Baran Kosari with Behzad Dorani, left, and Babak Karimi in The Wastetown. Ahmad Bahrami: 'The personal reason that I've worked on these types of topics is that I want to show this brutal situation so that others see what is happening and how to avoid it in the future' Photo: Courtesy of Poff Iranian director Ahmad Bahrami’s continues bleak consideration of his homeland with The Wastetown[film] - the second part of an intended trilogy after his Venice Horizons-winning [film]The Wasteland. Set against the backdrop of a car breakers yard, it sees Bemani (Baran Kosari), who has been temporarily released from jail after 10 years, attempting to find out the whereabouts of the son she was forced to give up in prison.
The film co-stars Ali Bagheri as Bemani’s brother-in-law, who previously also starred in The Wasteland, Babak Karimi and Behzad Dorani. A tense drama that, like many of the films of Bela Tarr,...
The film co-stars Ali Bagheri as Bemani’s brother-in-law, who previously also starred in The Wasteland, Babak Karimi and Behzad Dorani. A tense drama that, like many of the films of Bela Tarr,...
- 1/12/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Considering the gradual rise of cinema in the Arabic countries, either indoors or through diaspora, this year we expanded the selection of the Best West Asian films to include both West and Central Asian countries, in a list we feel highlights the diversity of the cinema of those countries, as much as the quality of their productions. Iran has the lion’s share as usual, considering it is the largest industry of the region, but movies from Israel, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan also found their place in the list. Also of note is the fact that a number of these productions move towards the mainstream, in a rather pleasant diversity from the “misery porn” we usually get to watch from these countries, while documentaries and shorts are also included
Without further ado, here are the best West Asian films of 2022, in random order. Some...
Without further ado, here are the best West Asian films of 2022, in random order. Some...
- 1/5/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
For his second feature, Iranian director Shahram Mokri was inspired by a story which seems more fitting for a gruesome murder movie or slasher horror. In 1998. the owners of a restaurant in northern Iran were arrested after they were caught having served human meat in their dishes to their guests. However, he also aimed to further his skills in film and cinematic form, as well as expand on the themes he had introduced in his first feature, “Ashkan, the Sacred Ring and Other Stories”. One of the most interesting aspects, and ultimately a quite demanding, was to use a single-take approach, changing the perspective from one character to the next and utilizing one location, a small lake and the forest close by. “Fish & Cat” thus would manifest the reputation of Mokri within the festival circle and audiences, winning the Horizons Award at Venice Film Festival 2013.
from Vinegar...
from Vinegar...
- 6/26/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Iran’s government may support Russia’s of Ukraine, but the bulk of the country’s film community is outraged by the war — and some more openly than others.
Prominent Iranian actor Hamid Farokhnezhad, best known internationally for starring in Asghar Farhadi’s “Fireworks,” has posted a video widely circulated on social media in which he denounces “the brutal attack of Russia against Ukraine.”
Farokhnezhad (pictured above), in protest against the Russian invasion, expressed his wish in the video to return the best actor statuette he received from the Moscow Film Festival in 2005 for his role in anti-war drama “Big Drum Under Left Foot,” directed by Kazem Ma’asoumi.
As Iranian multi-hyphenate Babak Karimi, speaking from Tehran, puts it, “Iran has experienced eight years of war with Iraq, which had similarities to the war in Ukraine.”
“The memory of war is very much alive here,” he notes. “So it’s obvious...
Prominent Iranian actor Hamid Farokhnezhad, best known internationally for starring in Asghar Farhadi’s “Fireworks,” has posted a video widely circulated on social media in which he denounces “the brutal attack of Russia against Ukraine.”
Farokhnezhad (pictured above), in protest against the Russian invasion, expressed his wish in the video to return the best actor statuette he received from the Moscow Film Festival in 2005 for his role in anti-war drama “Big Drum Under Left Foot,” directed by Kazem Ma’asoumi.
As Iranian multi-hyphenate Babak Karimi, speaking from Tehran, puts it, “Iran has experienced eight years of war with Iraq, which had similarities to the war in Ukraine.”
“The memory of war is very much alive here,” he notes. “So it’s obvious...
- 3/11/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Fereshteh (Sadaf Asgari) needs help ‘only’ until the next day, but this will prove dificult since she is asking for a dangerous kind of favour. She is in a position no young woman in Iran would like to be in: a single mom with a baby out of wedlock that nobody but one person knows about. Asgari plots his story around the consequences of a love affair that, in certain societies, weigh heavy on women who are expected to do everything ‘by the book’: wait with sex until they get married and only then start a family.
Until Tomorrow screened at Berlin International Film Festival
In the opening couple of minutes, there is nothing strange about a young mother taking care of her baby. Fereshteh looks tired but happy, and also, she seems to be doing fine job-wise as a freelance graphic designer. So, when a phonecall from her...
Until Tomorrow screened at Berlin International Film Festival
In the opening couple of minutes, there is nothing strange about a young mother taking care of her baby. Fereshteh looks tired but happy, and also, she seems to be doing fine job-wise as a freelance graphic designer. So, when a phonecall from her...
- 2/21/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
The 2022 Berlin International Film Festival has revealed its first titles, including seven films that have been invited to the Berlinale Special program. You can see the full list of confirmed films below.
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
- 12/15/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
"You wouldn't last 10 minutes on the street knowing what he knows." Lionsgate has revealed the official trailer for Zeros and Ones, another awkward new Abel Ferrara movie releasing this year (in addition to Siberia with Willem Dafoe). This one, however, came out of nowhere and it only recently premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. An American soldier stationed in Rome watches the Vatican blown up, then embarks on a hero's journey to uncover and defend against an unknown enemy threatening the entire world. How exciting?! I mean come on, what a boring plot. Ethan Hawke stars, with Valerio Mastandrea, Cristina Chiriac, and Babak Karimi. This looks terrible. The trailer is full of grainy can't-even-see-anything close-up shots, plus tons of stock footage, and that's about it. Move along folks, there's really nothing to see here. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Abel Ferrara's Zeros and Ones, direct from Lionsgate's YouTube:...
