This 1928 silent film is emotionally wrenching. We follow a fictionalized account of the “trial” of Joan of Arc by an English-controlled religious court. The “trial” spans a day leading up to her being burned at the stake.
All in Drama
Shohei Imamura's DR. AKAGI
In the closing days of World War II, family doctor Akagi runs (literally) from patient to patient in a small Japanese seaside village and discovers an alarming increase in hepatitis among his increasingly war-weary patients. He seeks a cure but the government is more interested in preparing for The Final Battle as the war draws inevitably to a close. He enlists the support of a diverse collection of friends including a morphine addicted surgeon, a hedonistic monk, and a young recovering prostitute who inevitably falls in love with him.
Mani Ratnam's DIL SE
First I popped in the DVD and selected the “play all songs” options. Wow. I have never seen a song-and-dance production number like the one that takes place on the top of the moving train (“Chaiyya Chaiyya”). My daughter wondered, “How many people died making this?” The rest of the musical numbers are quite interesting, a mix of romance and action, including one sequence with plentiful fire and explosions.
Nicolás Echevarría's CABEZA DE VACA
This movie is a good experience if you have any interest at all in early exploration of the Americas by the Spanish. I watched it spellbound and, despite some serious drawbacks, I've decided to watch it again.
This black and white doomsday adventure from 1964 tells about a U.S. bomber crew sent by accident to destroy Moscow and how the U.S. president (played by Henry Fonda) deals with the situation.
My mother used to say, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything." Or maybe it was my fifth grade teacher.