Best Memories of 2008

Best Memories of 2008

10. Man on Wire (2008, James Marsh)

This is a funny, captivating documentary chronicling a tightrope walker's history, preparation, and effort to walk on high wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
On August 7, 1974, some New Yorkers were treated to a memorable spectacle at Twin Towers. Behind it all was the daring exploits of a Frenchman Philippe Petit.
Acting on an idea he'd been pondering, drafting, and practising for months, showcasing his unbelievable feat of perseverance and foot-first skill that had enthused him for years on end since he was a teenager, Philippe Petit depicts his formidable undertaking to the world. He undertook arguably one of the most periculous endeavour in human history, and it was publicized by TV and newspapers. With this risky venture, Philippe Petit inspired wonder shared by very few peers.
At the heart of Philippe Petit's high-wire walking performance was the idea that the seemingly insurmountable obstacle can be overcome by effort and enthusiasm. In one morning of awe-inspiring and emotional splendor, he educated, edified and entertained us all. If you have a dream, go make it come true while you are still young, time and tide wait for no man. That's what this film tells us.

9. The Chaser (2008, Na Hong-jin)

Inspired by a true story, The Chaser (2008) revolves around serial disapperances of call girls and an ex-cop's desperate search to save his employee's life. In his pursuit he's obstructed by his former police colleagues at almost every turn, even when the killer is held in detention and confesses his guilt.
The Chaser (2008), as in Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder (2003), pours scorn on the authorities' incapability and clumsiness, reveals social discontent about the officials, while the identity of the killer remains a mystery in the latter, it is identified early on in this film, and then focuses on how inept the investigators are and how preposterously the Korean society operates. In The Chaser (2008), most of the suspense comes from the foot chase, close fighting, and the killer will be released if the fumbling police are not able to provide evidence within a day.
With the dauntless filmmaker keen to paint a grim picture in which law enforcement is shown in an unfavourable light - the shirking police force are always in search of a way to shift blame, and with the added social commentary, this film goes beyond the majority of serial killer films. And the most unbelievable of all, this is the director Na Hong-jin's debut.
I am always in awe of some directors' talents, such as Clint Eastwood, the older he gets, the more prolific and inspiring he becomes, and some newcomers like Cristian Nemescu, Fatih Akin, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Na Hong-jin, with their first attempts at filmmaking, many experienced directors pale into insignificance.

8. Revolutionary Road (2008, Sam Mendes)

It's western Connecticut in the mid-1950s booming postwar period, a couple attempt to move to Paris to begin their lives anew and leave their hopeless emptiness behind. But with the advent of a career opportunity that the male lead cannot afford to miss, the couple's relationship begins to turn sour and lack of communication eventually leads to family tragedy. The storyline sounds stale and conventional, it works as an astonishingly touching, absorbingly thought-provoking adult drama nevertheless.
The film is a glaringly vivid voyage of distress, observing the broadening line between the couple whose growing mutual resentment and hatred are impediment to gradually altering their corroding relationship in the name of matrimony.
Leonardo DiCaprio's acting in this film is at his career peak, bestowing a desperate quality with minimal moves, interiorizing the sorrow and fury with prominent facial torsions, but unfortunately overshadowed this year by Mickey Rourke's Oscar-worthy performance in The Wrestler (2008) - one that most probably will be recognised by the Academy.
Kate Winslet's performance here is much better than that in The Reader (2008), more natural and less contrived, though the latter got lots of her nude scenes, yet Kate Winslet got nominated for best actress for The Reader (2008) rather than this film on Oscar nominations. Go figure.

7. Frost/Nixon (2008, Ron Howard)

Frost/Nixon (2008) tells a very personal story wrapped within a larger political context. Adapted from the Peter Morgan's Tony-nominated stage drama that portrays David Frost's 1977 series of TV interviews with former President Richard Nixon, the film harkens back to the 1970s and the Watergate scandal that resulted in the indictment of several of Nixon's closest advisors, and ultimately his resignation on August 9, 1974. Much unlike typical political interviews, the struggle pitted an checkbook journalism against White House dirty tricks squad. Frost's interview also has to be seen against the backdrop of controversial pardon issued by President Gerald Ford for any federal crimes Nixon may have committed while in office, who regarded the interview both as an opportunity to make a fortune and a prospect of an improvement of his sullied reputation with a talk show host he believed adequate to only asking easy questions.
However, Nixon's underestimate of his opponent paved the way for his final admission and remorse. Mass media was what indicted him and destroyed his hope of presidency both in Watergate scandal and this interview. Although Frank Langella doesn't bear physical or vocal resemblance to Nixon, he incarnates Nixon through sheer force of brilliant performance.

6. Doubt (2008, John Patrick Shanley)

As in The Crime of Father Amaro (2002) and Deliver Us from Evil (2006), this film tells a story of a Father's sexual misconduct. All these films take on the issues of religion, morality and authority. Some priests' misbehaviour arouses some audiences' skepticism on the existence of God, crisis of faith (doubt), as this film put it, can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. There are moments of doubt and disbelief, times when religious doctrine fails to provide a rationale or explanation. Yet all these films don't say priests are unethical but discover that priests are human and some humans are unethical. It should be noted that many ordained religious practitioners are good men. They are good-hearted, altruistic individuals living pious lives in service of their calling. For every dishonourable priest, there are many more men whose concern for others is non-ravening. As in Deliver Us from Evil (2006), an activist for those victims was another righteous Father, who excoriates the Church's response to the scandal, and in this film, Father Brendan Flynn's suspicious behaviour is investigated and reprobated by Sister Aloysius Beauvier.
I had a dicussion about the film Deliver Us from Evil (2006) with an evangelist during the Franklin Graham Festival at Hong Kong Stadium in December 2007. I asked why God didn't prevent some priests' culpability, he replied that God gives you the freedom to choose between right and wrong. If you're determined to misbehave, why blame God for the responsibility of your wrongdoings afterwards. It's you who made the decision. God doesn't tell you to misdemean. One day, those wicked priests have to bear the full responsibility for their conduct in front of God.
The message of this film can be extended from faith in God to faith in life, faith in love, faith in career. Under desperate circumstance, uncertainty is likely to set in. The only thing we could do is learn from the past, make sensible choices, keep going on the right path.

5. Gomorra (2008, Matteo Garrone)

Based on Roberto Saviano's bestseller about Italy's notorious Neapolitan syndicate Camorra, Gommorah is a movie so unlike the usual Hollywood crime film which glamorizes the mob in a phony way, that its genuineness makes the typical Hollywood ones pale by comparison. This film interweaves five different stories related to mob activities to demonstrate how deep the vicious roots reach in reality, and how hard and ineffectual it appears to seek to uproot this mob-rule threat from its firmly controlled regions. It was shot in the same locale as where the story took place, exhibiting the Camorra criminal families' impact in social, political and economic aspects.
It’s a splendidly told disclosure of how the modern Italian mob functions, from the long-existing street bullying to international business intimidation.
The author of the best-seller which inspired this film was threatened by the Mafia of Naples, because he had the bravery and the rashness to spill a large number of beans about the Camorra, the Mafia of Naples, the author now has to be protected by a bodyguard. All these add to the film's atrocious sense.