- 10/13/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Award-winning Iranian film has previously sold to France, Italy and Germany.
Shahram Mokri’s Iranian drama Careless Crime has been snapped up by Deaf Crocodile Films for North America, in a deal with French sales outfit Dreamlab Films.
The feature, which premiered in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section in 2020, will receive a theatrical release in North America this autumn before heading to digital platforms.
Dreamlab Films previously closed distribution deals for France (Damned Films), Italy (Pfa Films) and Germany (Trigon).
Careless Crime is inspired by a tragedy in 1978, when four men set fire to a cinema in Iran, killing...
Shahram Mokri’s Iranian drama Careless Crime has been snapped up by Deaf Crocodile Films for North America, in a deal with French sales outfit Dreamlab Films.
The feature, which premiered in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section in 2020, will receive a theatrical release in North America this autumn before heading to digital platforms.
Dreamlab Films previously closed distribution deals for France (Damned Films), Italy (Pfa Films) and Germany (Trigon).
Careless Crime is inspired by a tragedy in 1978, when four men set fire to a cinema in Iran, killing...
- 3/19/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Massoud Bakhshi Writer: Massoud Bakhshi Cast: Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Babak Karimi, Faghiheh Soltani, Arman Darvish Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 11/6/20 Opens: December 11, 2020 If you think that the United […]
The post Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/6/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Iranian multi-hyphenate Babak Karimi is an actor, film editor, and academic who won the Berlin Silver Bear in 2011 for playing the judge in “A Separation,” one of several films in which he stars directed by his friend Asghar Farhadi.
Karimi also appears in the drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi, which has circulated widely after winning a prize at Sundance earlier this year, and in Shahram Mokri’s “Careless Crime,” which since launching from Venice has sold to several countries including Germany and Italy. He recently also performed with Sophia Loren in “The Life Ahead,” an experience that Karimi “never imagined fate would have me live,” he says.
Karimi, who has close ties to Italy, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award by Rome’s MedFilm Festival. He spoke exclusively to Variety from Tehran about how Iran’s film community is reacting to Donald Trump’s...
Karimi also appears in the drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi, which has circulated widely after winning a prize at Sundance earlier this year, and in Shahram Mokri’s “Careless Crime,” which since launching from Venice has sold to several countries including Germany and Italy. He recently also performed with Sophia Loren in “The Life Ahead,” an experience that Karimi “never imagined fate would have me live,” he says.
Karimi, who has close ties to Italy, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award by Rome’s MedFilm Festival. He spoke exclusively to Variety from Tehran about how Iran’s film community is reacting to Donald Trump’s...
- 11/16/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sophia Loren earned her status as a cinema legend through her portrayals of women who were larger than life, yet specific enough, that we felt we might encounter them walking down the street. Her Filumena in Marriage Italian Style conveyed decades of suffering and dedication with a heartbreaking glance; her Giovanna from Sunflower seemed to have created the concept of longing and how to overcome it. And her ferociousness as Cesira — the mother devoted to protecting her daughter at all costs in Two Women — made one believe she could dive into a volcano, and come out unscathed.
The Madame Rosa she plays in The Life Ahead almost belongs in that pantheon of neorealist heroines – Loren favored raw emotion over stylization even in high melodrama. Rosa, a former prostitute turned reluctant caretaker to abandoned children, retains that indomitable essence and feels specific enough because of the way she moves in the world.
The Madame Rosa she plays in The Life Ahead almost belongs in that pantheon of neorealist heroines – Loren favored raw emotion over stylization even in high melodrama. Rosa, a former prostitute turned reluctant caretaker to abandoned children, retains that indomitable essence and feels specific enough because of the way she moves in the world.
- 11/14/2020
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
It’s always a pleasure to see a screen legend return to starring roles. For Sophia Loren, we haven’t seen her on the screen in a major way in over a decade, since her supporting appearance in Nine. Now, she’s back as a lead, showcasing her talents in Netflix’s latest awards contender, the international feature The Life Ahead. A movie built around her, and one that aptly showcases her, it’s a contender not just potentially in Best International Feature, but in Best Actress for Loren as well. Hitting the streaming service today, it’s well worth a watch, if only to see Loren in action once again, proving she hasn’t missed a beat. The film is a drama, based on the novel The Life Before Us, which has twice been adapted already before this. Taking place in an Italian seaside town, a 12-year-old street kid...
- 11/13/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The last time Romain Gary’s novel “The Life Before Us” was turned into a movie, the year was 1977, the film was “Madame Rosa” and the result was an Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film and a Cesar Award for star Simone Signoret as the title character, a Holocaust survivor and former prostitute taking care of a young Algerian boy.
Gary’s book is now headed back to theater screens in a new, Italian-language adaptation titled “The Life Ahead,” directed by Edoardo Ponti and starring Ponti’s mother, who happens to be the legendary actress Sophia Loren in her first feature-film role in more than a decade. It’s easy enough to see why she came out of semi-retirement for the film – not only is it the third time she’s worked with her son, after 2002’s “Between Strangers” and the 2014 short “Human Voice,” but it’s one of...
Gary’s book is now headed back to theater screens in a new, Italian-language adaptation titled “The Life Ahead,” directed by Edoardo Ponti and starring Ponti’s mother, who happens to be the legendary actress Sophia Loren in her first feature-film role in more than a decade. It’s easy enough to see why she came out of semi-retirement for the film – not only is it the third time she’s worked with her son, after 2002’s “Between Strangers” and the 2014 short “Human Voice,” but it’s one of...
