Godfather part II (1974)

Today's film is The Godfather part II.  This film is unique in two ways.  First, it is the only sequel that has won an Academy Award.  Second,  it is both a sequel and a prequel at the same time!

The problem with a film that is both a sequel and prequel is that you really really need to have watched the first Godfather film.  Or else you will be really lost.

The sequel part follows Michael Corleone, Vito's son and the new Godfather, as he moves his operation from New York to Nevada.  He has many enemies and his marriage is falling apart.  He goes with his so-called associate to Cuba, before the revolution hits, but is wary he is trying to assassinate him.

The prequel part follows the original Godfather, Vito, as he grows up in Italy in the early twentieth century and later escapes to America.  He is a honest, hard-working man that slowly changes into the Godfather that we see in the first movie.  Vito is played by Robert de Niro, who actually lived in Sicily to learn the correct dialect.  That is some real dedication right there.

A lot of the cinematography is very dark, and the colors are mostly brown.  Brown scenery, brown costumes, brown everything.  It's like the sepia filter on instagram.  They did go a little overboard on it.  The acting was really good, though.  So I will give it an 8/10.

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)

Today's film is The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, which comes to us from Germany.  Well, it's not really a plot-driven film, it's more of a character study.

Petra is like the worst kind of person.  The whole movie takes place in her bedroom/studio apartment.  She rarely leaves her bed, even to entertain guests.  That's really weird.  She treats her assistant like a slave, who does nothing but help her.  Petra is rude and ungrateful to everyone.

Petra works as a fashion designer, and much of the film seems to be showing off a slew of bizarre outfits, from all the characters really.

She falls in love at first sight with Karin, a beautiful blonde, who is married by the way. (!!!)  She asks her to move in and somehow Karin agrees.  Sure, Karin sleeps with her but doesn't feel the same way.  She's just using Petra like Petra uses her assistant.  Petra is so smitten that she even pays for the plane ticket for Karin to go see her husband.

Does Petra learn from her experience?  It doesn't look like it.  In the end, even her assistant leaves her.  If you enjoy watching character studies, or character-driven stories, this would be a good film for you.  I will give it a 6/10.

Umberto D. (1952)

Today's film is Umberto D..  It follows the story of a pensioner who is struggling to make ends meet.  As the films opens, we see a huge gathering of old people protesting their meager pensions.  It seems that Umberto has the worst deal because he has debts that his pay simply can't cover.  It is interesting that none of the other people have debts like this.  Does Umberto have any kind of savings?

He gets so desperate that he tries to sell off his possessions, like his watch and books.  But he doesn't having many possessions to sell.  He doesn't even have his own place - he rents out a room at a boarding house.  His landlady has increased his rent and now demands back rent too.  And she wants it all or nothing.  He doesn't have that kind of money.

Umberto doesn't seem to have any family, but he does have his beloved dog, Flike.  No matter what happens, Flike is there for him.  Umberto goes to the hospital a bit for his sore throat, and his landlady purposefully left the door open so Flike would escape.  While Umberto was gone, the landlady took the liberty of redoing his room.  The workers not only ripped off most the wallpaper, they did a really bad job.  And they left gaping holes in the wall too.  These people are worse than my HOA.

So now Flike is gone, but Umberto finds him at the shelter.  We witness some more sad scenes such as a petowner that can't afford the fee to release his dog, dooming him to the gas chamber, as well as seeing the dogs being carted to their deaths.

Umberto does have one friend in this world, Maria the housekeeper.  She is very young and is now pregnant.  So she is at the beginning of her life and starting a new life, while Umberto is nearing the end of his.  They both really need to leave the toxic environment of the boarding house in order to have a better life.

Umberto gathers what little money he has and leaves the boarding house.  He can't bring himself to beg on the streets, so he contemplates suicide.  He tries to leave Flike at a kennel, but is displeased with the poor conditions so he changes his mind.  Later, he almost gets hit by a train, which really frightens Flike.   He'd rather play with his stick and toys, so the film ends with them playing together.  We don't know what else happens to them but we hope they find somewhere to live.  The film is mostly a commentary on society forgetting elderly people.  Today we have more programs to take care of them, and Adult Protective Services can help those who are truly in need.  We have come a long way since the 50's.  I will give this film a 7/10.

