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Reviews
Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak (2006)
When Will the Turks make a Film About Armenian Genocide?
The film "Kurtlar vadisi - Irak" is the big box office hit in Turkey and one of the most expensive Turkish films ever made. It is also one of the most shamelessly propagandistic ones. It is basically made after the Hollywood recipe - good guys, bad guys, guess who the good guys are?, guess who the bad guys are?, guess who's winning? And even has some two washout American actors, Billy Zane and Gary Busey, but hey, competition is getting tough in Hollywood and alternatives must be searched.
The anti-American theme of the film made it one huge success in Turkey. But when will the Turks face their own history and make a film about their massacre of over 1 million Armenians?
Prea târziu (1996)
Grim Tale from Pintilie
Lucian Pintilie's film is an exploration of the life of the miners disguised as a thriller. The events of the infamous "mineriada" - when in June 1990 miners attacked peaceful protesters in Bucharest and have been thanked by Romanian president Iliescu - are not the main focus of the film but they do provide a background as well as a starting point for the film. Pintilie does not try to excuse the behavior of the miners but he does try to see what makes people behave in such an appalling way. His alter ego in the film is the investigator, a young and inexperienced Dumitru Costa brilliantly portrayed by Razvan Vasilescu who tries to uncover crimes committed in the mine and discovers a myriad of corruption. This allows Pintilie to show the difficult, often dehumanizing life of the miners. The film is full with unforgettable grim images such as the scene of a dead body coming in a conveyor belt. While being critical to the behavior of the miners, Pintilie also shows a remarkable sympathy for those who work in such difficult conditions. But do the victims of the "mineriada" agree? Nonetheless Pintilie makes clear that there is no hope for life and even the idealistic investigator ultimately chooses the way of exile.
Balanta (1992)
Another Pintilie Masterpiece
Pintilie's "The Oak" was director's first film after returning from exile and the first great Eastern European film of the post-communist era. One could sense director's hunger for making a film ( the last one he made, the equally sarcastic "Scenes of Carnival" a.k.a "De ce trag clopotele, Mitica?" was made over 10 years before "The Oak" and was promptly banned ), and Pintilie gave it his best. The acting, as always with the director, is wonderful and there are immages one would never forget. Best seen on the big screen, although a DVD is announced in France for March 2004.
Note that there are two versions of this film, the international version being some 20 minutes shorter than the one seen in Romania.
Arabela (1980)
The DVD, Please!!!!
This is a wonderful series that I remember from my childhood. Magic is the word here. All the actors are great but I especially remember Vladimir Mensik. Let's have the DVD now - with English subtitles please!
Runaway Jury (2003)
Manipulative and Boring
All right, even great films are manipulative. But this one was boring, was dragging for some good chunks of time, and the direction was stiff. The "bad" guys were so obviously evil, and Dustin Hoffman's character was the good lawyer, ha? Dustin and Hackman were really the only reasons to see the film. John Cusack is the same kid that never grows up, and as for Rachel Weisz, her best role remains in Stealing Beauty - and not for her acting skills. 2/10.