Punishment Park (1971) Director: Peter Watkins Actors: Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano Runtime: 88 min Punishment Park is a dystopia (reverse utopia) in which US President Richard Nixon declares a state of emergency, suspends all civil rights, the police arrests thousands of people and deliverers them to military tribunals which are adjudicating with no …
Das Experiment (2001) Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel Actors: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski Runtime: 114 min Exceptionally tense and dynamic movie that will literally keep you on the edge of your seat. Although it isn’t mentioned at any point, the film is largely based on actual events – in the summer of 1971 at Stanford …
Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta (1986) Director: Hayao Miyazaki Run-time: 124 min Air pirates, army and government agents wants to abduct Sheeta, a girl with mysterious necklace with crystal pendant. She meets boy by the name of Pazu who plans to construct a plane and set off in search for the flying city of Laputa. During …
O slavnosti a hostech (1966) Director: Jan Nemec Actors: Ivan Vyskocil, Jan Klusák, Jiri Nemec Runtime: 68 min This simple and intelligent movie skillfully and effectively questions conformism and obedience to authority. It was made within the framework of the Czechoslovak New Wave and banned as “subversive” after the Soviet intervention in 1968. The critique …
Week end (1967) Director: Jean-Luc Godard Actors: Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne Runtime: 105 min A couple prepares for the weekend. He doesn’t love her, she doesn’t love him. Both have someone on the side and wish that the other gets killed. This weekend they are going to the hospital where her father is dying, in …
Amanece, que no es poco (1989) Director: José Luis Cuerda Actors: José Sazatornil, Carmen de Lirio, Francisco Martínez Runtime: 110 min A very intelligent Spanish surrealist comedy from the late 1980s that simply can’t be retold. Surrealism distorts reality to breaking point, to the absurd and impossible, and puts us in position to laugh at …
Gojira (1954) Director: Ishirô Honda Actors: Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata Runtime:96 min Less than ten years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan made a movie about a prehistoric monster woken from millennial sleep by US underwater nuclear tests. Godzilla is a metaphor for nuclear destruction and a threat that nuclear weapons pose …
Den brysomme mannen (2006) Director: Jens Lien Actors: Trond Fausa Aurvaag Runtime: 95 min This is a story about a man who realizes that something is fundamentally wrong with the world he lives in, although no one around him seems to notice that. He is slowly becoming increasingly dissatisfied, but when he tries to change …
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) Director: Nicolas Roeg Actors: David Bowie Runtime: 139 min Humanoid alien comes to Earth in desire to save his planet which is struck by catastrophic drought. He patents his advanced technology and quickly acquires incredible wealth with the intention of building a space ship, but things are slowly …
It Happened Here (1965) Directors: Kevin Brownlow, Andrew Mollo Actors: Pauline Murray Runtime: 93 min An alternative history in which the Nazis succeeded in landing and occupying England. The film does not focus on the German occupation forces but rather on English collaborators and the mechanisms which people use to rationalize their acceptance of fascism. In this …