2 or 3 Things I Know about Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle) (1967)

Today's film is 2 or 3 Things I Know about Her.  Yaa, more like 2 or 3 Things I Hate about this Movie.  It's the absolute most narcissistic boring pretentious film I have ever seen.  This is the pinnacle of false intellectualism.  We have reached Mount Everest, people.

Within ten minutes you'll already realize one thing: this guy really hates capitalism.  Which is funny because here he has the freedom to express his opinion, but in the type of society he wants, he would be forbidden.  The worst part is that he freaking whispers the whole movie, meaning I need subtitles just to understand what he says.  The sound levels are absolutely horrible in this movie.  And if they can't even get the sound right, what else can go wrong?

The movie doesn't really have a story per se, its mainly just an excuse for the director to complain about everything.  If I wanted to hear constant complaining, I'd just go to my mother's house.  This film has no redeeming qualities.  Therefore, I cannot recommend it to anyone.  I will give give this film a 3/10.

Bin-jip (3-Iron) (2004)

Today's film is 3-Iron, named after the golf club.  I liked it.  It is a quiet film, but you won't really notice the lack of dialogue.

So this guy, Tae-suk is a kind of squatter.  He breaks into people's homes while they are away, and lives in them, traveling from house to house.  But, he's not like the squatters here that trash the place and poop everywhere.  Squatters here are a big problem, usually requiring police intervention to remove.   Tae-suk repays the house owner's "hospitality" by doing repairs and cleaning around each house.

One day he meets a lonely housewife and they "visit" various homes together.  Even though they are together, they don't really speak at all.  Some people may find their silent company endearing, but others may find it frustrating!  Especially for the police officers that question them.  They suspect them in the death of a resident, but it turns out he died of natural causes.

The housewife returns to her home with her husband, but sneaks kisses with Tae-suk under his nose.  Ok now she's just cheating.  So she wants the security and comfort of a husband, but the romance of a wandering boyfriend.  You can't have both.  She needs to be honest and choose one man.  I will give this film a 7/10.

Memorias del subdesarrollo (Memories of Underdevelopment) (1968)

Today's film is Memories of Underdevelopment.  It's not quite a documentary and not quite a drama film.   It takes place in our southern neighbor of Cuba in the 1960s.  Back then, Cuba was like newly communist and no one knew how long it would last.  Several Communist countries have risen and fallen.  The Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell, but Cuba still stays strong even in the year 2016.

There is a main plotline of a man named Sergio, used to a wealthy life, as he tries to keep up his lifestyle.  He watches his entire family including his ex-wife flee to the USA while he stays behind.  He works as a landlord for several properties and doesn't do any actual work.

Interspersed throughout the film, we see actual historical footage of events that shaped Cuba's history.  It is very educational and I did learn a lot about the history.  Cuba has helped to create Florida's culture as well, especially within the past 100 years, since so many people came up here to live.

After each historical lesson, the film returns to Sergio's story, with the first scene always being somebody's butt.  Usually a random woman's butt but sometimes we get treated to a man's butt, which is always nice.  It's like the film is saying, thanks for listening to our history, here's a butt shot.  I would have paid more attention in class if I could have seen more butts.

The most interesting person through all this is Sergio.  He still wants the life of the rich bourgeois, but in a Communist state, the workers get everything.   He loses a lot but still doesn't change.  And he has this obsession with creating an ideal woman, when there's nothing wrong with the women that he's with.  His wife finally gets fed up with his antics and leaves for America.  He tries to do the same to other women but it backfires on him.  The world he lives in is changing and growing, and yet he keeps stagnant.  He talks about Cuba being an underdeveloped country as well as its people.  I think the most underdeveloped thing about the movie is Sergio himself.  I will give this film a 7/10.

Europa '51 (1952)

Today's film is Europa '51, which seems like a decent drama, but overall feels a little silly.  It takes place in post-war Italy, where if a wealthy woman decides to give up her lifestyle and help the poor, she must be crazy.  The idea is if you took a saint like character and put her into a modern world, what would happen to her?