- 10/29/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
On paper, “The Life Ahead” sounds like sentimental mush — orphaned immigrant kid gets rescued from a tortuous life of crime by the maternal Holocaust survivor and former prostitute who takes him in. And make no mistake: Director Edoardo Ponti, who directs his mother Sophia Loren as said survivor opposite newcomer Ibrahima Gueye as the immigrant child in question, certainly has made that kind of movie. But with its formidable odd couple at the center and Ponti’s alternately slick and sensitive direction,
While “The Life Ahead” draws from the same Romain Gary novel that inspired the 1977 Oscar-winner “Madame Rosa,” Ponti and co-writer Ugo Chiti have transplanted the setting from France to inner-city Italy and set the drama in the present day. That means cinematic grand dame Loren, returning to the screen for the first time in a decade, can play a role that fits her 86-year-old visage, and she brings a sturdy,...
While “The Life Ahead” draws from the same Romain Gary novel that inspired the 1977 Oscar-winner “Madame Rosa,” Ponti and co-writer Ugo Chiti have transplanted the setting from France to inner-city Italy and set the drama in the present day. That means cinematic grand dame Loren, returning to the screen for the first time in a decade, can play a role that fits her 86-year-old visage, and she brings a sturdy,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Netflix has debuted the first trailer for Italian drama ‘The Life Ahead’ in which iconic actress Sophia Loren makes her comeback.
In the colourful Italian port city of Bari, the streetwise 12-year-old Senegalese orphan Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) has ambitions to make his fortune in the underworld of the town’s shady alleyways. One day, he steals a bag of items from the elderly Madame Rosa (Sophia Loren), a Holocaust survivor who makes a meagre living raising the children of prostitutes with whom she once shared the streets. When Momo is forced to apologize to Rosa, she reluctantly agrees to take him in temporarily and the two lonely individuals find an unlikely family in each other through a deep and unconventional bond. The kindred spirits become connected to a common destiny that will change the course of their lives.
Directed by Edoardo Ponti and adapted by Ponti, Ugo Chiti from Romain Gary’s novel,...
In the colourful Italian port city of Bari, the streetwise 12-year-old Senegalese orphan Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) has ambitions to make his fortune in the underworld of the town’s shady alleyways. One day, he steals a bag of items from the elderly Madame Rosa (Sophia Loren), a Holocaust survivor who makes a meagre living raising the children of prostitutes with whom she once shared the streets. When Momo is forced to apologize to Rosa, she reluctantly agrees to take him in temporarily and the two lonely individuals find an unlikely family in each other through a deep and unconventional bond. The kindred spirits become connected to a common destiny that will change the course of their lives.
Directed by Edoardo Ponti and adapted by Ponti, Ugo Chiti from Romain Gary’s novel,...
- 10/22/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"It is precisely when you give up hope that good things happen." Netflix has released an official trailer for The Life Ahead, an emotional Italian drama made by filmmaker Edoardo Ponti starring the one-and-only glorious Sophia Loren. A contemporary adaptation of the international bestseller "The Life Before Us" by Romain Gary. In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her. the two lonely individuals find an unlikely family in each other through a deep and unconventional bond. In addition to Loren, the cast also includes Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri, Iosif Diego Pirvu, Massimiliano Rossi, Abril Zamora, and Babak Karimi. This looks like a deeply moving and inspiring story of humility and empathy, something we all need more of right now. I have to say - I am very interested in watching. This looks wonderful, and of course now I...
- 10/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
French distributor Damned Films has closed a deal with sales outfit Dreamlab films for “Invasion,” director Shahram Mokri’s Iranian film “Careless Crime” that will have its world premiere Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section.
Damned will distribute in France, overseas territories administered by France, Monaco and Andorra.
Set 40 years ago, during the uprising to overthrow the Shah’s regime in Iran, the film follows protestors who set fire to movie theaters as a way of showing opposition to Western culture. In one tragic case, a theater was set on fire with 400 people inside, most of whom were burned alive. Forty years hence, in contemporary Iran, four individuals also decide to burn a cinema down. Their intended target is a theater showing a film about an unearthed, unexploded missile.
“We are thrilled to have this deal sealed especially at a time where physically going to a cinema...
Damned will distribute in France, overseas territories administered by France, Monaco and Andorra.
Set 40 years ago, during the uprising to overthrow the Shah’s regime in Iran, the film follows protestors who set fire to movie theaters as a way of showing opposition to Western culture. In one tragic case, a theater was set on fire with 400 people inside, most of whom were burned alive. Forty years hence, in contemporary Iran, four individuals also decide to burn a cinema down. Their intended target is a theater showing a film about an unearthed, unexploded missile.
“We are thrilled to have this deal sealed especially at a time where physically going to a cinema...
- 9/7/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Shab-e Yalda or Shab-e Chelleh takes place in the night of winter solstice and is an old traditional festivity, practiced in Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan. It is a time to celebrate with the family, to get together, read traditional poetry and connect to the lighting of a big fire which should resemble light and hope in this night which is supposed to be the longest and darkest. According to Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi, the custom has always held a certain fascination for him, rooting back to his childhood when he celebrated Shab-e Yalda with his family in Tehran. The idea of hope as symbolized by the event was also a main inspiration for his 2019 feature “Yalda”, a story about forgiveness, but also how tradition creates a front for repression, antiquated concepts of gender and revenge as well as the exploitation of misery performed by the media.
On the night of...
On the night of...
- 8/29/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” and one of Iran’s most popular female actors, is set to receive a five-month prison sentence on charges of anti-government activism, BBC Persia has reported.
The BBC Persia report cited Alidoosti’s lawyer Kaveh Rad who tweeted that the sentence has been suspended for two years and would be officially announced in July 1. The news was also confirmed to Variety by Iranian actor Babak Karimi who co-starred with Alidoosti in “The Salesman” and, like Alidoosti, appears in several other Farhadi films.
Karimi added that Alidoosti was at home. He called the sentence an act of intimidation by Iranian authorities after she shared a video on Twitter of a member of Iran’s plainclothes “morality police” insulting and attacking a woman on the street for not wearing the hijab headscarf.
In January, Alidoosti sharply criticized Iranian authorities when she told her...
