ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[oilgun]

West Germany

aka: The Ghost

IMD Comment:
Blasphemy!
It is quite a while I saw this controversial movie, but as nobody else wrote a comment, I feel compelled to do so. The film caused a scandal in Germany in the mid-eighties. The that-time Minister of the Interior Zimmermann, a conservative Roman-Catholic and a Bavarian like director Achternbusch, decided that such a blasphemous movie should not be supported and withdrew state funding which the production already had received. This created more publicity for the movie than, I guess, any other movie Achternbusch had made before. The film is actually quite funny. Jesus (played by the director) returns to present-day Bavaria, walks around Munich in a somewhat dazed manner and strikes up an affair with a nun, arguing that they are married anyway. Therefore, he refers to himself as "Ober" (waiter), obviously the male form of "Oberin" (Mother Superior). He occasionally transforms into a snake when being afraid and is finally carried up into the sky by the nun, who transforms into a bird of prey. Blasphemy? Sure, but in a rather bizarre fashion. The film obviously doesn't take itself too seriously - one particular highlight comes when two policemen try to defecate into two tiny Schnaps glasses. Like in many of his other films, Achternbusch targets Bavaria's everyday culture with his meandering, anarchic, quirky ideas, and like his other films, this has a deliberately amateurish look. The pacing is uneven and can become challenging, but the cinematography is at times quite beautiful. Overall, if you look for edgy, quirky films that deliberately defy standards of slick movie making, this can be some fun.



==COMMENT==
The nun on the poster trumped any other 'G' film in consideration    Then I saw the photo of the crucified Christ and realized I had actually seen this film!  It was at the Toronto Film Fest in 1984, and as I remember, it was god-awful (pun intended).  All I remember is Jesus going around saying  "I want shit" over and over again. (In German of course)

[Fran]

South Africa



From IMDb:

A half-caste is a human/leopard hybrid believed to feast on unsuspecting travelers, but after Bobby is found soaked in blood, the police think that he murdered his friends.  It becomes a race against time to convince the cops of his innocenc before the creature comes back to finish off what he started.

[oilgun]

South Africa



From IMDb:
A half-caste is a human/leopard hybrid believed to feast on unsuspecting travelers, but after Bobby is found soaked in blood, the police think that he murdered his friends.  It becomes a race against time to convince the cops of his innocenc before the creature comes back to finish off what he started.

I can see Furries getting yiffy over that one!  Rowrrr!

[MaineWriter]

Ireland

with Colin Farrell. As one poster said, "It's not a film, but a movie, and a pretty bloody funny one at that."

[oilgun]

Netherlands

aka:  The Johnsons 



IMDb Comment:
One bride for seven brothers!,
"De Johnsons" is a rare Dutch horror gem and actually a lot better than the negative-minded reviews around here suggest. It has an original and oddly compelling storyline, involving anthropology myths, incest and teenage-sexuality. The complex and ambitious script tells the story of seven portentous brothers that have only one goal in their life: impregnate their virgin-sister so that she can give birth to a creature that'll bring the world to an end. Their father once went along with a scientific expedition near the Amazone, and he got obsessed with a local monster called "Xangadix". The subject matter seems far too complicated for a modest Dutch production like this, but director Rudolf van den Berg upholds the tension and credibility surprisingly well. The film contains several disturbing moments and there even are a couple very well-mounted gore sequences. Especially the scenes inside the fort (where the septulets got institutionalized after butchering an entire nursery home) and Emalee's nightmares result in very powerful horror cinema. The cast is good, with some 'famous' Dutch stars (Monique van de Ven, Kenneth Herdigein) as well as convincing new talent (Esmée de la Bretonière). Sure, it also has its flaws (like the somewhat disappointing climax-scene) but it's definitely recommended. Tip: invite some friends and organize a Dutch horror night! You can program this film, alongside "Amsterdamned" and "De Lift".

[Fran]

Israel



From IMDb:

A documentary on the life and career of Yiddish actor Pasach Burstein and his family.

[MaineWriter]

France






from the Criterion Collection:

Louis Malle unveiled the natural beauty of Jeanne Moreau in his breakthrough, Elevator to the Gallows. With his follow-up, the scandalous smash The Lovers> (Les amants), he made her a star once and for all. A deeply felt and luxuriously filmed fairy tale for grown-ups, perched on the edge between classical and New Wave cinemas, The Lovers presents Moreau as a restless bourgeois wife whose eye wanders from both her husband and her lover to an attractive passing stranger (Jean-Marc Bory). Thanks to its frank sexuality, The Lovers caused quite a stir, being censored and attacked for obscenity around the world. If today its shock has worn off, its glistening sensuality and seductive storytelling haven't aged a day.

[oilgun]

Argentina

Excerpt from an IMDb Comment:
The Mothers Clamour for Justice -This film, of the New Latin American Cinema is in a documentary form and its intention is to inform, educate, as well as denounce and raise the consciousness of the public that watches it, regarding the abuses and violations of human rights that were perpetrated in Argentina during the years between 1976 and 1983, during which repressive military governments took over power as all-powerful and oppressive dictatorships. The principal subjects of this documentary, are the mothers of all the young people, all those hundreds and hundreds of men and women who were taken prisoners by the military and never seen again. The mothers in this documentary are shown clamouring and protesting in the Plaza in Buenos Aires and they demand to know their sons' and daughters' whereabouts, after they disappeared from their homes, at a very critical and tragic moment in the political life of Argentina; a period in its history that was called, "The Dirty War."

[Fran]

Australia

AKA Watch the Shadows Dance



From IMDb:

Really a shame, poor direction ruined what could have been a far better film. Solid, believable performances from a very young Nicole Kidman and a fine martial arts actor, Tom Jennings, just aren't enough to save this. The screenplay didn't quite realize the basic concept of a bunch of older kids staying up all night to play Ninja war games in an abandoned power plant, much to the neglect of their school work. It was, to say the least, a bit muddled. There were some good futuristic elements thrown in, but not convincingly enough to play true. As to what year of school these "kids" were in, it's hard to guess. They're clearly too mature for an American high school, but then again, it's an Australian movie, set in the future.

With better editing, this movie could have been a bit more watchable, but I suspect there just wasn't enough footage shot that the editor had much choice. Some sequences were reused in pointless mini-flashbacks that really didn't belong in the film. This makes me wonder if it wasn't being padded to play on television. And the director just didn't seem to be able to tell a story. He did frame the occasional dramatic picture, but not often enough to achieve the artsy effect I think he was going for. Besides, without being able to accomplish the basics, you should be careful with the frills.

However, it's a treat to see the young Kidman. Despite the bad direction, muddled script, all the martial arts sequences executed in the dark, and her thick Australian accent, you can see what everyone saw in her, even then. Tom Jennings wasn't bad either, seemed to show a lot of potential, but I wonder what happened to him. According to IMDB, he made one more movie in '88 and then dropped out of sight.

I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to see this one, but it lapsed into the public domain and is available very cheaply from a number of sources. I can only think of two reasons to see this: 1) You're a die-hard Kidman fan who would watch ANYTHING if she was in it, or 2) You're lazy and dishonest and looking for an obscure script to recycle for a student film project.

[MaineWriter]

Japan