Mars One (Netflix) is a 2022 Brazilian family drama film.
from Wikipedia:
It tells the story of Deivinho (Cícero Lucas), a Black Brazilian youth who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist and joining a mission to the planet Mars. Deivinho's parents and sister are hard-working and support each other but live precariously on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte. The film dramatizes the social upheaval amongst Brazil's poor that greeted the election of populist Jair Bolsonaro
Silly me, I thought it would be science fiction, though I have no idea where I got that idea unless I just made wrong-headed assumptions from a quick glance at the title... It's great as a family drama, just not what I expected.
The Legacy of the Bones (Netflix) is a 2019 Spanish supernatural crime-thriller film, the second in the Baztán Trilogy. I'll not watch the third. This one has all of what I liked least from the first film. I'm cutting my losses.
The Invisible Guardian (Netflix) is a 2017 Spanish thriller film directed by Fernando González Molina based on the novel with the same name by Dolores Redondo. This one had atmosphere and much rain, but I confess I never got into it. I kept picking apart plot elements.
The Feast (Hulu) is a 2021 Welsh folk horror film. "Folk horror" isn't your typical horror but focuses on using elements of folklore to invoke foreboding. This film certainly does a good job of that.
Golden Kamuy (Netflix) is a 2024 Japanese movie based on the manga series of same name. It tells the story of a veteran of the early twentieth-century Russo-Japanese War and his quest to find a huge fortune of gold of the indigenous Ainu people, helped by a young Ainu girl. This is a huge disappointment. I just don't see much there.
The Promised Land (Hulu) is an award-winning 2023 epic historical drama film, a joint Danish/German/Swedish co-production. It is based on the 2020 book The Captain and Ann Barbara by Ida Jessen. It stars Mads Mikkelsen. Well-reviewed, I'm glad I watched it, but it won't go in my re-watch rotation.
Hunger (Netflix) is a 2023 Thai drama film about a street-food cook who is invited to join a fine-dining restaurant under the infamous Chef Paul, who is a hard taskmaster. It is well-reviewed. I enjoyed following the cook as she made her way through the restaurant business.
Perfect Days (Hulu) is a 2023 award-winning Japanese-language drama film directed by Wim Wenders about the routine life of Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho), a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo. I had no idea what to expect with this one, but watched it for the director. Starting with The House of the Rising Sun and ending with Nina Simone's Feeling Good, the music that Hirayama listens to with his cassettes is a major motif in the film. Such a delightful and beautiful film!
The Worst Person in the World (Hulu) is a 2021 award-winning Norwegian language romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman making her way in the world. It is well reviewed. I enjoyed the movie, but it's one of those wonderful movies I'll end up not re-watching.
Céleste (Amazon Prime, Tubi) is a 1980 West German film about the relationship between the French writer Marcel Proust and his devoted housekeeper/attendant/secretary as his health deteriorates. It is from her point of view that this story is told. I read Proust's Remembrance of Things Past years ago and was fascinated by the life story of the author. This is a lovely movie, beautifully expanding on what I knew about Proust.
trailer (in German):
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Reminder: You can watch Tubi on your computer, or you can add the free app to your TV and watch it that way.
Frantz (Amazon Prime, Tubi, Plex) is a 2016 award-winning French/German drama film about a young German woman whose fiancé has been killed in World War I and the French soldier who comes bearing a secret about her fiancé. I can't say enough good things about this film. It had me from beginning to end, and I could re-watch it right now if only there weren't a kajillion movies I haven't seen waiting for me. It takes its time developing, so don't expect action sequences or a fast-moving plot. The characters are well-developed.
What with politics and the Olympics I've gotten totally distracted from blogland.
I was sad to see Biden bow out but am excited about Harris. I watched Trump's "weird" appearance at the National Black Journalists conference. I've been getting a kick out of his misprouncing of her name, as if that doesn't reflect more poorly on him than on her -is he that ignorant, or is he just engaging in his habit of personal insult...
We signed up for a month of Peacock so we could watch more and live Olympic coverage. We have been glued to the TV!
I check on my post every day, and yesterday I noticed the Daily Motion embed of the Bad Faith video had been removed. I edited the post to add a direct link to the Tubi video. (You can watch it on your computer, or you can add the Tubi app to your TV. It's free.), While I was here approved and responded to comments. I'll get around to visiting folks bit by bit...