Irene is the wife of an ambassador and used to living life in luxury.  She often throws dinner parties and entertains guests.  However, her son is needy and clingy and is desperate for her attention.  This would be more understandable if he was young, but he's twelve years old.  There's a time for being with kids and a time for being with adults.  Spend the afternoon with your son and then the evening with the adults.  I can fully understand not wanting to have him at the dinner party.  Last time I brought my daughter to a nice restaurant, she ran around like an animal and stole a lady's eyeglasses.

So, her son, very upset at being ignored for five whole minutes, jumps down the stairs in an effort to injure/kill himself.  He breaks a few bones and spends the night in the hospital, but he should be fine.  Irene is feeling quite guilty at his plight and vows to spend much more time with him.  However, he dies unexpectedly from a blood clot sustained from his injuries.  So, Irene falls into a deep depression and doesn't leave her room for a while.  When she does, she decides to help others in need.

Her help gradually increases from simply helping to pay for medication to helping the actual people in the neighborhood.  What would really help is if these people could find jobs with decent wages, the same problem we have here today.  A handsome male friend of hers, her husband's cousin Andrea pushes the idea of social radicalism to make a better society.  Of course they have to throw communism in there because it's a 50s movie.  Irene's husband is upset that she's not around and believes that she is cheating on him.   Here's a radical idea: Tell. your. husband. what. you. are. doing.

That would have solved everything.  Just tell him you're depressed and helping poor people makes you feel better.  Spending money on medicine and food for children instead of on dinner parties.  Eventually she gets thrown into the crazy house.  They don't understand that someone doesn't need to be a part of a religious or political group in order to help the underserved in their communities.  A group of people that she's helped rally outside her window, but she's trapped inside.

This movie was okay, but it just seemed like a mouthpiece for various political ideas.  The characters are too unrealistic and there is no actual reason for her to be committed.  The 50s justice system in movies never makes sense.  The film shows the contrast between the wealthy Italians and the poor of society without offering any true solution.  I will give it a 5/10.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Today's film is The Bridge on the River Kwai, which focuses on a Japanese prison camp during WWII.  A huge troop of British soldiers and officers have been captured, and the director of the camp forces them to build a bridge for the Japanese army.  There's also an American who has been there for some time, but more on him later.

The main officer, Col. Nicholson, plays only by the rules and claims he and the other officers shouldn't be doing manual labor like working on a bridge.  The director, Saito, doesn't care about no stupid Geneva convention and wants as many people as possible working.  This becomes a battle of stubbornness between the two, and we know how stubborn men can be.  Eventually, Nicholson wins and the British set out to build a really good bridge.

Now this bridge becomes a source of British pride for Col Nicholson and he gets really hardcore about it.  He refuses to sabotage any of it, and makes his soldiers build it the best they can, so years later when the war is over, they can all be remembered for this super fantastic bridge of awesome.  That's in the middle of nowhere in a jungle.  They even erect a fancy plaque to commemorate the bridge. Really.

Remember the American dude from the beginning?  Well he escapes and with the help of local villagers, makes a miraculous recovery.  The navy wants him to go back and lead them on a dangerous mission through the jungle - to blow up the bridge on the River Kwai.  He really doesn't want to.  He spent a long time in the awful prison camp, suffered, and saw many people die.  He is starting to get over what he went through and they are forcing him to go back.  He agrees to go with them.  It takes a while but they do make it to the bridge.

They set up the charges to blow up the bridge, but of course Col Nicholson spots them and runs down to investigate.  He really gets in their way of blowing up the bridge, and causes the death of the soldiers responsible for blowing it up.  The soldiers tell him what the mission is about and he realizes he let his personal pride ruin what they were doing.  He falls on the plunger himself and blow up the bridge.  Now when he is hit he lands over there <----  and then falls on the plunger which is over here ------>.   Well that is remarkably convenient.  Overall it was a very enjoyable film.  I will give it a 9/10.

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Today's film is The Greatest Show on Earth, but it's definitely not the greatest movie on earth.  Why are Charlton Heston movies so long?  I remember watching this on tv when I was little, but all I remembered was the train crash, so I thought I should watch the whole thing.  So this marks the 50th best picture film I have ever seen.

