Lima

"Kurt, you didn't wash your hands after pooping again? And you didn't flush! And don't look in the bowl all the time, it's gross!!"… Well, in short, I think some human activities should be hidden under the guise of complete privacy…

By western standards, a solidly brutal film whose final machine-gun massacre in Aqua Verde is one of the most memorable scenes in the history of cinema. Sam Peckinpah just likes violence, The Wild Bunch doesn't look shabby in that respect and has a very realistic edge to it. This is also true of many scenes in which the horses in particular must have had a lot of fun (I would single out the slow-motion shots rolling down a sand dune and falling from a mined bridge into a river, which take on an almost bizarrely aesthetic impression). The production design with its impressive period Mexican realism with dirty hirsute locals is downright incredible. Women have no place in Peckinpah's harsh world of rough men, they only play the minor role of cheerleaders or treacherous bitches. Last but not least, we must mention William Holden (Sunset Boulevard), his charismatic performance brought back memories of his heyday in the 1950s.

In the end, a brilliant indictment of the Stalinist purges in the Soviet army of the late 1930s. At the beginning the film deceives with its body, Michalkov lulls the viewer with a plethora of humorous situations and the depiction of Colonel Kotov's idyllic family life, only to grab them by the throat at the end and strangle them with a demonstration of the practices of NKVD agents. Michalkov and Imbragimbek's film is both kind and terrifying, and the Oscar is in the right hands. And what I would also like to highlight are the performances of all the actors involved, especially Michalkov himself and his real daughter Nadezhda, who is absolutely disarming with her immediacy, as if standing in front of the camera is the easiest thing in the world.

In the difficult times of creeping ideologisation, Martin Hollý, his crew and the top Slovak actors of the time came together and went to the beautiful Tatra Mountains to film a balladic story of three friends whose lives are interfered with by a femme fatale played by the charming Emilia Vašáryová. A film full of genuine emotions that never slip into kitsch, loyal friendship, love, jealousy, humour and tragedy. The camera seems to love the Tatra peaks and Liška's music adds the right emotional edge to the film. On a big widescreen with a restored print, it was downright gorgeous.

A legendary Soviet film set during the Russian Civil War about the fate of war veteran Sukhov, who faces the unexpected task of protecting a harem from the revenge of rebel leader Abdullah. Screenwriting legend Rustam Imbragimbekov (a guest at SFS 2006, author of, for example, Burnt by the Sun and The Barber of Siberia) was just starting out in his career and the final form shows it; a rather unbalanced blend of comedy and drama. The comedic first half, whose humour is based primarily on the contrast of a military drill vs. the fragile women of the harem, is watchable in one breath. The second half drops its grotesqueness, takes on an unexpectedly serious tone, adds heroic deaths, a bit of unnecessary pathos and a lot of shooting. Add to that the somewhat confusing editing and you get a little film that you will appreciate in one viewing, but it won't win your heart.

A pretty pleasant surprise. What strikes you at first is the naivety with which the director develops his story, in an emotional level of Asian mentality that I will never fully understand. From the episode "Sonata" onwards, however, Kim Ki-Duk comes up with a poetic narrative that culminates in the best possible ending. After The Isle I wasn’t expecting something this interesting.

"Dear?... Dear?... What is your first name?" A romance as it should be, created in difficult locations and in the alcoholic haze of the perpetually drunk Bogart and Huston. The chemistry between Hepburn and Bogart is incredible, their witty verbal banter, full of charming one-liners, is brilliantly written, and the film's worldwide success is more than deserved. A must-see film classic.

There is something wrong with a two-hour film where the first two minutes are the best. Humour is expressed through the overuse of the word "dick" or stupid dialogues that repeat the punchline just to be sure, and there are many situations that border the embarrassing. I understand the idea Budař and Morávek wanted to convey, but why they do it in such a tired, unfunny and, given the disproportionate runtime, tedious way is a mystery to me. Morávek is no directorial luminary, his sources of inspiration are, in his words, the "Czech New Wave of the 1960s", but his work is far from it. The first half hour, the masturbation in the grandfather's uniform, Zagorová and the very end lift the film at least a little from the deep mire of mediocrity.

While the animation is breathtaking and the concept of human body parts is extremely inventive, it is otherwise a rather dull and insubstantial look into the life of noted Canadian animator Ryan Larkin.

A funny reflection on life when pushing forty, stupid dogs and Bob’s genitals.