get ready”. You can’t even pay attention to the movie, just wishing and praying to that music doesn’t come again, but it can torture you all the movie, so think twice to what this someday. Horrible, even the movie is good. Describing this movie in one word: Headache.

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Mamachas of the Ring
Year: 2009
Country: USA / Bolivia
Genre: Documentary
Director: Betty M. Park

Mark: 1 to 5 [2]

Plot: The story of Carmen Rosa the Champion, a cholita and wrestler who struggles to make it on her own in the male-dominated world of Bolivian professional wrestling. In 2004, Carmen Rosa was at the forefront of a cholita wrestler revolution. Never before had Bolivia seen an indigenous woman into the ring. Along with three other cholitas, Carmen became an international star, and all four were foram the Mamachas of the Ring. The film begins in 2006, shortly after their return from a star-making turn on Peruvian TV—but their rapid success has come at a price. Jealousy and envy begin to ripple throughout the wrestling community, and eventually they are black-listed from performing in Bolivia’s main wrestling league. Betrayed but not discouraged, the Mamachas take matters into their own hands. They pound the pavement organizing their own shows, contracting media appearances, and traveling for days to perform across Bolivia, often to paltry crowds who can barely afford to pay the entrance fee. The pressures of daily living and gendered responsibilities begin to eat away at the foundation of the Mamachas, and Carmen Rosa increasingly shoulders more of the work burden. Her day job as a street vendor begins to suffer, and her attention to her family dwindles, until one day her husband issues her a firm ultimatum: wrestling or your family.

Personal View: If you saw the trailer and the picture will normaly imagine ‘wow that s a nice movie’, but it isn’t. Nice to laugh a little but it’s a movie that starts great and makes you sleep after a little and just lose the end with no regret. Could be a much better.

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Dear Lemon Lima
Year: 2009
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy / Fiction
Director: Suzi Yoonessi

Mark: 1 to 5 [4]

Plot: Vanessa Lemor, 13, a lonely Yup’ik girl, is dumped by her true love – intellectual Philip Georgey,14 – and spends the summer obsessing over the heartbreaking tragedy. She counts down the days to fall semester at Nichols School, a close-minded preparatory school in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the Georgey Family lives. Awarded the only minority scholarship, Vanessa’s new life is a nightmare. Back from a summer abroad and fluent in French, Philip is elevated to popular status, while Vanessa is relegated to life with the rest of the “Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition”, FUBA. To make matters worse, she is elected captain for the school’s infamous Snowstorm Survivor competition, an event which simply perverts the traditional Native games of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics. But Vanessa believes that victory in the Snowstorm Survivor championship is the only way back into Philip’s heart. She quickly forms a quirky team of social misfits.

Personal View: Cute movie talking about relationships all the time, sometimes remembered Amelie Poulain at the screenshots and the fantasy. Emotional and laughing one. Typical  teenager’s things but also a kind of different view. I liked and I recommend.

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Backyard
Year: 2009
Country: Mexico
Genre: Drama/Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Director: Carlos Carrera

Mark: 1 to 5 [3]

Plot: Blanca Bravo is a policewoman trained at the Police Academy in Mexico City. She is young, strong stern and idealistic. Upon her arrival in Ciudad Juárez, she has to cope with the string of murdered women, two each month in average, all of them young and pretty, most of them workers from the maquiladoras. Public opinion talks about a serial killer. In another story, Juanita Sánchez comes from Cintalapa, Chiapas, to work in the maquila. She is 18, hardworking and humorous. In just three months she turns into a selfassertive woman, learns modern patterns of thought in the maquiladora and finds herself a boyfriend, Cutberto, who has a house of his own. There is a promising future ahead of her. Pure chance – the way chance plays in a society where violence is entitled – throws a shadow upon her bright destiny.

Personal View: What can I say about this movie? Well nothing says more than this: “Mexican Cold Case”. Nice one, nice history but is like watching Cold Case in Spanish audio.

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Czar

Czar
Year: 2009
Country: Russia
Genre: Drama/History
Director: Pavel Lungin

Mark: 1 to 5 [2]

Plot: 1565. While the Polish enemy is advancing into Russian territory, czar Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, is sinking into mystical madness. His personal militia is tormenting the people and the nobles, which causes the metropolitan, the head of the Russian Church, to resign. In his place, Ivan enthrones his childhood friend, the honest Philip. But the two men soon clash with each other. Philip is opposed to the bloody machinations of the czar, who believes himself to be the repository of God’s will. This is the beginning of a deadly duel, both political and spiritual.

Personal View: Long, sometimes boring movie, what saves a little is the ironic dark humor. Nothing more.

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Get here the movie.

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Bananas!