I wouldn't call this a best picture, but compared to the other films nominated? Probably yeah.  There was like Ivanhoe and Moulin Rouge and stuff, so I can see that a super exciting circus picture would win it.  It's more of like an almost 3 hour long commercial for Barnum and Bailey circus.  The worst part was Betty Hutton's acting by a long shot.  They have scenes showing each of the acts, the animals, and a whole section about putting the tent up. They make sure to mention the tent's fireproof quality because just a few years before, a circus tent burned to the ground, killing over 100 people.  And no one has to worry about racketeers or thieving carnies at the circus, because they will get thrown in the mud.  No, literally they get thrown in the mud.

The main reason why I really don't like the circus and I'll never take my kids is because of the animals.  Animals are not meant to be locked in cages and only let out to perform for people.  That's a horrible way to live.  They are portrayed positively in this film, and an elephant trainer even uses her elephant to lift off a broken rail off the boss, when machinery could not.  Barnum and Bailey actually stopped using elephants in its acts this year, but is it too little, too late?

There's lots of subplots in this movie and there has to be because circuses take a lot of people to run.  The boss, Brad (Charlton Heston) hires a popular new act to ensure a full season.  The act is Sebastian, a hot either French or Italian, I cant tell, aerial act.  This forces Brad's girlfriend, also an aerial artist, out of the center ring which devastates her.

My little sister is actually an aerial artist for the circus which is one reason why I find circuses so interesting.  Aerial artists (they hate being called trapeze artists) take what they do really seriously and often feel invincible doing it.  That's why Holly used the wrong rope to do her spins and why Sebastian cut away his net.  They don't see the danger in what they're doing.

Another thing is they gave Buttons the clown wayyy too much screentime.  He's like in every scene.  And the big reveal is that he's actually a murderer.  Well of course he's a murderer, he's a clown.  I didn't need to see any of the movie to tell you that.

This may not be the best acted movie ever, but you don't go to the circus for the acting.  You go because it's exciting.  And there's a lot going on everywhere you look. And this film achieved that so I will give it an 8/10.

The Earrings of Madame de...(1953)

Today's film is The Earrings of Madame de... .  The main lessons we take from this are don't cheat on your spouse and don't lie either.

Madame de's first name is Louise, and her last name is never revealed.  So we'll just call her Louise.  She's very rich and pretty, but at the same time greedy and selfish and a shopaholic as well looking at her closet.  She's amassed quite a bit of shopping debt so she decides to pawn her earrings.  Everyone at some point in time has had to pawn something to pay off a bill.  The struggle is real.  However, the earrings she chooses were a wedding present from her husband, even though she's not fond of the style.

The whole problem comes from Louise's inability to tell the truth.  Her husband is obviously wealthy, but has no idea of what debt she may owe or why.  Well we know why - she shops too much but he doesn't know that.  It's not like they had online bank receipts back then.  She makes this huge show about losing her earrings at a theatre so much that it makes the news.  But her lie is revealed quite quickly.  Now that her husband has the earrings, he gives them to his mistress who is traveling to Constantinople.

Let's talk about how awful Louise and her husband's relationship really is.  They not only sleep in separate beds, they're straight up sleeping in separate rooms.  He had a mistress, and she's sweet on a hot Italian diplomat named Donati.  And they have no problem constantly lying to one another.

One of the reasons Louise falls for Donati is because he dances with her at every social gathering.  Certain husbands refuse to dance with their wives and it can be frustrating.  We don't care if you "don't have rhythm", if you don't dance with us we'll find someone who will.

Donati purchases the diamond earrings and gives them to Louise, not knowing they were originally hers.  This makes her husband hella mad.

Louise's husband becomes jealous of her love interest and challenges him to a duel.  This isn't fair because he's a general with combat training and a duel isn't going to be a challenge.  So, her husband thinks its okay to have a mistress but his wife can't even look at another man?  Typical men.  He shoots Donati and kills him with one shot.  Meanwhile, Louise tries to stop them but she is too late.  I think the film is very well shot, and the costumes are beautiful.  I will give it an 8/10.

Safe (1995)

Today's film is Safe.  It's about a wife who is sick and tired of being sick and tired.  And I can relate that.  I haven't watched any films in over a month because I am expecting a baby!  The fatigue and nausea makes it hard to stay up and focus on anything, especially long movies.  We don't know if it is a boy or girl yet, but we will find out in a few weeks.

