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Travel the World Challenge (Official, September 2022)

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blocho
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Travel the World Challenge (Official, September 2022)

#1

Post by blocho »

Travel the World Challenge

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Only in Marco Polo's accounts was Kublai Khan able to discern, through the walls and towers destined to crumble, the tracery of a pattern so subtle it could escape the termites' gnawing.
Welcome to the Travel the World Challenge. Travel, as Italo Calvino suggested in Invisible Cities, is an endeavor about self-discovery as much as discovery. Let us venture forth and do both.

Goal
Watch movies/episodes from different countries/territories. Discuss them.

Rules
- Challenge runs from September 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022.
- Participants may only gain one point from each country/territory.
- A feature film (at least 40 minutes) counts as one point.
- 80 minutes of short films or miniseries/TV episodes counts as one point.
- Films/episodes must be watched one at a time, at single speed (not sped up), and in their entirety.
- Not a rule but a request: When you post what you have watched, please include your reaction or at least a rating so that other people can learn about movies they might not know about. Also, the challenge is more fun and interesting when discussion is ample.

Nationality -- PLEASE READ THIS SECTION
I want to spend as little time as possible this month writing about matters of territoriality, sovereignty, and federalism. While these issues are very important, I think this challenge is not the ideal place to go back and forth regarding our thoughts on the autonomy of Western Sahara or whether any particular co-production is more French or more British. As such, please use the following rules:
- We will be using imdb as the sole source for determining nationality. This is not a perfect method, but it is relatively simple, and imdb is a fairly comprehensive resource. If you see something that does not have an imdb page, then you choose which country it should count for, but please be reasonable in your determination.
- To determine a movie's nationality, look at its imdb page. You will find a country listing under the section titled "Details." If more than one country is listed there, then you can choose ONE of those countries. For example, the 2000 biopic Lumumba has four countries listed: France, Belgium, Germany, and Haiti. If I saw Lumumba for this challenge, I could post it for any of those four countries. Once you indicate which country a movie counts for, you can't go back and change it later.
- Here is a list with every imdb country code. The countries/territories in this list are the only eligible ones for this challenge. As such, the maximum score in this challenge is 246.
- For movies that are listed on imdb as being made in a country that no longer exists, please list the current-day country that is analogous. This should be pretty easy to figure out if you see a West German movie -- obviously, you list it as a German movie. It's a little harder if you see a Soviet or Yugoslav movie. If you do so, please list whichever current-day country you feel it properly belongs to. So, if you see a Soviet movie, you could list it as a Russian or Ukrainian or Uzbek movie. Please be reasonable in these cases. Don't list a movie like Nevestka as a Latvian movie when it's clearly a Turkmen movie.
- If any particular country has not produced any feature-length movies or enough shorts to add up to 80 minutes, then short/episodes from that country can be combined for a point with shorts/episodes from another country that has a similar deficit of cinematic output.

Stats & Formatting
- Title (Country/Territory, Year) is the preferred format. Submissions that do not mention the country/territory will not be counted.
- Don't edit posts to include new movies you've watched. Always make new posts.

Previous Edition
2012 - Led by PeacefulAnarchy with 46 points.
2017 - Led by Mario Gaborovic with 113 points.
2019 - Led by jeroeno with 107 points.
2021 - Led by Traveller with 155 points.

Scoreboard
RankParticipantNumber of Points
1flavo500094
2jeroeno68
3sol65
4lineuphere51
5jdidaco50
6pitchorneirda46
7gunnar35
7ororama35
9cinephage33
10Arkantos30
10Fergenaprido30
12burneyfan27
13sortile9io26
14maxwelldeux24
14zzzorf24
16blocho21
16RogerTheMovieManiac8821
18sacmersault20
19peeptoad19
20Mario Gaborovic16
21AB53713
2245MinuteZoom11
22monclivie11
24DudeLanez9
25jonas2k7
26magnusbernhardsen6
27Minkin5
28Hunziker4
Last edited by blocho on October 3rd, 2022, 6:08 pm, edited 17 times in total.
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#2

Post by Fergenaprido »

I think I'll join in this time. Hope to cross a few new countries off my list.

As for Yugoslav & Soviet cinema, often a useful indicator is which studio made the film - most republics had their own "national" cinema studio sanctioned by the state; language often helps for the Soviet films too.

