Girish (Free subscription) | 26/11/2009
Just as they did ten years ago , James Quandt and TIFF Cinematheque ( née Cinematheque Ontario) have conducted a worldwide poll of film curators, archivists, historians and programmers for best ("most important") films of the decade (scroll down for the compiled list). It's a heady and wonderful list that militates unashamedly and polemically for film as art . There are 54 films on...
Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal (Free subscription) | 25/11/2009
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century has been named the best film of the decade in a critics poll by the Toronto International Film Festival Cinematheque . The movie that was censored in Thailand continues to be hailed by critics worldwide. In fact, three of Apichatpong's films are on the list. His 2004 Cannes Jury Prize-winning drama Tropical Malady is at No. 6, and 2003's Cannes Un...
patruped:bun biped:rau (Free subscription) | 17/11/2009
De curând Times şi Telegraph au dat publicităţii clasamentele privind cele mai bune 100 de filme din ultimii 10 ani şi înţelegem că fiind independente cele două liste nu au cum să fie la fel, însă filmul lui Cristian Mungiu 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile s-a clasificat pe locul 14 în topul Timesonline şi pe...
BBC News (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
The urban myths built up around life under the Ceausescu regime in Romania is the subject of director Cristian Mungiu's latest film.
Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Organizing and ranking the work of the '00s is probably the main focus of a lot of publications right now, and so far I've only stumbled on two of them (one thanks to Adrian Curry). The UK Times Online made their 100 Best Films of the Noughties, as per UK release, with some surprising and frankly unfortunate choices. Any list that includes Paul Haggis' Crash is automatically tossed in the bin for me...
The Independent (Free subscription) | 01/11/2009
Considering the limitless visual splendours that digital animation can put on the big screen, it's about time there were some more cartoons that weren't intended to sell tie-in plastic toys to young children. That's why the bleak and eerie opening scenes of 9 are so refreshing.
The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 30/10/2009
IF YOU were enumerating the masterpieces that you’re not sure you ever want to have to watch again, then 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days might feature towards the top of the list. Though deft, humane and economical, Cristian Mungiu’s Romanian abortion drama was an extremely gruelling piece of work. Nobody would mistake it for a barrel of monkeys.
News Scotsman (Free subscription) | 30/10/2009
TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE (12a) *** DIRECTED BY: CRISTIAN MUNGIU, RAZVAN MARCULESCU, HANNO HÖFER, CONSTANTIN POPESCU, IOANA URICARU
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
Come time travelling with Film Weekly as this week's edition ranges over the state of the British film industry in the noughties to the funny side of life under a dictator in Romania in the 80s, also taking in a review of a coming-of-age tale set in 60s London. First up, Jason Solomons goes behind the scenes at the unveiling of the nominees for the British Independent Film awards and discusses the...
News Scotsman (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
THE past few years have seen a surge of interest in Romanian cinema. International art-house successes such as 12:08 East of Bucharest, The Death of Mr Lazerescu and Californi
Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 09/10/2009
As usual, note that each of the award ceremonies tend to have their own regulations for what can be included and when, so there are plenty of discrepancies in regard to official release year, etc. Also, I had some difficulty finding the recipients of many of the national industry awards, so forgive me for leaving out some of the countries that were listed for 2006. Notice that this was one of the rare...
Tativille (Free subscription) | 30/09/2009
Warning: the following post contains spoilers. Corneliu Porumboiu's outstanding second feature Police, Adjective ( Politist Adjectiv ), from the Romanian director's screenplay, renews the temporal emphasis that is among the key markers of its country of origin's nascent "new wave," whether one looks to Cristi Puiu's exceptional The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005) with its real-time synchronization...
Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 07/07/2009
Though it was barely more than a month ago, I haven't seen a whole lot of post-Cannes coverage anywhere. And maybe that's because not a whole lot has stirred since then. I have uncovered some details about US releases of a few of the titles. Sony, maybe predictably, plans Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winning The White Ribbon for a week-long run in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas, though I'm not...
Variety.com (Free subscription) | 06/07/2009
International News: Portmanteau feature premiered at Cannes -- Portmanteau feature "Tales from the Golden Age," written by Palme d'Or winner Cristian Mungiu, will open the 15th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival next month, organizers said Monday.
sans everything (Free subscription) | 06/07/2009
At the beginning of Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or-winning film 4 Weeks, 3 Months, and 2 Days, the camera lingers on a goldfish in a square bowl. The fish seems to be trying to escape, not by jumping out, but by pushing directly against the glass, its tail thrusting spiritedly but without result. It is an effective [...]
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