Carol the housewife is easy to relate to because there's nothing unique about her.  She's a generic housewife with a great house and a great husband.  She develops a mysterious illness out of nowhere.  Is it depression?  Is it allergies? What could it be?

Carol later finds out that the chemicals of modern living are what is making her sick, so she goes to a retreat out in the country to find healing.  Personally I think her symptoms are psychosomatic, and maybe a few weeks in the fresh air will do her good.  We last see her looking in the mirror saying "I love you".  That is the first step to feeling better.  She may need treatment for anxiety as well.  It may take her a while to get better, but health is always a journey.  I like how it doesn't present her illness as some weird science fiction disease, but leaves it open to interpretation.  I will give this film a 9/10.

Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine) (1993)

Today's film is Farewell My Concubine.  It is sort of misleading because the poster features a woman, but the concubine character is really a man.  It is mostly about a friendship, but somehow fits an entire history of China in there as well.

So it starts off a long time ago in a Chinese opera school for boys.  I thought opera meant singing but this is some hard core acrobatics circus/kung fu training area and I'm not entirely sure how that helps them sing.  Two of the students grow up together and remain friends their entire lives.

The first one is Douzi, who is small and therefore thrust into more feminine roles.  His friend is Shitou, who gets to have all the masculine roles.  As they grow older, they get really good at the parts of the concubine and the king in the opera "Farewell My Concubine".

Now that they've become adults, they change their names into equally hard to spell Chinese names.  Like I just learned your names and now you're going to change them.  Douzi becomes Cheng Dieyi and Shitou becomes Duan Xiaolou.  Dieyi nows becomes a flawless expert with his makeup and fully embraces his feminine role.

Meanwhile, Xiaolou marries a former prostitute.  Since Dieyi has had a crush on him for years, he gets insanely jealous and threatens to quit performing with him.  Eventually they do make up though.
It's easy to feel bad for Dieyi because people have always tried to change him to fit their own agenda.  His own mom cut off his extra finger so he could go to secret opera ninja training camp.  Then, he is forced to play lady's roles from childhood on which messed his own sexual views about himself and everyone around him.  His friend knows that he has feelings for him, but he'd rather marry a hooker.  Even his creepy sugar daddy makes him drink turtle blood or some other magic shit to help his voice.  He doesn't have a choice in any of this stuff.

Meanwhile, the country of China changes as the Communists take over.  The opera people don't mind this as long as they get to keep performing.  It is interesting to see how much China changed throughout the beginning of the twentieth century, but the movie never presents it as a history lesson.  The final scene shows them as old men, still doing the same roles they've always done.  Dieyi uses this opportunity to kill himself during the performance.  And I'm like, why?  You're old.  Just die of old age.  It was a good movie, but it had a stupid ending so I will give it a 8/10.

Cléo de 5 à 7 (Cleo from 5 to 7) (1962)

Waiting on a medical test is one of the worst things ever.  It makes your anxiety go up like 1000%.  Even if it turns out to be negative, it's the anticipation and the not knowing that makes it so bad.  Especially when it takes a few days, that makes it even worse!

Today's film is Cleo from 5 to 7, and it's simply about a lady waiting for results for her medical test.  This will determine whether or not she has cancer.  She is worried about having terminal cancer and is a nervous wreck.  What is worse is that today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, but it feels even longer for her.

Cleo can be a bit melodramatic.  Believing she is dying, she buys a black hat and generally annoys her friends.  But she just needs someone to listen to her.  She finds that with Antoine, a soldier on leave from Algeria.  He has to go back to the war soon.  They talk about going to war and having cancer, and it makes Cleo feel better.  Antoine offers to go to the hospital with her.  It turns out Cleo does have cancer, but it's treatable and the doctor already has a treatment plan in mind.  Cleo feels a lot better about her situation.  Even though it's not exactly the best result, the horrible feeling of not knowing is over.

The problem I have with this film is that if it's called Cleo from 5 to 7, shouldn't it be in real time?  It's only like 90 minutes long.  That is kind of disappointing.  Also, the editing of the film is sloppy and distracting.  I didn't like it.  Other than that the film itself is okay.  I will give it a 7/10.