4. Waltz with Bashir (2008, Ari Folman)

Before Israel carried out an air attack in Gaza and sent tanks into the Strip in late December last year, a film called Waltz with Bashir (2008) was made about the Sabra and Shatila massacre in September, 1982. The peacebreakers and victims are the same in both incidents, Lebanese Phalangist militiamen entered and massacred two Palestinian refugee camps with the permission of Israeli Defense Forces. and Israel's recent relentless air attacks on a besieged Gaza caused over 1,000 deaths and some 4,000 injuries of innocent Palestinians, mostly women and children.
In an animated style similar to Waking Life (2001), writer-director Ari Folman investigates the massacre of Palestinian refugees that has been haunting his generation for more than two decades. Folman's film mulls over this disturbing material, digging slowly but deep – and even the Kafkaesque tone that runs throughout those fragmented memories can't gear you up for the striking aftermath. Ari Folman cuts in between those fragmented memories in such a manner that it takes a while to figure out what's happened and how it all connects, here is a filmmaker challenging the audience's history knowledge, demanding fullest attention. Waltz with Bashir (2008) comes across as a hearty and profoundly sore struggle that exempts neither its maker nor his nation from the guilt. Even though the film's animated style, as the director claimed, functions on the border between reality and the subconscious, what happened in the film was not a dream, and that was the most frightening thing of all.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, David Fincher)

There's little doubt this is an ambitious effort, the film takes the audience on a tour of the 20th century, with a love story so unique that the lovers age in the opposite direction.
Of all the directors you would expect to make an era-spanning romance epic like this film, you would not think of David Fincher as the first choice. David Fincher's films are symbolized by murder, suspense, brutality, nastiness, and psycho thriller as seen in Se7en (1995), The Game (1997), Fight Club (1999), Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007). And yet, David Fincher's astonishing deployment of phenomenal amount of techonological details to replicate New Orleans over the span of the 20th century, and his adeptness to elicit wondrous performances from his actors made this another masterpiece of another heartrending romance. One of David Fincher's magical strength as a director is his ability to make the movie as engrossing as possible througout the film. The film is nearly 3 hours in length, but it never makes you feel ponderous and tedious.

2. The Wrestler (2008, Darren Aronofsky)

Darren Aronofsky, an auteur of making visually thrilling and intellectually challenging films, brings another astounding feature, but with less equivocalness as previous film like The Fountain (2006), instead with more violence and poignance.
The Wrestler (2008) explores not just the traditional elegiac of fading from prime prominence, but the equally soul-rattling ache of father-daughter relationship.
The characters are so deeply drawn and remarkably illuminated, the audience are connectted with the characters' pain. It's an audacious and essential film, gorgeously presented and, grimly entertaining too.
As in Requiem for a Dream (2000), Darren Aronofsky uses certain sound effects to simulate a certain emotion, such as the actor walked in a store to work, but accompanied by shrill, excited cheering of wrestling fans to represent the character's past glory and today's ordinariness.
The performance by Mickey Rourke in this film is simply superb, Mickey Rourke has never been better, his dumfounding wrestling presentation and electrifying acting developes the wrestler into an incredibly complicated, conflicted individual who emites equal parts enchantment and immorality, magnetism and brutality. Mickey Rourke's interpretation of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson stands for the class of male acting in 2008. Chances are we'll see him being awarded as best actor at the upcoming Oscar ceremony.

1. Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Danny Boyle)

Twelve years after the sublimely excellent Trainspotting (1996), Danny Boyle's works in between were inspiring but uneven, and now with the deeply affecting Slumdog Millionaire (2008), the director is back to his career peak, and this film may be his most popular work ever.
This film is the director's most accessible work to date since the narrative works on multiple levels, it can be viewed as a suspenseful adventure, a touching romance, or as a peek at human misery in Indian society despite its fast-growing economy.
Danny Boyle blends this evidently Oliver-esque tale with picturesque sets, quick cuts, amazing kaleidoscopic shots, canted camera angles, and always-in-motion camerawork. In the hands of a less talented director, this skillfully crafted feature may appear kitschy and meretricious, but with the cinematic sleight of hand of Danny Boyle, this seamlessly assembled work looks stylistically overwhelming while remains narratively solid and grippingly breathtaking.
The movie has grievous and tragic moments but it is jubilant in the end and incorporates all the elements general audience desires. Danny Boyle ends the movie with the protagonist reuniting with his childhood sweetheart and then an effervescent dance number, ensuring the audience leaves the theater with an elated viewing pleasure.


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Best Memories of 2007

Best Memories of 2006

Best Memories of 2007

Best Memories of 2007

In reminiscence of 2007, July is a month worth remembering, when the journey towards finishing viewing IMDb top 500 list ended, and I became one of several hundred few worldwide who had done that, or put it another way, one of the most masochistic viewers around the world.
Besides, I also finished viewing other movie lists, or the vast majority on the lists, say, TiME magazine 100, AFI top 100, Oscar best pictures over the years, and past Best Foreign picture winners, etc......

As far as Top 10 list of 2007 is concerned, only those films first released in the year of 2007 will be considered.
Regretfully, by the time this article is written, I have not yet watched the following films, which seem to be the strong candidates to make the top 10 list of 2007.

Across the Universe (2007), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Juno (2007), There Will Be Blood (2007), Tropa de Elite (2007), Cassandra's Dream (2007), Into the Wild (2007), Paranoid Park (2007), Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

Chances are the top 10 list may be a trifle different after I have watched all of them.
Anyway, if there is any variation of the list, you can check it out here.

10. No Country for Old Men (2007, Coen Brothers)

This picture is a nihilistic chase story about an ex-welder stumbling upon a drug deal gone sour and a suitcase full of cash, which makes him being tailed by an unrelenting killer.
While to those familiar with Coen Brothers' body of work, it's practically nothing new, just a mixture of Coen Brothers' former works: the crazed hunting of Blood Simple. (1984), the brutal atrocity of Miller's Crossing (1990), the bloodshed and gore of Fargo (1996), the story never runs short of unanticipated twists and switchbacks, tense and grasping on one hand, breathtaking and stirring on the other. The audience are thrown into a territory swamped with violence, carnage, blurred values and everything is bleakly subject to the whims of fate.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins, Coen Brother's long-term partner since Barton Fink (1991), does a stupendous job providing gorgeously crafted photography and an array of empathy-inducing images, which captures the lives and growing tensions between the hunting and the killings.
The acting in this film is remarkable throughout, especially the killer, played by Javier Bardem, who is a versatile actor, from a troubled policeman in Live Flesh (1997), a complext poet in Before Night Falls (2000), a tenacious paralysed victim in The Sea Inside (2004), to a barbarous killer in this film. He is utterly believable in every role.