This information from Wikipedia may be useful:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Yugoslavia wrote:Film companies included
Jadran Film from Zagreb, SR Croatia;
Avala Film from Belgrade, SR Serbia;
Sutjeska film and Studio film from Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Zeta film from Budva, SR Montenegro;
Vardar film and Makedonija film from Skopje, SR Macedonia,
Triglav Film from Ljubljana, SR Slovenia
and others.
List of production companies of the Soviet Union (most are named after the republic or the capital city (also here)
List
  • Armenfilm - Armenia
  • Azerbaijanfilm - Azerbaijan
  • Belarusfilm - Belarus
  • Tallinnfilm - Estonia
  • Gruziya-Film - Georgia
  • Kazakhfilm - Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzfilm - Kyrgyzstan
  • Riga Film Studio - Latvia
  • Lithuanian Film Studio - Lithuania
  • Moldova-Film - Moldova
  • Central Studio for Documentary Film - Russia
  • Gorky Film Studio - Russia
  • Lenfilm - Russia
  • Lennauchfilm - Russia
  • Mosfilm - Russia
  • Pilot - Russia
  • South-Siberian Film Studio - Russia
  • Soyuzmultfilm - Russia
  • Studio Ekran - Russia
  • Sverdlovsk Film Studio - Russia
  • Dovzhenko Film Studios - Ukraine
  • Halychyna-Film Studio - Ukraine
  • Kievnauchfilm - Ukraine
  • National Cinematheque of Ukraine - Ukraine
  • Odessa Film Studio - Ukraine
  • Ukranimafilm - Ukraine
  • Ukrtelefilm - Ukraine
  • Yalta Film Studio - Ukraine
  • Tadjikfilm - Tajikistan
  • Turkmenfilm - Turkmenistan
  • Uzbekfilm - Uzbekistan
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#3

Post by sol »

I'm hoping that this challenge will get back into the challenge spirit again. I have a bunch of stuff lined up, and once I get through my top priorities, I'll probably work on turning the rest of my 2022 Letterboxd map green (my overall world map is already 99% green). This is how 2022 looks for me so far:

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Clearly some big/medium film producers that I have seen nothing from in 2022 so far, most notably Colombia and Egypt, though how much of the rest of the map I can get green this year should be interesting to see.
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#4

Post by jeroeno »

So if the film is from Soviet Union on IMDb and the production company is Uzbekfilm, I can log it as a film from Uzbekistan right?
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#5

Post by blocho »

jeroeno wrote: August 31st, 2022, 4:49 pm So if the film is from Soviet Union on IMDb and the production company is Uzbekfilm, I can log it as a film from Uzbekistan right?
Yes
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#6

Post by 45MinuteZoom »

I’m definitely down for some this month. Last year, I started a personal challenge to watch something from every country, even those I’d seen something from before and I’m about 50 away from completing that.

Other than that, I’m about 20 countries from a full green Letterboxd, also working on that
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#7

Post by 45MinuteZoom »

For shorts/miniseries, would you consider a slight rules change? Some countries only have one or two shorts listed, would it be possible to use multiples countries for 1 shorts point?

Still would only be able to use a country once in the challenge for a point, and a shorts point with say Seychelles, Saint Kitts, and Nauru is only worth one point, not one for each country. This allows some of the smaller countries to get visited.
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#8

Post by sol »

It starts! First in. B)

1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama

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Constantly taken advantage of and unappreciated, an ad executive seeks help from a guru who hypnotises her into speaking her mind without any filter in this comedy. Ash Olivera is down-to-earth and relatable in the lead role, even as she begins to say drastic things. There are a lot of funny side gags too, such a delusional influencer who keeps talking to her broken, phoneless selfie stick, and a "NOW" sign outside the agency that Olivera turns into a "NO".

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#9

Post by sol »

Spoiler
1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama
2. Straight Up (2019) United States

Image

James Sweeney is excellent in the lead role here with a motor-mouth manner of talking that feels pitch perfect for someone with extreme OCD and autism traits. There are some especially funny moments as he attempts to talk like a stereotypical straight guy and flirt with women, though the film soon settles into an awkward relationship comedy with co-star Katie Findlay. Personality-wise, the pair match well though and have many humorous interactions.

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#10

Post by 45MinuteZoom »

1. Calendar (1993) - Armenia - Director/Writer Atom Egoyan was born to Armenian parents in Cairo, and grew up in Canada. This movie works as an exploration of how Atom feels about his Armenian heritage.