Ugetsu monogatari (Ghost Story) (1953)

Today's film is Ugetsu monogatari, which means "ghost story".  I do love a good ghost story.  Ghosts can be benevolent or have evil intentions, basically no different than living people.

The film takes place in feudal Japan; a time of shogun and samurai, a time of constant wars.  Caught in the middle of this is a family that makes pottery.  The husband's name is Genjuro and he hopes to make a fortune selling in the city.  Meanwhile, their neighbor Tobei wants to be a samurai despite not being born into the class nor having any combat training or armor.  Their wives warn them against their ambitions.

While in the city, Genjuro encounters a beautiful woman with serious eyebrow game and her old nurse.   She loves his beautiful pottery and orders it to be taken to her mansion.  Lots of weird stuff warn us that this is not a good idea.  The woman is Lady Wakasa and she is the last surviving member of her family.

Genjuro falls under Lady Wakasa's spell and stays with her despite being married.  Tobei through sheer luck does become a samurai, but loses his fortune just as quickly.  While Genjuro is busy cheating, his wife and child try to make their way back home.  His wife is robbed and killed by passing soldiers, but her little boy escapes.

When I studied Drama History, I actually wrote my term paper on Noh drama, which is a type of theatre performance.  Lady Wakasa's mask-like makeup and slow, deliberate movements are exactly what you would see in a Noh drama.  These plays often focus on kami, or spirits, which is another way of foretelling us that Lady Wakasa is not of this world.

Genjuro finally comes clean to Lady Wakasa and tells him that he's already married and escapes.  But he learns the truth, that everything was an illusion!  Even the mansion they were staying in was actually burned down!

Genjuro returns home to his wife and child, but we know that his wife is not really there.  She returned one last time to see him and make sure her son was safe.  The next day, Genjuro learns that she was killed while he was busy cheating, and he feels bad.  Tobei and his wife who are back to their normal lives too, learn that having too much ambition and being greedy can ruin you.  I will give this film an 8/10.

Cría cuervos (1976)

Today's film is Cría cuervos.  It stars children but it is not a child's film.

The term "Cría cuervos" means to "raise ravens (crows)".  This means to say if you raise a raven, they'll scratch your eyes out.  Same way if you raise a child poorly, they'll end up destroying you.

The film stars three orphan girls, Irene, Ana, and Maite.  Their mother was sickly, pale, and eventually died of cancer.  Their father was an army man who regularly cheated on her.  The mother gives Ana a jar of baking soda and tells her to throw it out because it is a dangerous poison.  Ana, not knowing what baking soda really is, keeps it for her nefarious purposes.  She puts it in her father's milk to "poison" him, and when he dies of  a possible heart attack, she believes the poison works.

Now that the girls are without both parents, their mother's sister, Aunt Paulina moves in.  Also, their invalid grandmother comes with her.  She is in a wheelchair and cannot speak.  At first, they are happy, but they realize that Aunt Paulina has the exact personality of their dad!  This does not please Ana at all, and she lets everyone know this.

The orphan girls - Ana, little Maite, and Irene.

Ana often dreams of her mother and father, and has conversations with them often.  We can tell these are really dreams instead of visions, because her mother always tells her it's late and she should be asleep.  Well she is asleep.

Aunt Paulina isn't even a good mom, often leaving to do who knows what while the eldest, Irene, has to babysit.  When she's not gone, she's busy at the house making out with married men.  The only person Ana has to talk to about her parents is the family housekeeper, Rosa, who has known her since birth.  But, Paulina quickly shuts them down and won't let her "gossip" about her sister.  Talking about her parents is a healthy outlet and Paulina actively seeks to stop that.  Paulina is incredibly rude towards Rosa.

Ana is so frustrated at Paulina's presence (who really is like father version 2.0)  that she plots to poison her as well.  So, she dumps baking soda in her milk and is shocked to see her alive the next day.  At the end, the summer is over and they are no longer cooped up in the house.  They dress for school and head out into the city.  Maybe being away from the house for awhile will be good for them.  I will give this film a 7/10.