Bananas!
Year: 2009
Country: Sweden
Genre: Documentary
Director: Fredrik Gertten

Mark: 1 to 5 [2]

Plot: The world’s biggest fruit company – Dole Food Company – is on trial in the USA by the accusation of poisoning their workers. For the first time in history, a small US law firm represents Nicaraguan workers, who claim to be infertile because of the toxic pesticides the fruit-corporation used on their bananas plantations.

Personal View: One more not too good movie. Imagine the movie ‘Fast Food Nation’, now imagine this movie but instead of hamburgs, bananas. Ok until that part just another copy, but you can still waiting for a good movie that isnt’t exactly what happens. This movie doesn’t show as should be the both parts of the case, just show barely the part of who worked at the bananas plantations. In every case to have a case first of all, it needs to have 2 parts, so they doesn’t show the Dole Food part, their argumments. Focus on the fancy car of the lawer wasn’t really necessary, could be big better.

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Persecution

Persecution
Year: 2009
Country: France
Genre: Drama
Director: Patrice Chéreau

Mark: 1 to 5 [5]

Plot: Daniel, 35, lives a busy but solitary existence that’s peppered by his troubled affair with Sonia, a woman he seems to both love and loath, but can’t get enough of. Out of nowhere, a mysterious man shows up in his apartment. What Daniel believes to be a one-time event starts happening more and more, and the unlikely intruder just doesn’t leave him alone. The unending harassment begins to take its toll on the tormented relationship with Sonia, and when she suddenly decides to leave him, Daniel’s left facing a slew of unanswered questions.

Personal View: One of the best films, not only as common french movies that has just cigars, non sleeping people and then, but also a full evolving drama, so drama that in the end of the movie was just all quiet, no talking no nothing. Really sad but so awesome. Coz in life the only sure we have is that things ends.

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Tokyo!

Tokyo!
Year: 2008
Country: France, Japan, South Korea and Germany
Genre: Drama/Fiction
Directors: Michael Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-Ho

Mark: 1 to 5 [5]

Plot: Three directors examine the peculiar and unforgettable nature of the Japanese megalopolis that doesn’t stop growing. In Michel Gondry’s Interior Design, a young couple tries to adjust itself to Tokyo city. The man has a very focused ambition of being a film director; on the other hand, his indecisive girlfriend can’t shake off the feeling of having lost control of her own life. In Merde, by Leos Carax, a mysterious creature spreads panic through the streets of Tokyo with its disturbing and destructive behavior. In Bon Joon-Ho’s Shaking Tokyo, a young boy has been a hikikomori (a person living completely isolated in their home) for over ten years. His contact with the outside world is minimal. One day, a young pizza delivery girl goes to his apartment as an earthquake hits the city. In an unexpected turn of events, they fall in love.

Personal View: Just for the fact that when I saw ‘same director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ I could not let this movie to see after or don’t! Three different histories passed at the same city. Unfortunately at the last part when the Bong Joon-Ho one was developing itself i had to see other movie, but nothing as a simple download do solve this problem.
The Michael Gondry one is so full made of fantasy, touch ourselves with the simplicity of the things, his personal way to show life that s amazing.
The Leos Carax one so crazy, funny and show as things do not change. Liked a lot.
And the last one sweet showing what a hikikomori can do for love and also showing the strange hobbies around this lifestyle. But no doubt that the best was from Gondry.
Highly recommended!

Get here the movie and the subtitles [EN and PT-BR that I did it again].

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About Elly

Darbareye Elly – About Elly
Year: 2009
Country: Iran
Genre: Drama
Director: Asghar Farhadi

Mark: 1 to 5 [4]

Plot: After living in Germany for many years, Ahmad returns to Iran. His friend Sepideh organizes a trip with him and all his friends to spend three days by the shores of the Caspian Sea. Without warning the group, she invites a stranger, Elly, her daughter’s teacher from the care center. Ahmad, having had an unhappy marriage with a German woman, wants to be with an Iranian woman. On the second day, when everything seems to be going well, something strange happens and Elly disappears. The joyful and pleasant atmosphere fades away as they try to discover the reason for the bizarre disappearance. Elly’s family is contacted but none of them know of her whereabouts. The friends start panicking and begin to blame each other for Elly’s disappearance.

Personal View: Not as the usually we seen that the Iran movies has a political thing in its middle, but this movie just has family behaviors, and traditional culture. ‘Till the end of the movie I just could not believe even I knowing that she disappeared coz she wanted to and not the other possible idea that she could back to her mother’s house telling anyone. The end of the movie is interesting and under no circumstances, boring. Why did I give 4 as a mark? Because I could not give 5 just coz of the ending that kind of disappointed me, predictable, but that’s ok, it’s worthily for all the rest. Recommended.

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