I really liked the structure of the film, Atom is going around Armenia, taking pictures of churches for a calendar with his wife as a translator and another man as a driver. For each month you see a scene in the past at the church, then a scene in the present where Atom has awkward dates with different women. The women all make a phone call after Atom pours another glass of wine for the two of them. While they talk on the phone in a language Atom doesn’t understand, he writes a letter, generally to his wife.

The use of language in the movie is interesting, anything non-English is not subbed, so if you don’t understand Armenian you only understand what the wife translates for Atom. It works really well to show how distant Atom feels about his Armenian heritage. Atom’s character even comments on how it’s ridiculous to feel like you have a connection to a culture that you didn’t personally experience, only your ancestors experienced.

I really liked this one, a very strong 7 for me, nearly an 8. I’ve really enjoyed Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter, he just has a really unique atmosphere and feel with these movies.

How well does it represent Armenia though? I’d say you’re better off watching something else if you want an Armenian story, it seems like other movies are available on top of the USSR’s The Color of Pomegranates. This is more about diaspora and a feeling of connection to your heritage. - 7/10
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#11

Post by blocho »

45MinuteZoom wrote: September 1st, 2022, 5:49 am For shorts/miniseries, would you consider a slight rules change? Some countries only have one or two shorts listed, would it be possible to use multiples countries for 1 shorts point?

Still would only be able to use a country once in the challenge for a point, and a shorts point with say Seychelles, Saint Kitts, and Nauru is only worth one point, not one for each country. This allows some of the smaller countries to get visited.
I'm OK with this, but only if the shorts are combined with another country that also hasn't produced much. I don't want a scenario where people are combining a short from Nauru with some French shorts. How's this for the new rule:

- If any particular country has not produced any feature-length movies or enough shorts to add up to 80 minutes, then short/episodes from that country can be combined for a point with shorts/episodes from another country that has a similar deficit of cinematic output.
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#12

Post by 45MinuteZoom »

blocho wrote: September 1st, 2022, 1:41 pm

I'm OK with this, but only if the shorts are combined with another country that also hasn't produced much. I don't want a scenario where people are combining a short from Nauru with some French shorts. How's this for the new rule:

- If any particular country has not produced any feature-length movies or enough shorts to add up to 80 minutes, then short/episodes from that country can be combined for a point with shorts/episodes from another country that has a similar deficit of cinematic output.
Thanks so much Blocho! In my experience, this is true for Anguilla, Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna.

Seychelles does have one feature length movie online, but there are no English subs, they speak a French creole.

Saint Kitts and Nevis has one feature length movie that isn’t available anywhere online. I really recommend watching a short other than St Kitts by Dave Weber, that is just some guys video of his vacation. There are two other shorts by the same director as the feature length movie, Nigel ‘TruCapo’ Lewis.

Finally, if you are feeling generous, Letterboxd credits Operation Dominic as US Minor Outlying Islands, one of the two shorts ‘from’ there. I don’t think the other is online.
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#13

Post by sortile9io »

Image

Whistle Down the Wind
1. Bryan Forbes, 1961, 99 min, UK
A wonderful retelling of Christian symbols, beliefs and chapters from the New Testament (including the moving denial of Jesus by Peter set in a playground) played inadvertently by the kids living in a bleak farm of Lancashire, I loved the (b/w) British rural setting, the superb cast and the religious remarks (faith, salvation, (mis)interpretation of sacred books, role of clergy, etc.) but also the opposition between the mundane affairs of the adult society and the children’s (“secret society”) naive idealistic vision of the world and its unique redemptive power. 8/10
A Cinematic Travel Log
1. WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND · Forbes, 1961, UK
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Last edited by sortile9io on September 3rd, 2022, 6:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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#14

Post by jeroeno »

01. Nr. 10 (2021) Netherlands
02. La tortue rouge (2016) Belgium
03. WolfWalkers (2020) Luxembourg
04. Paran daemun (1998) South Korea
05. Nekoli chopyong (1986) North Korea
06. The Edge of Democracy Brazil

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#15

Post by burneyfan »

I'm in. Not actively competing -- just seeing how many countries I hit in an unfiltered month of viewing.