In Bloom (2013)

Today's film is In Bloom, which takes place in the country of Georgia during the early 1990s.  This was right after the collapse of the Soviet empire.  So, Georgia in the 1990s looked a lot different from America.

What do I remember from the 90s?  I remember there were a lot of grocery stores that were convenient, and a lot of tacky fast food restaurants.  There were no coffee shops like Starbucks back then, at least not in Florida.  There was one Dunkin Donuts, but their coffee is hella nasty.  There were no Walmarts to rape the small towns with their presence, but they would soon come.

  What is interesting is that Georgia had none of this!  All of these things are examples of capitalism, and there's nothing like that there.  It was definitely a no-frills country.  They had just been freed from the rule of the Soviets, but still were working out some issues.  There was widespread poverty and violence was the norm.  There were still daily breadlines and every parent somehow managed to be an alcoholic.

Dealing with all this are two fourteen-year-olds, Eka and Natia.  They just want to go to school and live a normal life.  A boy named Lado likes Natia and gives her a gun as a gift.  Well, he may be more Floridian than we thought! That is a totally normal gift here, but for most of America, a girl may appreciate roses or chocolates more as a romantic gift.  The gun plays a significant role in this film.  The gun is actually meant to protect her from a practice called "bride kidnapping" which is exactly what it sounds like.  However, Natia gets kidnapped and forced into marriage anyway!

At first, Natia doesn't mind because her new husband is nice and her in-laws are more cordial than her loud drunken family.  But soon, she learns that married life isn't as great as it appears to be.  She was only 14 and had to drop out of school.  Then, Lado returns and Natia's husband gets insanely jealous.  He kills Lado, and Natia becomes furious.  Naturally, she would want justice for him.  Eka is the only one who doesn't think violence is the answer to anything, as her father lives faraway in prison for murder.

It never shows what Natia decides to do with the gun, or what her husband's fate is.  We do see Eka throw the gun in a lake.  Was she trying to prevent more violence, as she did not want to see Natia suffer the same fate as her father?  Or was she hiding evidence?

It ends with Eka taking a trip to visit her father in prison, something she has never wanted to do before.  The films ends before we see him.

Roma città aperta (Rome, Open City) (1945)

Today's film is Rome, Open City.  This is an especially impressive film because it is about WWII and was filmed during WWII!  So like the danger was real for these people but they didn't care because they had a story to tell us.

There are quite a few films from this era made in Italy.  This country gets a lot of pity from me, because they were in the middle in the War.  The people were controlled by both the Nazis and the fascists, like nothing good comes out of that.  They were starving and broke, and then their controllers lost the war and they had to deal with that too!  It was a really rough time for Italy.

During this time, the Nazis had full control of Italy.  However, there are some rebels they are determined to get rid of.  Most of the film consists of these rebels and their families, and them hiding from the Nazis.  The local priest, Don Pietro does a lot to help the rebel cause.

I thought it was neat how they transferred messages with their secret code words and whatnot.  And one guy had a message inside a bullet!  Today we would just send a private text but it was so much harder back then.

In addition to the rebels, who all seem to be men, there are several female characters with their own stories.  One of them is a rebel's pregnant fiancee, who is gunned down in the street by the Nazis.  Another is a beautiful performer that gets tricked by a lesbian dominatrix Nazi into giving up vital information and then gets burned by her.

Eventually, the Nazis capture Don Pietro and two of the rebels.  The evil Nazi guy is trying to get information from the rebel, but he will not talk.  The Nazi tries to guilt trip Don Pietro into giving up information or convincing the others to talk.  But Don Pietro doesn't give up and refuses to meet any of his demands no matter how scary the Nazis are.  Don Pietro is straight up No-Flinch Kobe.  Of the two other rebels, one hangs himself and the other is beaten to death.

When the other Nazis ask what name they should use for the dead man, he gives a fake name, because he doesn't want to "create a martyr for the rebellion".  So instead, they decide the execute the priest.  So that's a better idea?!

This movie provides an interesting glimpse into the lives of people who lived under Nazi occupation.  I will give this film a 10/10.