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Saloum (Shudder) is a 2021 Senegalese-French crime horror-thriller film, a fictional story taking inspiration from African legends and real-life events. Set in Senegal in 2003, it follows a trio of elite African mercenaries, the "Hyenas of Bangui", who, on their way by plane from Bissau to Dakar, try to lay low and find supplies in a resort near Saloum Delta in Senegal, where they must hide their identities and fight for survival. I watched this during my one week free trial of Shudder.
trailer:
Roger Ebert's web site has a positive review, concluding with this: "This is one of the most satisfying films, genre or otherwise, of the year." The Guardian says, "Director Jean Luc Herbulot dynamically weaves supernatural mystery into this gritty crime caper to produce a distinct and charismatic thrill ride."
Herbulot, who is Congolese and whose Senegal-set TV series Sakho & Mangane (available on Netflix) is a kind of Law & Order meets Evil, has made in Saloum an interrogation of Heart of Darkness and an homage to various ’80s action and ’90s horror classics that remains entirely its own thing, even as the film’s plot undergoes a radical shift midway through and challenges our expectations of its protagonists’ actions.
The Hollywood Reporter says, "Propulsively lurching with infectious glee from crime drama to modern-day Western to horror suffused with supernatural elements, this may turn out to be the rare African film that enters the international mainstream, or, at the very least, achieves cult movie status." Variety and Slant each has a positive review.
Ivan's Childhood (YouTube, Plex) is a 1962 award-winning (including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival) Soviet war drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky in his first feature film. It is about Ivan, an orphaned 12 year old boy, whose parents were killed by the invading German forces, and his experiences during World War II. Ingmar Bergman praised it, saying it was influential in his own work. I tend to avoid war movies, but the fact that Tarkovsky directed it and that it receives universal acclaim has me stepping out of my comfort zone to watch it. Tarkovsky is a genius.
The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady are parts one and two of an epic adaptation of the book by Dumas. It's a closer adaptation than is usual, and I appreciated that, though some of the changes are strange. The notable actor for us is Eva Green.
trailer to part 1:
trailer to part 2:
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We couldn't find it available on any of the services we already had. We discovered it was available on Hoopla, which is a media site offered through public libraries. Sadly, our library didn't offer it. Exploring a bit further afield, we saw that a few of the nearby suburban systems offer this service and let you get a non-resident card for a price. That gives you full access to Hoopla, which gives you 10 checkouts each month. We drove 30 minutes north to the Millington library, paid our $30 for an annual non-resident card, came home and signed up with Hoopla, and watched the first movie on our TV. Easy. I highly recommend it if your library (or a nearby one) offers Hoopla.
Under Paris (Netflix) is especially fun to watch given the upcoming Olympics. It is a 2024 French action-horror disaster film about a grieving marine biologist who is forced to face her tragic past in order to save Paris from a bloodbath when a giant shark appears in the Seine. This one satisfies. You're not under any suspician that they're setting you up for sequels. There's an actual ending that makes sense. I like this one. Let's hope Paris doesn't get giant, mutating sharks before the Olympics.
Inheritance (Netflix) is a 2024 Polish comedy film about an estranged family who gathers at the mansion of the rich uncle, to try and make sure they're included in the will. Cute. Funny. I won't watch it again, but I enjoyed watching it this time. I can't find a trailer, which is highly unusual, and the reviews I've seen give too much away. It's worth checking out if you have Netflix. I mean the worst that can happen is you decide you don't like it and turn it off, right?
Asoka is a 2001 critically acclaimed award-winning Indian Hindi-language epic historical drama film, a dramatized version of the early life of emperor Asoka, of the Maurya Empire, who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. This makes yet another Indian film I've liked. My track record with this is such that I watch every Indian movie I come across.
Jodhaa Akbar (Netflix and embedded below via YouTube) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic drama film. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the life and love between the Muslim Emperor Akbar of Mughal Empire and a Hindu Princess Jodhaa Bai of Amber, and their political marriage. I don't tend to watch biographical films or romances, but I loved this. I do tend to like Indian films.
Pulgasari is a 1985 North Korean kaiju film directed by South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok. It is based on the legend of Pulgasari, a metal-eating creature in Korean folklore, and is loosely based on the lost 1962 South Korean film of the same subject, Bulgasari. Shin directed the film under the orders of Kim Jong Il (then-heir apparent) and Shin's wife stars -this after Shin and his wife were kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean intelligence. Pulgasari was the last of several films he made in North Korea before escaping to the United States in 1986. After finding out that his credit was removed from the movie, Shin Sang-ok wrote a remake called The Adventures of Galgameth in 1996. The story behind this movie was reason enough for me to watch it.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language family drama film. It was a major success at the box office and was well-reviewed by critics. I've liked all the Hindi films I've seen so far, and this is no exception. Delightful. Touching without being too emotional. You will smile back when these characters smile, or at least I did.
Because this blog does not consist of a single focus topic I chose the name Divers and Sundry where "Divers" means being of many and various kinds, and "Sundry" means consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds.
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