01. Biyaya ng lupa a.k.a. Blessings of the Land -- Silos, 1959 -- 7/10 -- Philippines
02. Krvavá pani a.k.a. The Bloody Lady -- Kubal, 1980 -- 6/10 -- Slovakia

Map of visited countries
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#16

Post by Arkantos »

This'll be fun! I'm definitely a wee bit envious of sol's and 45MinuteZoom's maps lol so I hope this challenge will help me add some more colour to mine. But, first off for me is:

Image I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987, Patricia Rozema) - 4/5
Around the world in one month
Image I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987, Patricia Rozema)
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#17

Post by zzzorf »

Easily probably my favourite challenge of the year. Just shooting for my normal 30 minimum for it but this always allows me to knock off a few new countries off my maps. Talking about my maps here is how they look at the moment.

All time
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2022
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#18

Post by gunnar »

1 - By the Law (1926) - 8/10 - Russia - Five people are searching for gold in the Yukon. However, one of them is made to do a lot of the dirty work while also getting picked on by the rest. Then one day he snaps.

2 - Destiny (1921) - 8/10 - Germany - Death takes away a woman's fiance and gives her three chances to win the fiance back from his grasp. Visually it is pretty well done.

3 - He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - 8.5/10 - United States - Lon Chaney is excellent as a man whose accomplishments and woman are stolen from him by his mentor. In his sorrow, he becomes a clown that specializes in getting slapped by other clowns in order to make the crowd laugh. He becomes fond of a new member of the circus (Norma Shearer), but the man who betrayed him sets his sights on her as well.
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#19

Post by Fergenaprido »

Went back and checked an I've only participated in this challenge once before in 2017, so my goal is to beat my previous score of 28.
2022 Letterboxd Map
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All-Time Letterboxd Map
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My own All-Time Map based on a strict one-country-per-film rule (feature-length only)
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2022 Watches by Country so far (out of 197 films)
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I've gone through my massive watchlist spreadsheet and highlighted one film from each country that I have available to focus on. We'll see how well I stick to that plan. I hope at least 5 of them will be brand new so I can make some progress on the unofficial Around the World challenge, as I've stagnated on that since the start of the year. Also might focus on Caribbean countries since there's a parallel challenge going on this month and most of the map for that region is blank for me.
List of all countries I haven't seen yet with at least 1 feature film available (plus Djibouti, which I realized I forgot)
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List of all countries I've seen films from but not yet in 2022
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1. USA - United States of America - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) - rewatch (I think - I have memories of watching this sometime after it came out, but I realized a few years ago I forgot to log it in my spreadsheet; since I'm coming up on 4000 features, I wanted to make sure my numbers were accurate so I gave it another go and discovered I didn't remember any of it except for a few moments which might have been shown in trailers)
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#20

Post by magnusbernhardsen »

1. Denmark - Speak No Evil (2022) The most unpleasant horror film I've seen in a while, about how scary Dutch people can be to Scandinavians.
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#21

Post by sol »

Spoiler
1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama
2. Straight Up (2019) United States
3. Relentless (2018) El Salvador

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Described by some as El Salvador's answer to Taken, this could have been quite interesting if that were true, especially given that the protagonist is a single mother as opposed to Liam Neeson. It would have been refreshing to watch a film in which a determined mother took human traffickers down. That does not happen here though; she is annoyingly passive for the most part with hired hand David Castro doing pretty much all of the dirty work as she tags along.

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#22

Post by sol »

sortile9io wrote: September 1st, 2022, 5:51 pm 1. Bryan Forbes, 1961, 99 min, UK
A wonderful retelling of Christian symbols, beliefs and chapters from the New Testament
Excellent! :poshclap: This needs more support to get back inside the 500<400 list. :)
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#23

Post by sortile9io »

sol wrote: September 2nd, 2022, 9:57 am
sortile9io wrote: September 1st, 2022, 5:51 pm 1. Bryan Forbes, 1961, 99 min, UK
A wonderful retelling of Christian symbols, beliefs and chapters from the New Testament
Excellent! :poshclap: This needs more support to get back inside the 500<400 list. :)
I think it used to have many voters and I've put it in the top 60 of my own list so now it may have a good chance to get back. And I still have three empty slots I expect to fill during this challenge.
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#24

Post by peeptoad »

1. Kafou (2017) 7 Haiti
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#25

Post by 45MinuteZoom »

2. Ossos (1997) - Portugal - Bleh, just feels like bad poverty porn. At least something like The Florida Project has characters who act like people could act, all the characters here seem like caricatures. I’ll have to watch In Varda’s Room and Colossal Youth to finished TSPDT, really not looking forward to it if it’s more of this. 3/10
Spoiler
1. Calendar (1993) - Armenia - 7/10
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#26

Post by peeptoad »