9. Control (2007, Anton Corbijn)

A dramatized account of the troubled singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis, from his student era to the formation of post-punk outfit Joy Division, until his final years when his epilepsy and personal problems get the best of him.
Shot in bright monochrome, infused with nihilism and darkness, and also the sweetness and charisma, plus newcomer Sam Riley's eerie performance, which embodies Ian Curtis perfectly, a lively Ian Curtis appears in front of the audience, just as Jamie Foxx inhabits Ray Charles in Ray (2004), director Anton Corbijn's debut feature captures the general atmosphere of that era in persuasive detail, pays proper homage to the enigmatic lead singer and enduring music of Joy Division.
This film is definitely far better than another bio-pic, I'm Not There. (2007, Todd Haynes), which looks back at the different aspect of Bob Dylan's life and work, personified by six characters. On the bright side, it embodies a multi-faceted Bob Dylan, on the dark side, only two out of six characters worth mentioning, Christian Bale's fantastic black-and-white Dylanesque photographs and Cate Blanchett steals the show by adopting the transvestite role as Dylan, on the darker side, Heath Ledger as Bob Dylan is awful, almost as cheesy is Julianne Moore as Joan Baez. The movie is too fragmented and looks like a parody rather than a tribute to a legend like Bob Dylan.

8. Atonement (2007, Joe Wright)

After the successful interpretation of Pride and Prejudice (2005), Joe Wright returns with another adaptation of Ian McEwan's Atonement, and it tops all films with seven nominations at the announcement for the 65th annual Golden Globes, including Best Picture and Best Director. The feature seems worthy of the nominations since it successfully interpretes the novel.
Atonement (2007) tells of the romance between Cambridge-educated Cecilia and a housekeeper's son, Robbie Turner, unfortunately jeopardised by Cecilia's younger sister, Briony, who falsely accuses Robbie and seperates the lovers out of jealousy and misunderstanding. The separated lovers die in woeful conditions respectively later. The now notable Briony as a writer, in order to make amends for her past misbehavior, depicts the love story between the two in an imarginary way by making it a paradisaic reunion at the Dover seaside so that they can have some finest euphoric moments that was actually forbidden to them, and through this literary writing, her guilty conscience can be eased.
The juxtaposition of a fine score by Dario Marianelli to create an alluring effect with pivotal moments - especially the one where the young Briony transforms into an old guilt-ridden lady, the clacking sound of the typewriter is a rhetorical exposition of her writing career and the march of time from young to old.
Some scenes in the movie are portrayed twice, once from Briony's perspective and once from an impersonal point of view, this is a sensible move that the audience can realise why Briony mistakenly perceives what happened around her.
Apart from the spectacular location, prominent sets and lighting, the casting is superb, the transition of the character Briony from 18-year-old (Romola Garai) to the old and dying (Vanessa Redgrave), is natural and persuasive, owing to the resemblance between the two actresses in their appearance and temperament.

7. The Kite Runner (2007, Marc Forster)

Many people are yearning for the good old days, but nostalgia may not always be sweet, sometimes recalls bitter moments, sweet yet bitter. Such is the case in Kite Runner (2007). Beginning in 2000 in San Francisco, and instantly flashing back to 1978 in Afghanistan, the film tells a story of two 12-year-old kite runners, Amir and Hassan, who were confidants in spite of their class differences. Jealous of his father's compliment towards Hassan and out of cowardice, Amir did nothing when he watched Hassan being brutalized and even sodomized by teen bullies. Years later, when the despicalbe Amir learned Hassan's son was in danger, he flew home to help because he saw this as redemption of his past wrongdoings, a way to be good again.
This movie is a tale of guilt and redemption, about what is right and wrong.
Throughout human history, the worst of human nature manifests itself not only in wartime, but in normal times as well if you let your moral sense be caught off guard.
We will always have to contend with hatred, racism and fear to be good again. Right and wrong are not things that happen to us, they are things that we can choose.

6. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007, Cristian Mungiu)

Romania in the 1980s', the last years of Romania's Ceausescu dictatorship, Otilia, a young, female university student, sets on a journey to hire an abortionist to perform an abortion for her roommate, Gabita, in a hotel room. After an interminable argument, the wretched abortionist extracts an unexpected price out of Otilia due to her deficient abortion allotment. The film finishes when Gabita's fetus is successfully aborted and disposed of through a building's garbage pipe.
Filmed in documentary style, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" is a searing allegory of the human condition in 1980s' Romania, a testament to a forgotten, recent past, a caustic narrative of despair and loss, poignantly told in subtle actions and spare words.
This film has its share of haunting moments and images, the bloody baby foetus is one of the most lurid scenes in film history. The dark, grim streets with dogs barking somewhere are a figurative expression of gloomy claustrophobia, thought strangulating of Romanian lives, whereas in the last section of the film, Otilia groping her way through the building amid the darkness suggests our heroine's move towards emancipation parallels Romania's own impending, tardy, and painful rebirth. It won the Golden Palm Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the distinction is deservedly earned.

5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, Julian Schnabel)

Based on the self-portrait of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle - an autobiography about his real life catastrophe, which leaves his whole body paralyzed except his left eye and blinking is his only means of communication with others.
It's an unusual package and an unusual feature, simply on the surface, the series of first-person camera style, the unusual visuals would make for challenging viewing. The wondrous integration of first-person and third-person cinematographic techniques conveys how the protagonist's soul flys free like a butterfly, albeit trapped in his diving bell-like paralyzed body. This visually striking, thought-provoking feature incorporates occasional agonizing moments, subdued humor and internal monologue in connection to his reactions to external occurrences.
The majority of the scenes transpire through the victim's left eye, and the film is at its most touching in those moments, the audience are brought to feel what it is like to be paralysed from the eyes down, only your left eye is left to be watching like a normal person. Similar subject matters like The Sea Inside (2004), Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) remind us how fortune we are to be able to live like a normal person, there really is always somebody worse off than ourselves, maybe being in a state of normal is already blessed. Every normal daily life should be held dear.

4. California Dreamin' (Nesfarsit) (2007, Cristian Nemescu)

This picture works well as a gripping social-document of a particularly dismal period in Romania, it cuts back and forth between Romania during the second world war and what happened at the outskirts train station in recent time, the picture presented of Romania is bitingly specific: a dysfunctional country where corruption seems to be the rule and the young have no ideal but craving for American, there's no shortage of dystopias in this chaotic country.
This motion picture is a piercing satire that American is no savior at all, from the second world war, up to Nicolae Ceauşescu's rule, anytime in Romanian history, no American ever came to Romanian rescue when needed, even now, American unit on its way to the NATO war scene in Yugoslavia brings disasters rather than peace to Romania. Americans are referred to, somewhat disparagingly throughout the film, as shabby folks.
Approached differently, this could very easily have been a self-righteous, social-realist trudge but Cristian Nemescu is too much a director for that to ever happen; his masterful use of flashbacks and handheld camera unleashes a documentary-esque realistic description of the sufferings and the recent status quo of Romanian.
His approach is accessible to anyone wishing to delve into studies of Romanian lives. He's to be applauded for constructing a very dynamic topic with fluid camera motion.
Flashbacks in the film also typify lessons from past sufferings, which must be learned if Romanian wishes to take giant step towards a hopeful future.