The BBC Persia report cited Alidoosti’s lawyer Kaveh Rad who tweeted that the sentence has been suspended for two years and would be officially announced in July 1. The news was also confirmed to Variety by Iranian actor Babak Karimi who co-starred with Alidoosti in “The Salesman” and, like Alidoosti, appears in several other Farhadi films.
Karimi added that Alidoosti was at home. He called the sentence an act of intimidation by Iranian authorities after she shared a video on Twitter of a member of Iran’s plainclothes “morality police” insulting and attacking a woman on the street for not wearing the hijab headscarf.
In January, Alidoosti sharply criticized Iranian authorities when she told her...
- 6/25/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With the first Sundance Film Festival of the new decade wrapping up today, the award winners have been announced. Leading the pack is Minari, which picked up U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, and Boys State, which was awarded U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. It was also announced that Tabitha Jackson will be the new director of the festival, following John Cooper’s departure.
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
- 2/2/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Director will not attend festival due to flare-up in tensions between Us and Iran.
Iranian drama Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness will premiere in Sundance as planned even if director Massoud Bakhshi will not attend due to the flare-up in tensions between the Us and Iran, its French producers and sales agent have confirmed.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud the film was selected by Sundance and is happy for it to be screened in public there,” Paris-based Jba Production company and sales company Pyramide International said in a statement. “He has never considered asking for it to be withdrawn, on the contrary,...
Iranian drama Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness will premiere in Sundance as planned even if director Massoud Bakhshi will not attend due to the flare-up in tensions between the Us and Iran, its French producers and sales agent have confirmed.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud the film was selected by Sundance and is happy for it to be screened in public there,” Paris-based Jba Production company and sales company Pyramide International said in a statement. “He has never considered asking for it to be withdrawn, on the contrary,...
- 1/14/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-winning actress Sophia Loren is back in front of the camera for her first feature film in a decade, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti in a movie in which she plays Madame Rosa, a Holocaust survivor who forges a bond with a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant boy named Momo.
The film, titled “La vita davanti a sé” (“The Life Ahead”), is an adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel “La vie devant soi,” which was previously adapted for the big screen by Israeli filmmaker Moshe Mizrahi as “Madame Rosa,” starring Simone Signoret. That film won the 1978 foreign-language Oscar.
Loren, 84, plays the same role as Signoret, though Ponti said the two adaptations are very different. The film has begun shooting in Italy. Loren, who is working 10-hour days, said she is allowing herself to “express things on screen in a way that I think audiences will find very surprising.”
She added that...
The film, titled “La vita davanti a sé” (“The Life Ahead”), is an adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel “La vie devant soi,” which was previously adapted for the big screen by Israeli filmmaker Moshe Mizrahi as “Madame Rosa,” starring Simone Signoret. That film won the 1978 foreign-language Oscar.
Loren, 84, plays the same role as Signoret, though Ponti said the two adaptations are very different. The film has begun shooting in Italy. Loren, who is working 10-hour days, said she is allowing herself to “express things on screen in a way that I think audiences will find very surprising.”
She added that...
- 7/10/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating pressure on Iran is taking its toll on the country’s film industry, with production slowing down owing to the crippled economy and international sales of Iranian movies — especially to U.S. distributors — being hampered by sanctions.
“The economic situation is a disaster for independent cinema” in Iran, said Paris-based sales agent and producer Katayoon Shahabi, who is Iranian and was a member of the main Cannes jury three years ago. “Inflation is slashing budgets and funding sources.”
The sanctions mean that “it’s basically impossible to sell to any country, not just to the U.S.,” she said, because for companies based in Iran, “you can’t receive any money.”
Shahabi’s Cannes slate this year includes Tehran-set drama “I’m Scared,” directed by veteran Iranian auteur Behnam Behzadi, who was in Un Certain Regard in 2016 with “Inversion.”
“I’m Scared” — which...
“The economic situation is a disaster for independent cinema” in Iran, said Paris-based sales agent and producer Katayoon Shahabi, who is Iranian and was a member of the main Cannes jury three years ago. “Inflation is slashing budgets and funding sources.”
The sanctions mean that “it’s basically impossible to sell to any country, not just to the U.S.,” she said, because for companies based in Iran, “you can’t receive any money.”
Shahabi’s Cannes slate this year includes Tehran-set drama “I’m Scared,” directed by veteran Iranian auteur Behnam Behzadi, who was in Un Certain Regard in 2016 with “Inversion.”
“I’m Scared” — which...
- 5/19/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Period drama wins Special Jury, Screenwriter and New Talent prizes.
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s Youth was the big winner at the 2nd Asian Brilliant Stars Awards in Berlin, scooping the Special Jury Award and two other prizes.
The hit period drama, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year, was also awarded best screenwriter for Yan Geling’s script, and the Asian New Talent award, which went to actress Zhong Chuxi.
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz was awarded best director for Foxtrot, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice last year.
Best actress went to Thailand’s Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying for her role in Bad Genius, a hit drama about an exam cheating scam, while Taiwan’s Chang Chen won best actor for Chinese martial arts drama Brotherhood Of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang was awarded best producer for Paths Of The Soul, which he wrote, directed and produced...
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s Youth was the big winner at the 2nd Asian Brilliant Stars Awards in Berlin, scooping the Special Jury Award and two other prizes.
The hit period drama, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year, was also awarded best screenwriter for Yan Geling’s script, and the Asian New Talent award, which went to actress Zhong Chuxi.
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz was awarded best director for Foxtrot, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice last year.
Best actress went to Thailand’s Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying for her role in Bad Genius, a hit drama about an exam cheating scam, while Taiwan’s Chang Chen won best actor for Chinese martial arts drama Brotherhood Of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang was awarded best producer for Paths Of The Soul, which he wrote, directed and produced...
