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updated on 9/27/2008
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film reviews
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We watch films around the world to spot
the greatest world cinema films for you.
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Read our film reviews for a first introduction to a new world culture and maybe one sparks your interest to see that film yourself.
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this section is
under construction
more film reviews soon
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REVIEWS (In alphabetical order)
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A-B-C4 D-E-F4 G-H-I4 J-K-L4 M-N-O4 P-Q-R4 S-T-U4 W-X-Y-Z4
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Culture Wrap review:
A beautiful film about a fairly unknown tradition in Islam, practiced by fakirs in the eastern part of India. Worshipping man or God in man, the tradition preaches equality and condemns the cast system. Men and women worship together and each other. Its practitioners, however, are a minority and outcasts in Indian society. The film is one of those gems that shows us another face of Islam.
To know more about Islam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam
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BRIDGE OVER THE WADI ISRAEL - PALESTINE
Gesher al havadi
Director: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann
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Synopsis: A documentary about the difficult first year of a new elementary school that both Arab and Israeli children attend together.
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Culture Wrap review:
An impressive film chronicling the first year of the bilingual and bi-national elementary school for Arab and Jewish children in a small Arab village. The trials, tribulations and triumphs of both teachers, parents and students draws you right into the complexity of Palestinian and Israeli lives. We see parents on both sides struggle with their own prejudices and beliefs and children who are caught in the middle. A thought-provoking film. A must see. Soon, we will report more about this film.
To get involved in a similar project, check out our website:
http://www.culturewrap.org/WORLD_CULTURES/How_to_help/how_to_help.html
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BUDDHA’S LOST CHILDREN THAILAND
Director: Mark Verkerk
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Synopsis:
In the borderlands of Thailand's Golden Triangle, a rugged region known for its drug smuggling and impoverished hill tribes, one man devotes himself to the welfare of the region's children.
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A former Thai boxer, turned Buddhist monk, Phra Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto (also known as the Tiger Monk), travels widely on horseback, fearlessly dispensing prayers, health care, education and tough love to villagers far from the protection and support of governments or non-governmental organizations.
With his Golden Horse Temple he's built an orphanage, school and clinic - a haven
for the children of the region, who see him as a shaman, father figure and coach.
Read more.
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Culture Wrap review: A beautiful film that takes you right into the lives of those children, some of whom leave their parents at an early age to be raised by this amazing monk. Their trials, their tears and their triumphs are moving testimonies of how the patience and sometimes loving impatience of one man can move mountains.
Now also at the Palm Springs International Film festival from January 4-15.
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MY FATHER, THE TURK TURKEY
Mein Vater der Türke
Director: Ariane Riecker, Marcus Vetter
Synopsis: A German film director travels to Anatolia to meet his Turkish father and gets to know his wife and two half sisters in the process.
Read more about this film: http://www.idfa.nl/idfa_en_filmdescription.asp?filmid=28142
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Culture Wrap review:
A beautiful personal film from director Marcus Vetter. We follow the filmmaker to Anatolia, where he will meet his Turkish father, who met Marcus’ German mother many years ago while working as an immigrant worker in Germany, but did not stay to get to know his only son. It’s a touching portrait in which we learn how an arranged marriage in Turkey can have emotional setbacks on family life, but most of all how two men who didn’t know each other become father and son after more than 30 years.
The film clearly shows how many lives are affected when cultures mix, both the negative and the positive sides.
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Culture Wrap review:
An interesting film that shows how the Ikpeng Indians after their contact with the white men weren’t protected as they were promised, but soon were relocated and lost their land. It’s interesting to see how the elders in the tribe reenact the “First Contact” with the white men for the younger generation. It is painful to see how inevitable the gap grows between old and young, as the old yearn to return to the old land with which the younger generation has no emotional connection. Through the Q&A after the film at the film festival however, we learn that through the film and the reenactment the younger generation gets more involved in the plight to reclaim their birth land.
The film was made with the support of the organization Video nas Aldeias, who support indigenous filmmakers to tell the stories from their culture.
For more info on Video nas Aldeias: http://www.videonasaldeias.org.br/abertura/index.html
World sales: www.zarafa-films.com
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AFI FEST 2006 REVIEWS (In alphabetical order) by Gerrie Timmerman
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BAB’ AZIZ Director: Nacer Khemir TUNISIA
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Synopsis:
BAB'AZIZ is a splendid journey of magical realism that seeps into your dreams. A wise old blind man and a lively little girl wander through the desert in search of a legendary gathering of dervishes. Along the way they meet a collection of fellow travelers, each on their own journey. Interwoven with the fantastical tale is an amazing tapestry of Sufi music, brilliant imagery and masterful cinematography.
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Culture Wrap review:
A visually stunning film anchored in the beauty of Sufism, the mystical side of Islam or maybe even pre-Islam, as some followers claim. This tale definitely shows their are many ways and paths to find God and yourself. It’s a moving fable that pulls you into the world of dervishes and takes you along on a journey of self-discovery.