3. Zodiac (2007, David Fincher)

At first glance, Zodiac (2007) seems like an excellent choice for David Fincher's sixth directorial effort. David Fincher has achieved huge success in crime and thirller genre with Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999), although his other works The Game (1997) and Panic Room (2002) were received mixed reviews, only moderate success both at the box-office and with critics, I personally thought they were solid and intricate.
In Zodiac (2007), David Fincher worked with sharp digital effects to convey the the film's nightmarish scenario about the real-life infamous Zodiac, a serial killer who menaced San Francisco and got away with it during the 1960s and 1970s. Ruffianly and devastating like always, Zodiac (2007) is a splendid presentation of seat-grabbing tension and Fincher captures human dismay and fear at their most primal. Some impatient viewers might quetch this film is overlong and too subtle, but remember, this is a portrayal of a true crime, rather than an titillating action thriller. An elaborate chronicle of the procedure and a perplexing maze of facts are essential to make this a profound and engrossing film. The accuracy in every detail, from newspaper office to everything else on the set, gives the film a touch of quasi-documentary and proves Fincher is a topflight filmmaker unsparing in his demands for perfection.

2. Sicko (2007, Michael Moore)

Even after more than 15 years of documentary making, Michael Moore remains a tiptop documentary maker to distinguish himself form his peers -- partly because of his comic outrage, multi-dimensional perspective, more importantly, because of his courage, spirit and fascinating insights into not-so-funny matters.
After examining the culture of guns and violence in the United States and probing Bush's administration in the post-911 America, Michael Moore comes back with Sicko (2007), an in-depth look into the American health care system, where profit-obsessed pharmaceutical companies ostensibly collude with morally compromised bureaucracy to generate profits than provide proper medical care. Patients who are unable to pay the medical bills are unfeelingly denied treatments. Michael Moore compares U.S with those countries, like Canada, Great Britain, France, and Cuba, where universal health care is provided, shows how tragic the U.S citizens are when they have to pay the overpriced medical coverage, and how ironic when accused 911 attackers get better medical treatment than 911 rescue volunteers.
For those who are seriously ill or wounded, the illness alone leaves them in rather poor shape, not to mention a large sum of medical expenses waiting to be paid. The torment of illness and the burden of expensive prescriptions aggravate the precarious situation a patient is in. Huge medical bills are severe blows to seriously illed patients. As was common in his other works, the film is impregnated with a degree of amusement, good blend of laughter and poignancy. After the film is ended, the thought occurs to most viewers that the basic right of universal health care is needed in every country.

1. Blind Mountain (2007, Li Yang)

Inspired by a news report, Blind Mountain (2007) sets in early '90s, a university graduate finds herself held captive and becomes somebody's wife after being tricked into a remote village to sell medical supplies. As the months gone by and attempts to escape failed, the hapless heroine becomes hopeless and helpless, falls into darkness and despair.
This film depicts collective thoughtless consciousness in urban areas, where there is no norm of right and wrong, arising from distorted value, having no sense of responsibility. Likewise, a dysfunctional society is in a terrible mess when there is no traditionally accepted standards of decency or modesty. In the heroine's attempts to break free from dehumanizing conditions, the local cadre and drivers' indifferences prevent the plan from succeeding. It's an austere indictment of the role that the public's passivity and tacit acceptance plays in allowing evil to prosper. The bystanders' apahty simply increases the incidence of these horrendous crimes. The postman, the local cadre, the drivers, these intermediary categories of participants neither take delight in the wife-buying/kidnapping activities nor oppose them. They simply watch passively. The worst horrors are not perpetrated by the ablest rascal, but by the apathetic and cowardly.
Director Li Yang is China's Vittorio De Sica, both physically (his appearance) and thematically, characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed in long takes on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors for secondary and sometimes primary roles. Both Li Yang and Vittorio De Sica have acute social observation and draw superb performances from non-professional actors.
There is a darker version of this film where the heroine cannot escape in the end, reaches for a knife to fight, the film abruptly ends at that terrifying moment, leaving the audience in shock. The film received a lengthy standing ovation when premiered at Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2007.

Best Memories of 2006

Best Memories of 2006

(recent films)

10. Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006, Jonathan Demme)

一代音樂傳奇 Neil Young 大病後餘生，在 Nashville 的鄉村音樂殿堂 Ryman Auditorium 舉行音樂會，表演最新專輯 Prairie Wind 中的歌曲，在音樂會上，Neil Young 談笑風生，盡顯對生命的豁達，音樂會上佈景更替次數不多，Neil Young 與一眾伴唱亦服飾從簡，沒有華麗裝束，對比起在紅館演唱的歌星，醒目的台服，炫眼的舞台設計，Neil Young 單憑著他的歌聲與閑話家常，就博得滿堂彩，雄厚實力無庸置疑。
多年前 Jim Jarmusch 曾製作過一部叫 Year of the Horse (1997)的電影，追蹤台上台下的 Neil Young，該片以粗粒視像質感，傳達了 Neil Young 所屬樂隊 Crazy Horse 演唱時所體現的無政府精神，但仍然有評論者認為該片風格上過於另類，把 Neil Young 拍得像個伐木工人多於搖滾歌手。
並列第十的還有李安的 Brokeback Mountain (2005)

9. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005, George Clooney)

就像不相信像北野武這種面帶煞氣的粗人，竟然可以拍出 A Scene at the sea (1991) 這樣細膩的唯美文藝片；也有點不相信像 George Clooney 這種一介動作武夫，竟然可以製作出歌頌傳媒風骨的 Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)，全片以黑白化營造肅殺氣氛，再以爵士樂舒緩，題材深刻而發人深省，值得每位具道德良知的傳媒人借鏡。
並列第九的還有 Steven Spielberg 的 Munich (2005) 與及 Marc Rothemund 的 Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

8. The Road to Guantanamo (2006, Michael Winterbottom)

三名英國穆斯林在前往阿富汗和巴基斯坦途中，被美軍無故扣押，更被關進位於古巴 Guantánamo Bay 的監獄二年多，在獄中遭受多番審問與虐待，後因缺乏足夠證據而被釋放。
九一一陰影籠罩全球，此片所描敍的正是“一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草縄”，緊張心態下所釀成的閙劇，杯弓蛇影的心理令美國軍方有過敏的反常行動，不單美國，英國警方 2005 年於倫敦地鐵站內錯殺疑是恐怖份子的巴西公民，也正是活生生的例子，反恐戰爭已令軍方搖身一變，自己率先成為恐怖份子，殘害不少無辜者，而背後目的豈只是“反恐”這麼簡單 ，也令人存疑。
並列第八的還有 James McTeigue 的 V for Vendetta (2005)

7. Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005, Fatih Akin)

橫跨歐亞兩大洲，融合多種種族文化的土耳其，原來其音樂也同樣多姿多采，不單有較現代的 Rock, Hip-hop, Rap，還有傳統的吉普賽音樂，庫爾德語哀歌，以及街頭藝者，流行與古典混為一體，如果喜歡 Wim Wenders 的 Buena Vista Social Club (1999)，那麼本片也應一看
導演 Fatih Akin，之前拍過 Gegen die Wand (2004)，風格凌厲而不失柔情，妙手編寫悲歡交錯的愛情故事，是一位值得期待的新晋導演。
並列第七的還有 Martin Scorsese 的 No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

6. Inside Man (2006, Spike Lee)

銀行劫匪和多名人質穿上同一款衣服，立時令警察無從分辨誰是匪徒；銀行大亨也不是清白，於二次大戰時靠出賣猶太人致富，而替他游說劫匪的經紀人，更替 Bin Laden 侄兒購買物業，表面上是一齣警匪片，實則影射後九一一時代，美國政府防恐無力，無從分辨恐怖份子，而美國自身，也並非清白無辜，背後有著令人齒冷的骯髒交易。
導演 Spike Lee 曾拍過揭示民族大融爐下種族衝突的 Do the Right Thing (1989)，與有關黑人民權領袖傳記片的 Malcolm X (1992)，此次以商業娛樂片格局，探討九一一後的美國社會，以通俗手法說嚴肅故事，實在是 Hollywood 芸芸俗流中的一股清泉。
並列第六的還有 Stephen Gaghan 的 Syriana (2005) 與及 Fernando Meirelles 的 The Constant Gardener (2005)

5. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005, Jean-Marc Vallée)

父母與子女的關係，可作電影的永恒命題，因為幾乎人人與之相關，容易引起共鳴，C.R.A.Z.Y.也是這麼一部電影，講述子女與父母間該如何相處，橫跨幾個年代的父子關係，從反叛對抗到互相諒解，過程真摯感人，在細節處理上透過多種拍攝特效，帶領觀眾視點遊花園，難得導演肯大灑金錢，動用多位名家名曲作配樂，讓觀眾在視覺、聽覺和心靈上都滿載而歸。

4. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Cristi Puiu)

攝影機伴隨著酗酒老人被送往醫院的經過，仿記錄片的形式，沒有作出任何主觀批評，只是冷眼記錄情形，但卻令觀眾感到強烈震撼，見證了種種醫療陋習，以及人情冷暖，比起不少帶有立場批判的電影，這類仿紀錄電影無疑更容易令觀眾動容，不持主場，交由觀眾自己批判，猶如繪畫中的留白，觀眾自然有更多的自由闡釋空間，就像近期的 United 93 (2006)，它之所以為人稱道，並不是因為其夠逼真，而是因為其逼真背後，留給觀眾的百感交集，既憤慨於控制塔的遲緩反應，又感動於機上乘客的慷慨赴義，也反思美國的所作所為。

3. Match Point (2005, Woody Allen)

究竟是實力重要還是運氣重要？是世人一直篤信的“成功需苦幹”，還是傳統迷信的“一命二運三風水”？這齣 Woody Allen 晚年回勇之作，透過 Chris Wilton 的一連串幸運遭遇，回應了這個謎題，原來只要有幸運之神眷顧，那麼一切都變得隨心所欲，不單一躍龍門，身價百倍，即使佈局不怎麼精巧的殺人計劃，也因遇上笨拙警察而變得滴水不漏，有人說雖然 Chris Wilton 幸運地逃過了法律的制裁，但始終逃不出自己良心的譴責，對於奸佞之徒，良心早已泯滅，又何來有良心譴責。

2. Hidden (2005, Michael Haneke)

如果要說2006年有哪部電影最惹人猜想，對觀眾要求最高，相信非 Hidden (2005) 莫屬，一宗偷拍事件，不單揭開了 Georges Laurent 與 Majid 之間的恩怨仇恨，而且還遠溯至國家情仇，究竟誰在偷拍並不是最重要，導演將偷拍者描繪得如此撲朔迷離，錄影帶與真實影像之間也變得混淆，無非在說，現實世界與此電影一樣，在互相窺伺的同時，也互相在發泄對他人的傲慢與偏見。片名 hidden 不單指誰在隠藏偷拍，更意指 hidden 在心中的恐懼、仇恨、偏見等等齷齪、不可告人的東西。

1. Still Life (2006, Jia zhangke)

看這部電影時，跟看 Michael Winterbottom 的 In This World (2002)感覺一樣，如果導演沒有那麼一點悲天憫人之心，不可能拍出這樣的電影。
兩段尋找另一半的故事，便帶領觀眾見證了三峽眾生相，人類於大自然面前顯得渺少無力，人民於政府決策面前也同樣無力，改革開放，經濟起飛的背後，要以炸毀歷史老城為代價，為口奔馳的貧苦大眾，在明知“早上下去，晚上還不知能不能上來”的情況下，為了多賺兩個錢，而甘願做危機四伏的礦工。
賈樟柯巧用電腦特效，以 UFO 寄喻對未知未來的響往，自動飛走的建築物與突然倒塌的大廈表示週遭環境也在悄悄變遷中，以前是物是人非，現在是物非人非，人在變，環境也同樣在變。
在空中走鋼線的人隠喻貧苦大眾的生活，留在原地不行，繼續前進也要一步一驚心，步步為營。這般辛苦的日子，也不過是為了“煙、酒、 茶、糖”的日常生活。
在全國一片“黃金”潮中，黃金並不單指 《黃金甲》，也指全國人向錢看的黃金心態，賈樟柯仍能堅守陣線，不向世俗低頭，用實際行動喚起觀眾的 “社會意識”，以及同行的“藝術意識”，實在值得我等敬佩。
不知賈樟柯能否抵受名利富貴對人的腐蝕，如果能保持節操，那麼其將來的成就，一定超越張藝謀，賈樟柯從《小武》以至《三峽好人》、《東》等六部長片，劇本都是他一手包辦，反觀張藝謀，從其賴以成名的《紅高梁》、《活著》到最近的《滿城盡帶黃金甲》，都分別改編於他人作品，如莫言、蘇童、余華、曹禺等，也即是說，賈樟柯是胸有藝術構圖，而張藝謀尚要借助他人之力，賈樟柯擅於自編自導，那麼對於劇本的審視能力，自然比張藝謀高，這樣一來，成品也容易維持高水平。