- 2/23/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman was his second film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film (following 2012’s A Separation), which began receiving accolades immediately after its premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up awards for Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Purchased by The Cohen Media Group, the title racked up over two million at the domestic box office thanks to an awards and marketing campaign which received an additional relevancy from the political firestorm regarding a travel ban which inhibited Farhadi from attending the awards ceremony (a platform which ended up as the program’s only significant political acceptance speech from the director by proxy).
Notably, this is a return to Iran for Farhadi after his 2013 French language debut The Past, though this searing indictment on the bothersome realities of vengeance and unjustifiably gendered power ethics doesn’t reach the formidable and deliciously exacting dramatics of his 2012 Oscar and nominated Golden Berlin Bear winning A Separation. Still, Farhadi’s particular theatrics remain idiosyncratic to his interests in exploring culturally specific dynamics between men and women, and have successfully elevated the international awareness and platform of Iranian cinema, and his latest (which snagged a Best Screenplay and Best Actor win at Cannes 2016) is another strident chapter on human emotions shackled by social convention.
In the midst of rehearsing their soon to open stage production of the famous Arthur Miller play, in which they will be starring as Willy and Linda Loman, married couple Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana Etesami (Taraneh Alidoosti) find themselves displaced from their newly purchased apartment when the entire complex begins to collapse. Thankfully, Babak (Babak Karimi), their co-star in the stage production, knows of a vacant apartment where the couple can immediately relocate temporarily as they await a reimbursement for their damaged apartment. Their lives suddenly in disarray, Rana mistakenly buzzes an interloper into the apartment one evening thinking it is Emad returning home, only to be physically and sexually assaulted by a man who had come to visit the previous displaced tenant, a prostitute who was greatly disliked by her socially pure neighbors. The culprit flees the scene following the indiscretion and leaves his truck behind. While Emad and Rana attempt to pick up the pieces, their emotional disconnect causes Emad to go to great lengths to solicit an eye for an eye without the interference of the law.
The opening sequences of The Salesman provide the film with its overarching metaphor of an irreparable foundational disturbance, the unsecure building and subsequent evacuation resulting in a dramatic ripple effect. Just as the central couple in A Separation is (at least partially defined) by their parental roles, Rana and Emad’s predicament here is also born out of their childlessness. Devotees of the theater, (Miller’s tweaked text, including side jokes about the downplayed sexuality of the prostitute character Miss Francis is merely a backdrop and superficial subtext), it is inferred the Etesamis and their untraditional lives and interests are the potential cause for their current state of tragic duress. The power of suggestion is the significant thread connecting (and strangling) the major movements of The Salesman, which uses Miller not so much as a treatment of American vs. Iranian values, but as an experimental, doubling arena for the theatrical business of life.
The actress playing Miss Francis in the play assumes she is being demeaned by a male co-star because portraying a woman of easy virtue invites automatic disrespect; Babak becomes infuriated at Emad adlibbing incendiary lines during a performance; a woman in a taxi is convinced Emad aims to molest her because he sits with his legs open; and, ultimately, it is Rana’s fault she was raped because she didn’t bother to check who she opened the front door of her apartment to. Had Rana and Emad had children or more conventional professions, their own lackadaisically defined routines would have been in automatic check, or so the social circles around them in The Salesman seem to imply.
We sympathize more with Shahab Hosseini’s Emad, whose chronic frustration boils over into a Death and the Maiden style attempt at truth as vengeance. Because Farhadi, once again, only implies the trauma exacted upon Rana in her shower, it allows for us to be more estranged from her untoward behavior and subsequent victimhood and more celebratory of Emad’s impassioned attempt to rectify the situation by saving his pride (and, perhaps to a lesser degree, his wife’s reputation). Farhadi reunites with his About Elly (2008) cinematographer Hossein Jafarian to construct a careful examination of bodies in spaces, the suggested control and inherent power plays in blocking.
The final, intense third act returns us to the unsafe space of the crumbling façade, a touching metaphor for the grisly and unappealing outcome of Emad’s desperate ploy for closure and revenge. But as in previous works, Farhadi’s strength lies in his ability to cast adept performers able to convey the subtle complexities of his prose, and what Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini (both who have previously appeared in Farhadi’s films) achieve here is exciting as it is troubling for Farhadi forces us to ask why do we sympathize with Emad and not Rana? The audience, like the community and culture around Rana, become complicit in their inability to empathize with either females or victimhood. Until the magnificent finale, that is, when Emad and company (including a particularly arresting late staged supporting turn from Farid Sajjadhosseini) are taken to task, and satisfaction for anyone quickly dissipates into the realm of the impossible.
Disc Review:
For the film’s first availability on Blu-ray, this Sony release isn’t quite as persuasive as most of Cohen Media Group’s usual home entertainment releases. Presented in 1.85:1 with DTS-hd Master Audio, picture and sound quality are serviceably transferred in this high definition package. A lone extra feature begs for a more illustrious presentation for the lauded title, however.
A Conversation:
An interview with writer-director Asghar Farhadi on the origins and making of The Salesman is available as a bonus feature.
Final Thoughts:
In the same vein as Farhadi’s other tautly constructed social issue melodramas, The Salesman is another aggravating ripple effect of confounded displacement and fractured foundations.
Film Review: ★★★½/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Review: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post The Salesman | Blu-ray Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
Notably, this is a return to Iran for Farhadi after his 2013 French language debut The Past, though this searing indictment on the bothersome realities of vengeance and unjustifiably gendered power ethics doesn’t reach the formidable and deliciously exacting dramatics of his 2012 Oscar and nominated Golden Berlin Bear winning A Separation. Still, Farhadi’s particular theatrics remain idiosyncratic to his interests in exploring culturally specific dynamics between men and women, and have successfully elevated the international awareness and platform of Iranian cinema, and his latest (which snagged a Best Screenplay and Best Actor win at Cannes 2016) is another strident chapter on human emotions shackled by social convention.