We’ll soon report more about this film and the filmmaker.
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Culture Wrap review:
A visually stunning film, giving you a fascinating insight in Chinese culture and the changes it went through over a period of 40 years, told through the moving story of a bus driver assistant.
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THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING EGYPT
Omaret Yacoubian
Director: Marwan Hamed
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Synopsis:
The famous Yacoubian Building was erected in downtown Cairo in 1934 to house the city's upper crust. In its heyday it housed wealthy pashas, government ministers and foreign diplomats. After the military-backed coup in 1952, rich foreigners fled the country abandoning the once stately building. Today the tenants of its spacious apartments are a bit tattered and its rooftop laundry rooms are converted into homes for the poor.
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Culture Wrap review:
An amazing feature film debut from this young Egyptian director. Egypt’s official entry for the Foreign Film Academy Awards. A special treat for me, as watching this film brought me flashbacks of my own trips to Egypt in the early 1980’s. Eating at Cairo’s famous restaurant Groppi, sitting on the rooftops, watching the lights and the people of Cairo.
The film shows the lives of several people from different classes and different religious backgrounds, and gives us some insight about the relationship between Muslims and Copts in modern Egyptian society. It’s one view on Egyptian life from the views of modern Egyptians as well as from those who live their life closer to more traditional ways of life. It’s a film that doesn’t shy away from controversial subject matter. A must see.
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movies to watch_________
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This is just a sample of some world culture films and/or DVD bonus materials with cross-cultural elements. A more complete list of reviews will be featured here soon.
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africa
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Vanishing Cultures: Bushmen of the Kalahari: The San people, more commonly known as Bushmen, are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of southern Africa. They have lived for 80,000 years as hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert, and are well-known for their expert survival skills in a harsh environment. Their unique clicking languages and their astonishing method of healing through trance dancing have made them a source of worldwide fascination. But these peaceful people are not immune from the problems of modern society, and have faced oppression and eviction from their homelands for years.
“Vanishing Cultures: Bushmen of the Kalahari” visits the troubled San community whose once thriving culture is now facing extinction. This one-hour documentary takes a never-before-seen look at the fascinating history, the brutal struggles, and the seemingly impossible challenges of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. GET INVOLVED.
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australia
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Rabbit-proof fence: Although "Rabbit-Proof Fence" is a moving story of racial prejudice and amazing endurance as three Aboriginal girls walk 1,500 miles to find their mothers in 30s Australia, and worth seeing in itself, some of the DVD bonus featurettes show how a camera crew and director can have a positive impact on the community in which the movie is shot.
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israeli-palestinean
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Promises: A 2001 documentary about children and conflict, with Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11-13 how talk about their views on living in a society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism.
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Cross-cultural films worth watching:
American History X
L’Auberge Espagnol
Bend it like Beckham
Constant Gardener, the
Dances with wolves
Day without Mexicans, a
Europa, Europa
Fond kiss, a
Gandhi
Gods must be crazy, the
In America
Koyaanisaqasi
Monsieur Ibrahim
Motorcycle diaries, the
My beautiful laundrette
Nowhere in Africa
Peace one day
Shadow magic
Snow falling on Cedars
West side story
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A window into another culture:
Brazil
Central Station
China
King of Masks
Italy
Cinema Paradiso
Korea
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Tunisia
Halfaouine: Boy of the terraces
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germany - usa
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Inheritance is a feature documentary by James Moll showing how the daughter of a German Nazi officer meets a Jewish survivor who experienced her father's brutality firsthand. It’s a story about the budding start of a reconciliation and how the tragedy of war flows over and affects the lives of people once standing on opposite sides for years after a war ends. Look for it at your local film festival. October 20-21 at the Hamptons Int. Festival, NY.
Bagdad Cafe
A German woman, vacationing in the USA, gets deserted by her husband in the Mojave Desert and gets stranded at a nearby café-motel, where she becomes friends
with the African-American owner.
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japan - usa
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The Last Samurai: a story of how two warriors of different cultures meet and learn how similar they are to each other. The DVD-bonus featurettes give several testimonies of how the film and the interaction of working with a variety of cultures in making the movie impacted the filmmakers, cast and crew in a positive way.
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thailand
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Buddha’s Lost Children: In the borderlands of Thailand's Golden Triangle, a rugged region known for its drug smuggling and impoverished hill tribes, one man devotes himself to the welfare of the region's children
A former Thai boxer, turned Buddhist monk, Phra Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto (also known as the Tiger Monk), travels widely on horseback, fearlessly dispensing prayers, health care, education and tough love to villagers far from the protection and support of governments or non-governmental organizations.
With his Golden Horse Temple he's built an orphanage, school and clinic - a haven for the children of the region, who see him as a shaman, father figure and coach.
Read more.
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