Best Memories of 2006

(older films)

新片要選十大容易，舊片要選十大，卻是做不到的事情，因為舊片中精采的實在太多太多，2006 年觀看過的舊片中，印象很好的起碼超過 100 部，因此無法排出十大，以下只能隨便找十部不同國家地區的舊片說說，當然不是 2006 年觀看舊片中的十大，因為這對其他同樣出色的舊片不公平，只能權當介紹，大致上每月觀影列表中，8.5/10 或以上評分的都是較為優秀之作。

舊片永遠精采，對於那些看電影只著眼“今期新片”的觀眾，無疑錯過了電影史上最精采的一頁。

Mother (1926, Vsevolod Pudovkin) (Country: Soviet Union)

(watched in September, 2006)

蒙太奇倡導者之一 Pudovkin 的第一部長片，根據名作家 Maxim Gorky 小說所改編，講述 1905 年的革命，兒子與丈夫的理念不同，兒子支持罷工，丈夫反對罷工，母親左右為難，起先站在丈夫一邊，後來經歷了種種冷遇與不公平對待，終於覺醒兒子才是正確的，毅然加入兒子的革命行列。
跟 Eisenstein 一樣，透過快速剪接，令影片保持快速節奏，也容易營造澎湃動力，同時也利用蒙太奇，賦予畫面多層次的意義，但比起 Eisenstein，Pudovkin 更注重角色塑造，對個別人物有較深刻的描寫，從 Mother (1926)、The End of St. Petersburg (1927)、到 Storm Over Asia (1928) 皆如此。 Pudovkin 利用特寫鏡頭，擴大演員的表情，加深觀眾對角色的認識，從而拉近觀眾與角色的距離，角色貼近觀眾，促使表演趨向細微，觀眾從表面的静態洞悉内在的動態。例如 Mother (1926)中，母親發覺兒子在地板下藏有槍械，便是透過特寫母親的面孔，展現母親的憂慮心情。
雖然這時期的蘇聯電影常被當權者用作政治宣傳工具，但如果以藝術品來看，卻有其不朽價值，對世界電影的影響，有著舉足輕重的地位，西方電影學家認為這類作品所反映的精神是錯誤的，但其藝術價值卻是出類拔萃。差不多同年期 Eisenstein 的 Strike (1925)、The Battleship Potemkin (1925)、Oktyabr (1928) 也是對世界電影史影響巨大的出色作品。

All That Heaven Allows (1955, Douglas Sirk) (Country: USA)

(watched in July, 2006)

一居住於小鎮的中年富裕寡婦，兩個子女都在唸大學，她在自己階層的朋友圈子中過得倒也寫意，寂寞難耐的她很想再墮愛河，可惜同階層的男性不甚合她意，後來遇上 Rock Hudson 飾演的年輕英俊健碩園丁，好感油然而生，隨即開始一段門戶不對的忘年之戀，戀情曝光後，身邊好友隨即議論紛紛，投以異樣目光，兒女也要挾斷絕母子關係，面對各方壓力，她只有黯然退縮。 聖誕節到了，回家的兒子跟她說要到巴黎留學，而女兒則要跟男朋友結婚，兩人都將離她而去，這時她才知道，原來固守世俗，恐懼別人不屑之色，換來的是無盡寂寞。
導演 Douglas Sirk 以通俗劇的形式，道破人心的寂寞，無敵於無形的階級枷鎖，所謂的自由，也只局限於同階層的往來； 同時也抨擊人心的軟弱，飾演寡婦的 Jane Wyman 既渴望愛情，可是又貪戀所處階層環境的舒適，缺乏勇氣去填補内心的空虛；影片還隠約指出傳統風俗的約束，囿於傳統社會男尊女卑的影響，社會對於男長女幼的忘年戀情似乎容易接受，但若是女長男幼，則容易引起大眾嘩然，尖酸刻薄的揶揄、有失厚道的譏諷、主觀偏頗的批判，各種各樣的議論隨之而來，因為大眾都已被傳統思想綁死，毫無接受新風尚的空間。
經 Technicolor 處理過的影片，呈飽和的色彩層次，顏色對比更鮮明，令片中不少場景，看上去像一幅幅漂亮的彩畫，但在這漂亮畫面之下套著階級的枷鎖，就像在 Jane Wyman 舒適時尚的雅居裡，藏著的是難言的寂寞。
西班牙導演 Pedro Almodóvar 坦言很喜歡 Douglas Sirk 作品，Douglas Sirk 的 Written on the Wind (1956)更被他重複看過無數遍，難怪 Pedro Almodóvar 的鏡頭下總有一群為愛癡迷的俗世男女，在悲悽之中讓人窺見恒常的人性本質，這不也正是 Douglas Sirk 常觸及的主題麼。
Douglas Sirk 在電影史上雖不及其他大師那麼享負盛名，但其欣賞者無數，Rainer Werner Fassbinder 的 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)，以及近年 Todd Haynes 的 Far from Heaven (2002)，均是向此片致敬之作。

The Music Room (1958, Satyajit Ray) (Country: India)

(watched in November, 2006)

說起 Satyajit Ray，很多人只會想起他的 Apu 三部曲，但 The Music Room (1958) 也是他不可忽視的水準之作，故事講述二十世紀三十年代的印度，世代顯赫的地主 Huzur 終日沉迷鴉片、音樂、美酒，在其樂房舉行大型歌舞招待當地名流，縱使其現已家道中落，財政狀況已不甚樂觀，雖有人勸喻，但其認為此般高消費的高雅活動可維持其在上流圈子的地位，於是繼續我行我素，如此花費甚鉅的活動令其債台高築，銀行不肯借貸，唯有將妻子的首飾典當墊支。
Huzur 繼續沉淪下去的原因除了要維持其在上流社會的面子，另一原因是靠借貸而興起的暴發戶 Mahim，其家產與地位已成為該區新貴，並且是該區唯一擁有汽車的家庭，但傲氣令 Huzur 執意要在所有社會活動上比 Mahim 更顯闊綽。
後來其妻兒在乘船回家時遭遇漩渦而溺亡，悲痛的 Huzur 勒令關掉樂房，吸食鴉片度日。
某日，Mahim 前來邀請 Huzur 出席其新樂房啟用儀式，這令 Huzur 怒火中燒，吩咐下人重開樂房，舉行演奏會，動用全家僅餘的資產，聘請當時得令的舞者前來表演，並且在表演結束時，搶在 Mahim 前面，用最後的一分一毫打賞舞者。羿日，Huzur 騎上能代表其昔日家族榮耀的白馬，在疾跑之中墮馬而亡。
影片透過地主 Huzur 和暴發戶 Mahim 的故事，彰顯新舊交替，舊時名門和新興望族在氣派上較勁，當無以為繼時，便選擇了死亡，舊地主“不能屈能伸”，放不下身段，不努力奮發振興家業，反而執意與人鬥貴，直至山窮水盡。影片說的就是自尊的危害，過度的自尊會令人拿得起，放不下，做著很多不切實際的蠢事。
時代變遷下，在商業主導、開放競爭的社會，舊時貴族若不好自為之，很容易便給出身卑微的後來者迎頭趕上，當舊貴族沉醉在自己的榮耀夢鄉中時，努力奮鬥者已悄悄成為社會新貴，甚至取代舊貴族的地位。
Satyajit Ray 善用象徵，例如 Huzur 看著 Mahim 的汽車經過他的大象，突顯新舊對比，狂風閃電預示將有不測，油畫上爬行的蜘蛛表示家道已衰落。Mahim 在演奏會上要交談，被 Huzur 輕聲禁止，一個簡單動作，便反映了兩人截然不同的文化素養。