In the midst of rehearsing their soon to open stage production of the famous Arthur Miller play, in which they will be starring as Willy and Linda Loman, married couple Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana Etesami (Taraneh Alidoosti) find themselves displaced from their newly purchased apartment when the entire complex begins to collapse. Thankfully, Babak (Babak Karimi), their co-star in the stage production, knows of a vacant apartment where the couple can immediately relocate temporarily as they await a reimbursement for their damaged apartment. Their lives suddenly in disarray, Rana mistakenly buzzes an interloper into the apartment one evening thinking it is Emad returning home, only to be physically and sexually assaulted by a man who had come to visit the previous displaced tenant, a prostitute who was greatly disliked by her socially pure neighbors. The culprit flees the scene following the indiscretion and leaves his truck behind. While Emad and Rana attempt to pick up the pieces, their emotional disconnect causes Emad to go to great lengths to solicit an eye for an eye without the interference of the law.
The opening sequences of The Salesman provide the film with its overarching metaphor of an irreparable foundational disturbance, the unsecure building and subsequent evacuation resulting in a dramatic ripple effect. Just as the central couple in A Separation is (at least partially defined) by their parental roles, Rana and Emad’s predicament here is also born out of their childlessness. Devotees of the theater, (Miller’s tweaked text, including side jokes about the downplayed sexuality of the prostitute character Miss Francis is merely a backdrop and superficial subtext), it is inferred the Etesamis and their untraditional lives and interests are the potential cause for their current state of tragic duress. The power of suggestion is the significant thread connecting (and strangling) the major movements of The Salesman, which uses Miller not so much as a treatment of American vs. Iranian values, but as an experimental, doubling arena for the theatrical business of life.
The actress playing Miss Francis in the play assumes she is being demeaned by a male co-star because portraying a woman of easy virtue invites automatic disrespect; Babak becomes infuriated at Emad adlibbing incendiary lines during a performance; a woman in a taxi is convinced Emad aims to molest her because he sits with his legs open; and, ultimately, it is Rana’s fault she was raped because she didn’t bother to check who she opened the front door of her apartment to. Had Rana and Emad had children or more conventional professions, their own lackadaisically defined routines would have been in automatic check, or so the social circles around them in The Salesman seem to imply.
We sympathize more with Shahab Hosseini’s Emad, whose chronic frustration boils over into a Death and the Maiden style attempt at truth as vengeance. Because Farhadi, once again, only implies the trauma exacted upon Rana in her shower, it allows for us to be more estranged from her untoward behavior and subsequent victimhood and more celebratory of Emad’s impassioned attempt to rectify the situation by saving his pride (and, perhaps to a lesser degree, his wife’s reputation). Farhadi reunites with his About Elly (2008) cinematographer Hossein Jafarian to construct a careful examination of bodies in spaces, the suggested control and inherent power plays in blocking.
The final, intense third act returns us to the unsafe space of the crumbling façade, a touching metaphor for the grisly and unappealing outcome of Emad’s desperate ploy for closure and revenge. But as in previous works, Farhadi’s strength lies in his ability to cast adept performers able to convey the subtle complexities of his prose, and what Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini (both who have previously appeared in Farhadi’s films) achieve here is exciting as it is troubling for Farhadi forces us to ask why do we sympathize with Emad and not Rana? The audience, like the community and culture around Rana, become complicit in their inability to empathize with either females or victimhood. Until the magnificent finale, that is, when Emad and company (including a particularly arresting late staged supporting turn from Farid Sajjadhosseini) are taken to task, and satisfaction for anyone quickly dissipates into the realm of the impossible.
Disc Review:
For the film’s first availability on Blu-ray, this Sony release isn’t quite as persuasive as most of Cohen Media Group’s usual home entertainment releases. Presented in 1.85:1 with DTS-hd Master Audio, picture and sound quality are serviceably transferred in this high definition package. A lone extra feature begs for a more illustrious presentation for the lauded title, however.
A Conversation:
An interview with writer-director Asghar Farhadi on the origins and making of The Salesman is available as a bonus feature.
Final Thoughts:
In the same vein as Farhadi’s other tautly constructed social issue melodramas, The Salesman is another aggravating ripple effect of confounded displacement and fractured foundations.
Film Review: ★★★½/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Review: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post The Salesman | Blu-ray Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
- 5/3/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
This Iranian import made news when its director found himself on the wrong side of the recent travel ban. It’s well worth the bother. Asghar Farhadi’s suspense story can’t be topped for maturity, insight or honest emotions about social stress: after an assault in a new apartment, the strain affects everything that a wife and husband do — driving a wedge through their marriage. Is it all built on a shaky foundation, like the crumbling apartment building they had to evacuate?
The Salesman
Blu-ray
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
2016 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 124 min. / Forushande / Street Date May 2, 2017 / 34.99
Starring: Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi, Mina Sadati, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini, Mojtaba Pirzadeh, Maral Bani Adam, Emad Emami, Sam Valipour, Ehteram Boroumand, Mehdi Koushki, Shirin Aghakashi, Sahra Asadollahe.
Cinematography: Hossein Jafarian
Film Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari
Original Music: Sattar Oraki
Produced by Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy
Written and Directed by Asghar Farhadi...
The Salesman
Blu-ray
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
2016 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 124 min. / Forushande / Street Date May 2, 2017 / 34.99
Starring: Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi, Mina Sadati, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini, Mojtaba Pirzadeh, Maral Bani Adam, Emad Emami, Sam Valipour, Ehteram Boroumand, Mehdi Koushki, Shirin Aghakashi, Sahra Asadollahe.
Cinematography: Hossein Jafarian
Film Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari
Original Music: Sattar Oraki
Produced by Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy
Written and Directed by Asghar Farhadi...
- 4/25/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Acclaimed director is launching October event in the ancient Chinese city of Pingyao, with Marco Mueller as artistic director.
Chinese director Jia Zhangke is launching a film festival in the ancient Chinese city of Pingyao this October, with Marco Mueller serving as artistic director.
The Pingyao International Film Festival will be held October 19-26, 2017, in the culture and arts district of Pingyao, Shanxi province. Located between Beijing and Xi’an, Pingyao is a Unesco world cultural heritage site that attracted more than 10 million tourists in 2016.