Three Kings (1999)

Today's film is Three Kings.  Is it a war drama, a comedy, or social commentary?  Maybe it is all three!  At the end of the Gulf War in the early 1990s, 4 soldiers set about to retrieve some stolen gold.  And they get it fairly quickly about 35 minutes into the film.  The hard part will be getting the gold where it needs to go.

As they already trying to transfer the gold, the people of the region keep needing their assistance.  Pesky people and their constant need for help!  The soldiers do the right thing and help the citizens, putting their needs over the desire for gold.  There is a lot of commentary over the real reasons we went over there, as well as the current state the area is in.  Nothing that we don't already know, but  remember this film was made before Junior Bush sent troops to Iraq and reopened old wounds.  In a sense, this film could have been set more recently and we would not have seen much difference.  I will give this an 8/10.

La Strada (1954)

Today's film is La Strada, a film that doesn't end well for the characters. I wonder if this film has to do with Italy itself after it lost WWII.  I tried looking up "La Strada" and all I got was directions to a local Italian restaurant. :(

It starts off with the death of Zampano the Strongman's assistant, Rosa.  He goes to her mother's house and asks to purchase her other daughter, Rosa's sister, Gelsomina.  Gelsomina is a simple, naive person and is forced to go with him as his new assistant.

Zampano and Gelsomina travel across the country as vaudeville performers.  Zampano is a strongman who has one stale act, while she learns to play instruments and entertain as a clown.  He doesn't treat her well, beats her, and sleeps around with any woman who says hello to him.

They are invited to work as part of a circus, but that doesn't go well either.  A high-wire act known as "The Fool" loves to taunt Zampano, and the angrier he gets, the funnier it seems.  Eventually, Zampano pulls a knife on him and is sent to jail.  The circus fires both of the men, and ask Gelsomina to stay with them.  But she refuses and goes to the jail to pick up Zampano.  The Fool also asks her to go with him as part of his show, and she refuses as well.  Later, she meets a nun who almost gets her to stay, but she will still not leave him.  Maybe she is more afraid of the unknown than she is afraid of staying with him.  She is a very simple person and doesn't know any better.

Later, Zampano and Gelsomina come across The Fool, who is changing a tire by the roadside.  This prompts Zampano to kill him, which devastates her.  He abandons Gelsomina while she is sleeping and drives off.  She cannot handle both the death of someone who was actually nice to her and her abandonment.

A few years later, Zampano learns what happened to her.  A woman tells her that her family found her on the beach, but she never spoke and eventually wasted away and died.  Did he learn anything from this?  Probably not.  I will give this film an 8/10.

Hanyo (The Housemaid) (1960)

Today’s film is Hanyo, The Housemaid.  It is a very interesting example of early Korean horror as well as a moralistic lesson.

The film opens and closes with a husband and wife discussing a newspaper article about an affair between a married man and the family housemaid.  The film is an imagining of such an event and how it can destroy the entire family.

The husband, Mr. Kim, works as a piano teacher in a factory full of young female workers.  Since he is one of the few males they ever see, several of them are going to like him.  It’s just nature.  A worker makes her friend pen him a love letter, but she gets suspended and later kills herself in shame.  In response, the worker goes to his house to take piano lessons, but she has a plan.

Mr and Mrs. Kim both want a housekeeper.  They just purchased a larger new house and Mrs. Kim is about to give birth soon.  The worker suggests a woman who seems unbalanced and they hire her as their housekeeper.

The whole movie ends up being like Fatal Attraction if the crazy lady lived in their house full time.  The housemaid takes advantage of Mr. Kim and becomes pregnant.  She uses her condition to manipulate him until Mrs. Kim convinces her to abort it by “falling” down the stairs.  In retaliation, she also kills their older son the same way.  It is a common trope in both Korean and Japanese horror for victims to die by falling or being pushed down stairs.  It is interesting to see it exists as early as a film from the 1960’s.

Nobody expects the housemaid to be as  cunning and manipulative as she is.  She becomes convinced she must kill herself and she wants to bring down the husband with her.  Neither Mr nor Mrs. Kim ever call the police for anything she’s done and essentially let her get away with everything.

Then at the end, the husband and wife, who were discussing the news, turn to us and explain that this could happen to anyone.  Yeah we know we literraly just got done watching it.  We don’t really need the school lesson at the end.  I will give this film a 7/10.