Onibaba 《鬼婆》 (1964, 新藤兼人) (Country: Japan)

(watched in November, 2006)

十四世紀戰亂中的日本，兩婆媳活於蘆葦叢中，靠刼殺來往精疲力竭的士兵為生。一日，一個跟婦人兒子同被抓壯丁的人逃了回來，他的回來，破壞了婆媳間慣常的生活方式，媳婦扺受不住逃兵的引誘而與之苟合，這令婦人妒火中燒，某夜，戴著恐怖惡魔面具的武士突然出現，要婦人帶他走出蘆葦叢，婦人引他跌入地洞，得到面具後，婦人就每逢媳婦偷偷前往跟逃兵幽會的路上，扮鬼嚇唬媳婦，要媳婦循規蹈矩……
影片首先反映了戰亂中的原始人性，為了活命，幹著殺人越貨的剪徑之舉，活著只為了果腹，毫無德義可言，與一般動物無異，逃兵的到來，不但媳婦被誘，連婦人也按捺不住，揭示了人性中飲食男女的基本所需，一切訴諸本能；　影片還抨擊戰爭對人民的禍害，當處於你死我活的世界裡，一切的道義都變得不切實際，片中的婆媳行徑固然可鄙，但畢竟是形勢所逼，影片強調社會環境對人的行為有著決定性的影響，並要觀眾反思生存的價值。
導演新藤兼人在片中用了不少比喻手法，例如用惡魔面具表達人的猙獰，面具在此象徵人内心的惡念，人一動了惡念，則仿似戴上邪惡面具，面目可憎，什麼卑污之事都幹得出來，而影片開頭婆媳用來丟屍的地洞，則象徵無窮慾念，人一墮其中，便再無上來之日。
影片的影像語言純熟，攝影調度與光暗陰影配搭一流，令全片流露著跌宕起伏的動感。

The Cremator (1968, Juraj Herz) (Country: Czechoslovakia)

(watched in December, 2006)

今村昌平的《日本昆蟲記》起篇以螞蟻爬行的畫面，比喻人們的挣扎求生，The Cremator (1968)開頭也以動物園裡的豹，象徵狂人骨子裡的兇殘本性，鐵欄象喻世俗道德約束，如果一旦這約束被解除，那麼其他人必被豹的獠牙所傷。
影片主角 Kopfrkingl 是火葬場負責人，與妻子育有一子一女，生活過得體面，然而男主角卻有與別不同的心態，他認為死亡可免於生命的受難，焚屍可解救靈魂，在納粹德軍占領布拉格後，更把這種怪異心態推向頂峰，不單對納粹德軍言聽計從，而且更身體力行，把有猶太人血統的妻子與孩子殺掉，赢得納粹德軍歡心後，終於坐上納粹軍車而走。
影片描繪了政治動蕩下，火葬場燒掉的不只是人體，還有人性，當人性泯滅時，剩下的只有邪惡與恐懼，男主角不但在火葬場消滅死亡(焚屍)，還製造死亡(殺人)，就像男主角用同一把梳子為自己梳頭，也為死人梳頭，在被扭曲過後的心裡，也沒把自己當成活人。
導演 Juraj Herz 巧用圖畫、音樂、超現實、廣角鏡表現人性扭曲下的變態人格，用變形的鏡頭來烘託主角的變態心理，而殺人後看見僧人，只因在主角心理，殺人等於救人，他的火葬場也早已成了廟宇。
影片可看作一個個性研究，探討畸型心態下所犯下的暴行， 讓觀眾一窺主角的成魔之路。

Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974, Jacques Rivette) (Country: France)

(watched in August, 2006)

法國新浪潮主將之一 Jacques Rivette 的作品，講述一天早上，坐在凳上的 Julie 看見路過的 Celine 匆忙行進之中跌了圍巾，Julie 於是追上前要交還物品，由此開始了她們的一面之緣，之後雙方誤打誤撞，越發熟絡，Celine 更搬進了 Julie 的公寓裡同住，倆人情同姐妹，甚至在對方不知情的情況下，代替對方出席約會或工作安排。　後來，Celine 和 Julie 決定到 Celine 曾經工作過的舊大廈，調查哪裡發生過什麼事，倆人輪流以護士身份進入大廈，但當她們出來時，都記不清裡面的情形，幸虧她們離開大廈時，帶了一些糖粒，這些糖粒有魔法功能，能在她們嘴裡慢慢溶解時，讓她們憶起在大廈裡面時的情形，她們就是這樣開始逐點逐滴去探究大廈的情況，原來大廈裡住著兩父女 Olivier 和 Madlyn，保姆 Sophie，和小姨 Camille，Sophie 和 Camille 都分別想得到 Olivier 的愛，同時其中一人想加害 Madlyn，而 Celine 和 Julie 則要想辦法營救 Madlyn…..
電影所謳歌的是女性的姐妹情，有共同的生活態度，共同的好奇心，照顧對方需要，替對方出席約會等，少女般的清純關係讓 Celine 和 Julie 顯得份外可愛，而她們千方百計想去保護小女孩免受傷害，這又突顯了女性骨子裡的母愛。
電影技巧上，既是兩線並行，也是兩線相反，並行的兩線是指敍事上，分別是 Celine 和 Julie 吃糖時的喃喃自語，與及舊大廈中的片段，而兩線相反則是指在形式上，Celine 和 Julie 吃糖時的場面與她們憶起的大廈情景恰恰相反，Celine 和 Julie 現實場景可說代表了法國新浪潮所倡導的精神，摒棄攝影棚而改到大街小巷拍攝，對白即興，不造作，有濃烈的生活感， 而她們憶起的大廈情景則影射新浪潮之前的法國電影，那時期的電影喜歡就小說取材，情節陳舊，脫離事實，喜歡在攝影棚裡完成拍攝。Celine 和 Julie 的情節充滿生趣的即興幽默感，大廈裡則是通俗劇化的恐怖殺人故事，將這兩線交織在一起，不單豐富了敍事内容，也讓觀眾看到新舊電影形式的強烈對比。而她們想著要從大廈裡救出小孩，從某種意義上說，代表了 Jacques Rivette 這批新浪潮主將，要解救法國電影，使法國電影得到新生。