The new event, supported by the Pingyao government, aims to bring together the Chinese film industry with the film industries of emerging countries. It also plans to develop an industry component. A Touch Of Sin director Jia is launching the festival with co-founder Wang Huaiyu, CEO Liang Jiayan and Cco Wan Jiahuan.
In a nod to Ang Lee’s classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a competitive section for new directors will be...
Chinese director Jia Zhangke is launching a film festival in the ancient Chinese city of Pingyao this October, with Marco Mueller serving as artistic director.
The Pingyao International Film Festival will be held October 19-26, 2017, in the culture and arts district of Pingyao, Shanxi province. Located between Beijing and Xi’an, Pingyao is a Unesco world cultural heritage site that attracted more than 10 million tourists in 2016.
The new event, supported by the Pingyao government, aims to bring together the Chinese film industry with the film industries of emerging countries. It also plans to develop an industry component. A Touch Of Sin director Jia is launching the festival with co-founder Wang Huaiyu, CEO Liang Jiayan and Cco Wan Jiahuan.
In a nod to Ang Lee’s classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a competitive section for new directors will be...
- 3/16/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The film’s director Asghar Farhadi is boycotting the Oscars in protest over Us immigration policy.
Oscar-nominated Iranian film The Salesman will be screened in Trafalgar Square for free to demonstrate London’s “openness to the World”.
The film’s director Asghar Farhadi has already said he will boycott this year’s Academy Awards over Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, which restricted travel from seven predominantly Muslim counties, including Iran.
The open-air screening will take place on 26 February, the same day as the Oscars, and has been organised by London mayor Sadiq Khan, actor Lily Cole, producer Kate Wilson and film-maker Mark Donne.
Khan told London paper The Evening Standard: “Londoners have always prided themselves on their openness to the world, and what better way to do that than to come together to watch this powerful film in one of the world’s most famous public spaces.”
The screening, for up to 10,000 people...
Oscar-nominated Iranian film The Salesman will be screened in Trafalgar Square for free to demonstrate London’s “openness to the World”.
The film’s director Asghar Farhadi has already said he will boycott this year’s Academy Awards over Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, which restricted travel from seven predominantly Muslim counties, including Iran.
The open-air screening will take place on 26 February, the same day as the Oscars, and has been organised by London mayor Sadiq Khan, actor Lily Cole, producer Kate Wilson and film-maker Mark Donne.
Khan told London paper The Evening Standard: “Londoners have always prided themselves on their openness to the world, and what better way to do that than to come together to watch this powerful film in one of the world’s most famous public spaces.”
The screening, for up to 10,000 people...
- 2/14/2017
- ScreenDaily
“Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist.”
Actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who stars in the best foreign language-nominated The Salesman, will boycott the Oscars in protest at Donald Trump’s “racist” visa restrictions.
Iranian star Alidoosti wrote on Twitter: “Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won’t attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.”
Alidoosti’s tweet already has more than 3000 ‘likes’.
Trump is considering a plan which will see citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen temporarily banned from being issued new U.S. visas, according to reports.
The Salesman is directed by Asghar Farhadi and co-stars Shahab Hosseini and Babak Karimi, and is up against Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, Tanna and Toni Erdmann in the best foreign language category.
Alidoosti is one of the most famous actresses in Iran, and was named by one magazine poll as the best...
Actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who stars in the best foreign language-nominated The Salesman, will boycott the Oscars in protest at Donald Trump’s “racist” visa restrictions.
Iranian star Alidoosti wrote on Twitter: “Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won’t attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.”
Alidoosti’s tweet already has more than 3000 ‘likes’.
Trump is considering a plan which will see citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen temporarily banned from being issued new U.S. visas, according to reports.
The Salesman is directed by Asghar Farhadi and co-stars Shahab Hosseini and Babak Karimi, and is up against Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, Tanna and Toni Erdmann in the best foreign language category.
Alidoosti is one of the most famous actresses in Iran, and was named by one magazine poll as the best...
- 1/26/2017
- ScreenDaily
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
As per my Thursday update, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Split ended up winning the weekend but with way more than anyone, including myself, predicted, with more than $40 million for its opening weekend. That’s pretty impressive, and his first movie to open at that level since 2010’s The Last Airbender. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel’s sequel xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ended up making around where I predicted, taking second place with $20.1 million, not a great sign for the continuation of that franchise. Michael Keaton’s The Founder ended up right around where I predicted with $3.4 million, ending up just outside the Top 10. Hidden Figures, La La Land and Sing continued to do well with minimal drop-offs.
This...
This Past Weekend:
As per my Thursday update, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Split ended up winning the weekend but with way more than anyone, including myself, predicted, with more than $40 million for its opening weekend. That’s pretty impressive, and his first movie to open at that level since 2010’s The Last Airbender. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel’s sequel xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ended up making around where I predicted, taking second place with $20.1 million, not a great sign for the continuation of that franchise. Michael Keaton’s The Founder ended up right around where I predicted with $3.4 million, ending up just outside the Top 10. Hidden Figures, La La Land and Sing continued to do well with minimal drop-offs.
This...
- 1/25/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Marco Mueller, recently appointed general advisor of the 5th Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff), has unveiled his team of ten international industry professionals.
The programming team is headed by Chinese director Chen Zhiheng, who has been appointed general secretary, external affairs of this year’s Bjiff. He will head a China-based team that will support Mueller’s overseas professionals.
The overseas team includes Alena Shumakova, an experienced consultant for international film festivals; programmer Marie-Pierre Duhamel; India-based curator Deepti D’Cunha; writer and programmer Paolo Bertolin; critic and consultant Diego Lerer; journalist and festival organiser Joumane Chahine; publisher and producer Martin Marquet; Tomita Mikiko, a film selector focusing on Japan and Europe; and Iranian actor, video editor and film festival professional Babak Karimi.