2. La glace à trois faces/The Three-Sided Mirror (1927) 8+ France
Spoiler
1. Kafou (2017) 7 Haiti
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#27

Post by lineuphere »

1. A ojos cerrados | With Eyes Shut (Costa Rica, 2010) 6.5/10
2. La vida útil | A Useful Life (Uruguay, 2010) 5.5/10
3. Viva Riva! (Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2010) 5.5/10
Passport Stamps
1. A ojos cerrados | With Eyes Shut (Costa Rica, 2010) 6.5/10
2. La vida útil | A Useful Life (Uruguay, 2010) 5.5/10
3. Viva Riva! (Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2010) 5.5/10
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#28

Post by sol »

Spoiler
1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama
2. Straight Up (2019) United States
3. Relentless (2018) El Salvador
4. Beginning (2020) Georgia

Image

I thought the first half here was very solid, especially the unbroken opening shot that lulls us into a false sense of security. Also very strong in the first half is a subplot involving the wife being sexually assaulted by a man claiming to be a detective, only for the police force to have no record of him. After this excellent build-up though, the film becomes an aimless and meandering affair, full of lengthy static shots in which very little happens. Looks nice though.

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#29

Post by jeroeno »

Meanwhile in Asia:

07. Be with Me (2005) Singapore
08. Milarepa (2006) Bhutan
09. Wheely (2018) Brunei
10. Nebo nashego detstva (1966) Kyrgyzstan
11. Lyutyy (1974) Kazakhstan
12. Roulette City (2012) Macau
13. Am zin 2 (2001) Hong Kong
Spoiler
01. Nr. 10 (2021) Netherlands
02. La tortue rouge (2016) Belgium
03. WolfWalkers (2020) Luxembourg
04. Paran daemun (1998) South Korea
05. Nekoli chopyong (1986) North Korea
06. The Edge of Democracy (2019) Brazil
07. Be with Me (2005) Singapore
08. Milarepa (2006) Bhutan
09. Wheely (2018) Brunei
10. Nebo nashego detstva (1966) Kyrgyzstan
11. Lyutyy (1974) Kazakhstan
12. Roulette City (2012) Macau
13. Am zin 2 (2001) Hong Kong

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#30

Post by burneyfan »

03. Quand la femme s'en mêle a.k.a. When a Woman Meddles -- Allégret, 1957 -- 7/10 -- France
04. Ejercicios de memoria a.k.a. Memory Exercises -- Encina, 2016 -- 7/10 -- Paraguay
05. Four Horsemen -- Ashcroft, 2012 -- 7.5/10 -- United Kingdom

List of previous films
01. Biyaya ng lupa a.k.a. Blessings of the Land -- Silos, 1959 -- 7/10 -- Philippines
02. Krvavá pani a.k.a. The Bloody Lady -- Kubal, 1980 -- 6/10 -- Slovakia
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#31

Post by peeptoad »

3. Trampa infernal/ Hell’s Trap (1989) 6+ Mexico
4. Hypocrites (1915) 6 United States
Spoiler
1. Kafou (2017) 7 Haiti
2. La glace à trois faces/The Three-Sided Mirror (1927) 8+ France
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#32

Post by maxwelldeux »

1. Umirayushchiy lebed (1917, Russia)
This was just kinda depressing with all the talk of death. I did think it was cool to see a bit of ballet from back then, before modern dancers were pushing bodies to such extremes.

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#33

Post by monclivie »

Let's try.

1. Manila in the Claws of Light (1975) - Philippines - 8/10
Neon lights, shady brothels, filthy slums and other places where you don't want to find yourself, poverty, injustice, cheap sex, cheap life, mean life, crime without punishment, punishment without crime. In other words, it's a top-class downer. My first ever Filipino movie and even though it's a bit too bleak for my taste, i definitely want to check out more of their cinema. It certainly has a feeling of a movie that would be a timeless classic if only made in Italy or Japan.
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flavo5000
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#34

Post by flavo5000 »

1. Ye yan a.k.a. The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006) China
2. Vasiliy Buslaev (Gennadi Vasilyev, 1984) Russia
3. The Thaw (Mark A. Lewis, 2009) Canada
4. Sembène: The Making of African Cinema (Manthia Diawara, Thiong'o Ngugi-wa, 1994) Senegal
5. Night of the Cobra Woman (Andrew Meyer, 1972) Philippines
6. Zan Boko (Gaston Kaboré, 1988) Burkina Faso