'Breaker' Morant (1980, Bruce Beresford) (Country: Australia)

(watched in August, 2006)

以真實故事為題材，第二次波爾戰爭(Boer War, 1899-1902)末段，英軍終於打敗波爾軍，在進占波爾時，發覺來自波爾遊擊隊的扺抗，在軍耗上升以及傳統作戰方法無法對付當地遊擊隊的情況下，成立特別隊伍以特別手法打擊遊擊隊，其中一支特別隊伍便叫 Bushveldt Carbineers，這支特別隊伍的隊長在一次遭遊擊隊伏擊中喪生，隊中的三名澳洲中尉憤而將所擒獲的波爾遊擊隊殺掉，此時英軍為了避免激起波爾軍反抗，以及歐洲列強用作藉口支援波爾軍，而延長波爾戰爭，於是唯有將三名澳洲中尉判罪槍決，而三名中尉的祖國 － 澳洲 －對此袖手旁觀。
影片突出了戰爭的荒謬性，戰爭本就是不仁慈的，為了勝利，往往無所不用其極，片中三名中尉本來受英軍所遣前去狙擊遊擊隊，殺敵可說是基本職責，但執行使命時，卻反過來被英軍誣告殺害囚犯，成了軍隊為了討好各方的代罪羔羊。
Peter Weir 的 Gallipoli (1981) 是最為人熟悉的澳洲戰爭片，但本片無疑比 Gallipoli (1981)中慷慨為國捐軀的田徑好手的故事，更能體現戰爭的荒謬性，同時也留給觀眾更多反思的空間。

Yol (1982, Serif Gören, Yilmaz Güney) (Country: Turkey)

(watched in January, 2006)

五個被關在低度戒備拘留所，獲準短暫回家一週的囚犯，影片瞄準他們五人在回家途中的經歷，或因證件問題而被遣返監獄，或因家庭問題而遭射殺，或遇見警方槍殺政治異見份子，或要經過冰天雪地前去看望失節妻子，導演透過這五個短暫獲釋囚犯的不同經歷，反映出在那個年代的土耳其，坐不坐牢，在實質上並沒有多大差別，囚犯出牢，盼望的是過點短暫的自由常人生活，可是監獄外的世界，隨時都有軍警查問，實施宵禁， 還有軍方對付異見份子的殘暴手段，槍聲連連，原來外面的世界比監獄更凌亂。
此片不單批評政府的壓迫，同時也諷刺當地社會的道德矛盾，例如自己的兄弟要處死當妓女的姐妹，認為有辱家門，但對其他人姐妹賣淫，卻可能欣然接受。
此片以公路電影的形式，反映當地政治和社會的種種問題，也讓觀眾見識土耳其民族的多元化特色，榮獲 1982 年康城電影節金棕櫚最佳電影奬，實至名歸。

Time of the Gypsies (1988, Emir Kusturica) (Country: Yugoslavia)

(watched in August, 2006)

吉普賽少年 Perhan 與為人治病的嬤嬤，長短腳的妹妹，和他那瘋癲叔叔，一起住在南斯拉夫某小村，犯罪團伙頭目 Ahmed 勸 Perhan 陪同妹妹到醫院治病，然後誘騙 Perhan 為其團伙工作，賺錢以迎娶其熱戀中的女朋友 Azra，並計劃唆使其妹妹行乞，後來 Perhan 發覺 Ahmed 所承諾的一切都不過是謊言，逐找 Ahmed 復仇。
此片其實是悲劇故事，男主角無論待人以誠還是加入犯罪團伙，都擺脫不了無奈結局，但以喜劇性包裝，用不少超現實、嬉閙場景，還附以男主角隔空移物的特異功能，讓觀眾在發出會心微笑之餘，體會吉普賽人與別不同的生活風貌，片中不少鏡頭運用也很出色，影片開始不久後男女主角學習接吻的鏡頭設計更是別出心裁。
此片還有長達 5 集的電視劇版，片中少女的裸露賣淫場面在電視劇版也沒有遭刪剪，南斯拉夫電視台的尺度，還真不是一般的開放。

Henry V (1989, Kenneth Branagh) (Country: UK)

(watched in April, 2006)

根據莎士比亞名著創作而成，年輕的 Henry V 剛登上皇位，可是其資歷備受質疑，當他受到法國在外交上的侮辱之後，Henry V 利用此作為進兵法國的藉口，在長期圍攻之下占領 Harfleur，可是由於傷亡和軍需短缺，軍隊必須退回到位於法國北部的 Calais 要塞，就在退兵之際，受到大批法國精兵阻擊，在強弱懸殊以及士氣消沉的情況下，Henry V 拒絕法軍議降，向軍隊演說激勵士氣，在 1415 年 10 月 25 日的 Agincourt 一役，動員軍隊鼓餘勇迎戰，終以不勝無歸的破釜沉舟決心險勝強大的法軍。
關於 Henry V，Laurence Olivier 也拍過相同題材的 The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944)，但 Kenneth Branagh 版比起 Laurence Olivier 版更佳，更用心去刻劃 Henry V 這個人物，將年輕、自負、野心勃勃的 Henry V 演繹得入木三分，其他配角的演出亦很出色，戰役場面之精采更是 Laurence Olivier 版所不能及。
此片是 Kenneth Branagh 年僅二十八歲時的首部電影，敢於挑戰莎士比亞名著，其膽色與才華不是普通文藝青年所能比擬，成就接近二十五歲時就拍出 Citizen Kane (1941)的 Orson Welles，看著他們兩位，的確令人憶起什麼叫“有志不在年高”。 或許 Kenneth Branagh 開拍此片，是因為他有著與片中主人公 Henry V 的相同之處，都是年輕，剛上任(剛當導演與剛當國王)，需要一次漂亮的勝仗來確立自己的地位，結果無論戲内戲外的主人公，都打了勝仗，一個是在影史上留名，一個是在歷史上留名。
Kenneth Branagh 是當今世界最出名，也是最成功地將莎士比亞劇搬上銀幕的電影人，直到現在，他共自導自演了三部莎士比亞名者，包括 Henry V (1989)、Much Ado About Nothing (1993)、Hamlet (1996)，成就可媲美他的前輩 Laurence Olivier，他也曾導演過三部莎翁名劇，分別為 The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944)、Hamlet (1948)、Richard III (1955)
我對 Kenneth Branagh 相當佩服，如果沒有一定的文學功底，是不敢碰莎士比亞作品，而他導演過的三部莎士比亞作品，都獲一致肯定，大受好評，截至目前為止，莎士比亞的劇本被搬上銀幕(包括電視在内），已經超過六百次，但當中為人稱道的作品，卻是寮寮可數，可見演繹其作品殊非易事，也足以證明 Kenneth Branagh 的超卓才華。