I hang out at The Dissolve and The AV Club a lot.
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Osama 2003
A painful glimpse at the totalitarian rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, especially with regard to women. In this particular story, a girl is forced to dress as a boy and work because there are no men in her household to bring in income. Women in this society do what they can to circumvent the laws, though there are severe consequences for being proactive. A precarious plan from the beginning, the danger escalates when the girl lands herself in a…
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Gertrud 1964
Well, it's not my favorite Dreyer film, and I'd also argue it's not his best. The movie is set up as a series of conversations, which are invariably blocked with the two participants sitting close enough but not making eye contact. You see, they're speaking their innermost feelings, so like, they can't bear to do this by looking at their counterparts in the eye. Or something. The way these conversations are presented feels very theatrical, which I tend to love,…
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The Story of the Weeping Camel 2003
This was an unexpectedly moving experience. I went into it blind, unsure of what to expect. I couldn't figure out whether I was seeing a documentary, or a tightly scripted narrative. I learned later that it's a mix of fact and fiction.
The simple joy, for the most part, was in seeing this family in rural Mongolia go through their everyday lives. For an outsider, it's nice to get a peek into how they live. My favorite part was when…
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Still Life 2006
I found this film melancholy and mournful. The two individuals featured are looking for to re-connect with their spouses, with mixed results. In this film, love is not a warm fuzzy feeling in one's heart, nor is it a jolt of lust between one's legs. Rather, it is a question with no perfect answer.
The story is set against a city that is being systematically demolished in order to create the Three Gorges Dam, which magnifies the sense of loss…