Wild Tales is a 2014 Spanish-language black comedyanthology film. The film is composed of six standalone shorts with a common theme of catharsis, violence and vengeance and has an ensemble cast. Wild Tales is based on Szifron’s understanding of Western capitalist society as a cage, and depicts the moment at which some people become so frustrated by their surroundings they cannot behave in the socially expected manner.
Woman At War
Woman at War is a 2018 Icelandic-Ukrainian comedy-drama film. Halla, a choir conductor and eco-activist, plans to disrupt the operations of a Rio Tintoaluminium plant in the Icelandic highlands, purposely damaging electricity pylons and wires to cut their power supply. One day, a long-forgotten application to adopt an orphan child from Ukraine is approved …
Our Little Sister
Our Little Sister is a Japanese drama based on Akimi Yoshida‘s manga series Umimachi Diary. Three sisters, Sachi Kōda, Yoshino Kōda and Chika Kōda, live in the house of their grandparents in Kamakura. Their parents are divorced. One day, they receive news of the death of their father, whom they have not seen in fifteen years. At the funeral, they meet their half-sister, fourteen year old Suzu Asano …
Autorickshaw driver Amal is content with the small, but vital, role he serves – driving customers around New Delhi as quickly and safely as possible. But his sense of duty is tested by an eccentric, aging billionaire, who, moved by Amal’s humility, bequeaths him his entire estate before passing away. With only one month to discover and claim the inheritance, Amal’s struggles with duty and wealth are threatened by all those around him – from a young injured beggar girl and a lovely store merchant, to the danger of the old man’s upper-caste friends and siblings, all seeking to claim their share of the riches.
Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country’s first army in the art of modern warfare. As the government attempts to eradicate the ancient Samurai warrior class in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly affected by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Brian is a lonely inventor in rural Wales who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, he soon attempts his biggest project yet. Using a washing machine and various spare parts, he invents Charles, an artificial intelligence robot that learns English from a dictionary and has an obsession with cabbages.
Rebetiko
The story of a group of Rembetes, singers and musicians of the Greek equivalent to the blues, in the early decades of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a young female singer. Unfortunately (as you can see), I’m unable to embed a YouTube clip from the film – but you should be able to click and visit the clip yourself.
The Woman King
In the 1800s, a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Faced with a new threat, Gen. Nanisca trains the next generation of recruits to fight against a foreign enemy that’s determined to destroy their way of life.
Chris has proposed three films (see below) for us to watch this month. Please nominate the film of your choice by posting a comment below on this page. Nominations close on 15th April.
Location: Location to be decided.
Date: Saturday, 29th April
Time: 19:00 onwards for a 19:30 start.
As an optional extra we can meet for an after-film discussion the following morning at 10:30 at Hades in Agios Nikolaos.
Catherine Called Birdy
The year? 1290. In the Medieval English village of Stonebridge, Lady Catherine (known as Birdy) is the youngest child of Lord Rollo and the Lady Aislinn. Her playground is Stonebridge Manor, a house that, like the family, has seen better days. Financially destitute and utterly greedy, Rollo sees his daughter as his path out of financial ruin by marrying her off to a wealthy man for money and land. But Birdy, like all the great teen heroines, is spirited, clever and adventurous – and ready to put off any suitor that comes calling in increasingly ingenious ways. Her imagination, defiance and deep belief in her own right to independence put her on a collision course with her parents. When the most vile suitor of all arrives, they are presented with the ultimate test of love for their daughter.
Young Frankenstein
A young neurosurgeon (Gene Wilder) inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback called Igor, a pretty lab assistant named Inga and the old housekeeper, frau Blucher -iiiiihhh!-. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather is only crap, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind…
The Straight Story
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) learns one day that his distant brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver’s license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
Mae & Jort have proposed three films for us to watch this month.
Pranzo di Ferragosto
An affable bachelor, Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio), who still lives with his elderly mother (Valeria De Franciscis), has coasted through life and has no complaints about that. But coasting also means not paying the bills for his condo, and the landlord, Alfonso (Alfonso Santagata), has had enough. He makes Gianni an offer — Alfonso wants to go on holiday, and will forget about the bills if Gianni takes care of his mother. Soon, Gianni is taking care of several mothers and trying to stay afloat.
Perfetti Sconosciuti
On the evening of a total eclipse of the moon, seven close friends gather for a dinner party. Early in the meal, one of the friends, a relationship therapist named Eva, says that she is convinced that many couples would separate if they saw the messages on each other’s phones. As the friends debate this contention, they agree—some of them reluctantly—to play a game. They will each place their phone on the table and they will share their messages and calls with the rest of the group.
Les Femmes du 6e étage
Set in Paris in 1962, the story alternates between two different worlds. One is a traditional wealth family in a comfortable apartment, whose lives are devoted to making money and meaningless socialising. The other is the underpaid and overworked domestic servants living in cramped conditions above them. As few French people want such work, the jobs are taken by Spanish women, eager to escape the poverty and oppression of Francoist Spain, who bring with them their native solidarity and human warmth.
