270. Throne of blood (1957)

 

Country: Japan

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

So many years passed since I watched this famous Akira Kurosawa's film and sometimes I m not sure how I will feel if I watch it again. I m wondering if it aged well or if today would look a bit tired, a bit pretentious or simplistic. But then I remember how much I liked this film, how intense the film was: mad, raw, poetical, captivating, haunting. How I was thinking about it weeks after I watched it and how some moments of it still are vivid in my memory after all this time. Finally, I let my doubts aside. Films of this caliber would never get old. No matter your age, your country, your state of mind, they gonna absorb you from the first second to the last

269. Hope frozen (2019)

 

Country: Thailand

Directed by Pailin Wedel

Although I m not impressed by the way that the theme of the film is presented and unfolded nor from it's visual power, I still think that Hope Frozen is really interesting to watch, as it steps in a territory that all of us we are curious to explore, as it poses questions that all of us want to answer, as it connects all of us in a deeper philosophical, existential level, as it evokes our emotion no matter who we are. A documentary about life and death, about dealing with pain, about our refusal to accept our fate, but also about love and about dreaming big

268. After the curfew (1954)

 

Country: Indonesia

Directed by Usmar Ismail

One of the most famous and celebrated movies in the history of Indonesian cinema "After the curfew" is without doubt the masterpiece of Usmar Ismail, a pioneer artist who, as a film historian quoted, was the first Indonesian director that used film as means of expression and not simply as a way to make money. "After the curfew" is a movie with very few weaknesses, surprisingly fresh almost 70 years after its production, depicting with simplicity and bitterness the reality of the post war independent Indonesia, where the dream of a new, bright society and the ideals of the revolution buried under the corruption and the privileges of the few: a reality so universal that we feel related with, no matter from which part of the planet we are watching the film

267. Prisoners of conscience (1978)

 

Country: India

Directed by Anand Patwardhan

One of the rare documentaries about the brutality of Indian state against the leftist protesters and political prisoners during the 70's. Having a high historical value, the film depicts with simplicity the violence imposed by the establishment against everyone who dared to demand better conditions of lives for the poor, real democracy and justice. Anand Patwardhan does here what he continued to do his whole career: real and raw political cinema taking always the side of the vulnerable

You can watch the full movie here:  https://youtu.be/RHFaEybyvNA

 

266. Bona (1980)

 

Country: Philippines

Directed by Lino Brocka

Bona is probably the last really great film of Lino Brocka and it combines everything that made me to love his cinema that much: the not exaggerative melodrama, the powerful silent scenes, the well balanced raw realism, the camera that goes down to the slums, the political way that his storytelling is connected with the realities of Filippino society, the redemption of the end when the victim takes at last a revenge. 

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/8UakbxtNhO4

265. Country hotel (1957)

 

Country: Thailand

Directed by Ratana Pestonji

No doubt that a film historian would regard this movie, together with some other films of Ratana Pestonji who almost invented the modern Thai cinema, as a landmark for the  cinema of the Southeast Asia. However, Country hotel is not just a film good for its era that it has to be watched in some film museum as part of the history. Sixty-five years latter it's still quite fresh, with a nice dark comical style and a plot that keeps you captivated, with the 140 minutes of its duration to pass surprisingly fast as it's a lot of fun to watch!

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/DhmDwTffuQY

264. A day off (1968)

Country: South Korea

Directed by Lee Man-hee

One more jewel of the unknown South Korean cinema of 60's, 'A day off' depicts the bleak reality of the era (of every era?) when young people struggled to live, love and bloom under heavy financial hardships, to end up defeated and broken, without dreams and hopes, present or future. Lee Man-hee chooses to narrate a heartbreaking love story as a social commentary, not as a personal drama. The unhappiness here is not existential: poverty is clearly blamed. Moreover the misery is not attractive, shinny and almost glorified as we see often in other films. The despair here is naked and the feeling of hopelessness devastating

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/2f6eLMTooaM