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Around the World in 30 Days
1. Ye yan a.k.a. The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006) China
2. Vasiliy Buslaev (Gennadi Vasilyev, 1984) Russia
3. The Thaw (Mark A. Lewis, 2009) Canada
4. Sembène: The Making of African Cinema (Manthia Diawara, Thiong'o Ngugi-wa, 1994) Senegal
5. Night of the Cobra Woman (Andrew Meyer, 1972) Philippines
6. Zan Boko (Gaston Kaboré, 1988) Burkina Faso
ororama
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#35

Post by ororama »

1. Sambizanga (Angola, 1972) * 97 min.
A movie about the beginning of the Angolan War of Independence, amazing when you consider that it was made in the neighboring Congo while the war was still ongoing.

2. Porto of My Childhood (Portugal, 2001) * 58 min.
Manoel de Oliveira recalls the city of Porto as it was when he was growing up and looks at some of the same places today.

3. What Richard Did (Ireland, 2012) * 87 min.
A thought provoking movie about moral choice, without easy answers.

*First time viewing

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blocho
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#36

Post by blocho »

1. Nora's Will (2008) - Mexico
This is a mostly limp drama about the aftermath of an old woman’s suicide. It doesn’t make much of a mark either emotionally or comedically, although I enjoyed how it skewered the rabbi character for his pettiness.

2. La Llorona (2019) - Guatemala
The Guatemalan Civil War was a 36-year struggle that was similar in its causes (social oppression) and context (the Cold War) to contemporaneous civil conflicts in nearby Nicaragua and El Salvador but outstripped those wars in bloodshed. Around 200,000 people were killed, many of them civilians. In this movie, a general who led the Guatemala Army’s counterinsurgency campaign in the Civil War finally faces justice in his old age for the massacres that he ordered. He is found guilty, but the verdict is overturned by a higher court, whereupon the general retreats to his home with his family, basically imprisoned by throngs of protestors who clamor outside. If this sounds familiar, it’s because while this general is fictional, the situation is exactly what happened to Efrain Rios Montt, who was effectively Guatemala’s dictator for a period in the 1980s (Reagan was a big fan of his). What makes this movie a bit unusual is that it slowly turns into a ghost story, with some folklore thrown in for good measure. The trope of ghosts returning for justice is an old one in movies — I think back to the end of J’Accuse, released a century before this movie, in which dead soldiers rise from their graves in grievance over their wasted lives. But I’m not sure this supernatural turn was a good decision. I think the story is fascinating enough without it. And the director doesn’t know how to film spooky scenes effectively.
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sol
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#37

Post by sol »

Spoiler
1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama
2. Straight Up (2019) United States
3. Relentless (2018) El Salvador
4. Beginning (2020) Georgia
5. Bazodee (2015) Trinidad and Tobago

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As her wedding day fast approaches, a bride to-be discovers that her husband is more interested in making financial dealings with her father, and that their wedding singer might be a better match for her here. The basic plot only treads familiar beats with the film's chief point of interest being that it is set and filmed on the lush Caribbean island of Trinidad... but then the film is more focused on singing and dancing than the scenery with many indoor scenes.

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sol
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#38

Post by sol »

Spoiler
1. Sin Pepitas en la Lengua (2018) Panama
2. Straight Up (2019) United States
3. Relentless (2018) El Salvador
4. Beginning (2020) Georgia
5. Bazodee (2015) Trinidad and Tobago
6. Genova (2008) Cayman Islands

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Unable to continue living in the same town after his wife is killed in a car crash, an academic uproots his daughters and moves overseas with him here. Perla Haney-Jardine is excellent as the younger daughter. Responsible for causing the crash, the film's best scenes involve her coping with the guilt and having trouble adjusting to her new home. The older daughter though is a pretty forgettable character by comparison; kind of same for the father too.

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Long live the new flesh!
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DudeLanez
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#39

Post by DudeLanez »

1. Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ (1925, Niblo) 6,5/10 - USA
2. Redes (1936, Muriel/Zinnemann) 6/10 - Mexico
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peeptoad
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#40

Post by peeptoad »

5. Histoire de detective (1929) 7 Belgium
Spoiler
1. Kafou (2017) 7 Haiti
2. La glace à trois faces/The Three-Sided Mirror (1927) 8+ France
3. Trampa infernal/ Hell’s Trap (1989) 6+ Mexico
4. Hypocrites (1915) 6 United States
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