In addition to programming the festival, the international team is looking at potential collaborators for market activity and special events. The team is also making arrangements to bring film industry delegations to the festival, which...
The programming team is headed by Chinese director Chen Zhiheng, who has been appointed general secretary, external affairs of this year’s Bjiff. He will head a China-based team that will support Mueller’s overseas professionals.
The overseas team includes Alena Shumakova, an experienced consultant for international film festivals; programmer Marie-Pierre Duhamel; India-based curator Deepti D’Cunha; writer and programmer Paolo Bertolin; critic and consultant Diego Lerer; journalist and festival organiser Joumane Chahine; publisher and producer Martin Marquet; Tomita Mikiko, a film selector focusing on Japan and Europe; and Iranian actor, video editor and film festival professional Babak Karimi.
In addition to programming the festival, the international team is looking at potential collaborators for market activity and special events. The team is also making arrangements to bring film industry delegations to the festival, which...
- 2/26/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth and titles set for Cannes among Sydney Film Festival competiton contenders.
In an unusual move the Sydney Film Festival has included among its official competition contenders, the June 4 opening night film 20,000 Days on Earth, which digs deep into the life of Australian-born musician and artist Nick Cave and won the top prize for documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
This year will also see the biggest number of Australian films in the competition. David Michôd’s The Rover will come fresh from Cannes and the other two are Ruin, which writer/directors Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Michael Cody filmed in Cambodia, and Fell, a debut film from Kasimir Burge that will have its world premiere at the annual event. Burge won a Crystal Bear at Berlin for his short Lily.
See below for the full list of the finalists in the seventh year of the A$60,000 ($56,000) competition.
Finishing off the...
In an unusual move the Sydney Film Festival has included among its official competition contenders, the June 4 opening night film 20,000 Days on Earth, which digs deep into the life of Australian-born musician and artist Nick Cave and won the top prize for documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
This year will also see the biggest number of Australian films in the competition. David Michôd’s The Rover will come fresh from Cannes and the other two are Ruin, which writer/directors Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Michael Cody filmed in Cambodia, and Fell, a debut film from Kasimir Burge that will have its world premiere at the annual event. Burge won a Crystal Bear at Berlin for his short Lily.
See below for the full list of the finalists in the seventh year of the A$60,000 ($56,000) competition.
Finishing off the...
- 5/10/2014
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Media Corporation has boarded the Chinese remake of Italian comedies Men Vs Women and Women Vs Men and will produce with Cai Gongming’s Road Pictures and Italian filmmaker Cristiano Bortone.
Huayi Brothers will also distribute the project, which is currently being scripted and is expected to start shooting before the end of the year. The remake is in the process of attaching a director and is expecting to draw an ensemble cast of major Chinese stars.
Cai and Bortone are combining episodes from the two original films to make one movie to start with, but envisage the concept as a possible franchise under the title Gender Wars. “The story has characters of different ages and backgrounds, so it will appeal to all audience age groups,” said Cai. “It also gives us an opportunity to look at changing gender identity roles in Chinese society.”
Fausto Brizzi’s original films, released in Italy...
Huayi Brothers will also distribute the project, which is currently being scripted and is expected to start shooting before the end of the year. The remake is in the process of attaching a director and is expecting to draw an ensemble cast of major Chinese stars.
Cai and Bortone are combining episodes from the two original films to make one movie to start with, but envisage the concept as a possible franchise under the title Gender Wars. “The story has characters of different ages and backgrounds, so it will appeal to all audience age groups,” said Cai. “It also gives us an opportunity to look at changing gender identity roles in Chinese society.”
Fausto Brizzi’s original films, released in Italy...
- 4/21/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Media Corporation has boarded the Chinese remake of Italian comedies Men Vs Women and Women Vs Men and will produce with Cai Gongming’s Road Pictures and Italian filmmaker Cristiano Bortone.
Huayi Brothers will also distribute the project, which is currently being scripted and is expected to start shooting before the end of the year. The remake is in the process of attaching a director and is expecting to draw an ensemble cast of major Chinese stars.
Cai and Bortone are combining episodes from the two original films to make one movie to start with, but envisage the concept as a possible franchise under the title Gender Wars. “The story has characters of different ages and backgrounds, so it will appeal to all audience age groups,” said Cai. “It also gives us an opportunity to look at changing gender identity roles in Chinese society.”
Fausto Brizzi’s original films, released in Italy...
Huayi Brothers will also distribute the project, which is currently being scripted and is expected to start shooting before the end of the year. The remake is in the process of attaching a director and is expecting to draw an ensemble cast of major Chinese stars.
Cai and Bortone are combining episodes from the two original films to make one movie to start with, but envisage the concept as a possible franchise under the title Gender Wars. “The story has characters of different ages and backgrounds, so it will appeal to all audience age groups,” said Cai. “It also gives us an opportunity to look at changing gender identity roles in Chinese society.”
Fausto Brizzi’s original films, released in Italy...
- 4/21/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The Past (Le passé) Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on RottenTomatoes.com Grade: B+ Director: Asghar Farhadi Screenwriter: Asghar Farhadi Cast: Bérénice Béjo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet, Elyes Aguis, Jeanne Jestin, Sabrina Ouazani, Babak Karimi, Valeria Cavalli, Eleonora Marino Screened at: Sony, NYC, 8/21/13 Opens: December 20, 2013 If this were one of the abundant numbers of sitcoms about family dysfunction, the moral might be something as vacuous as “Don’t mess with married men.” But “The Past” is a serious drama written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, whose previous entry, “A Separation,” looks closely at a family that must make a [ Read More ]
The post The Past Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Past Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/18/2013
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Sony Pictures Classics has new clips for 2 of its releases in The Past and Tim's Vermeer. The Past is a drama is directed by Asghar Farhadi from the script by Massoumeh Lahidji and Farhadi, and stars Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet, Elyes Aguis, Jeanne Jestin, Sabrina Ouazani, Babak Karimi and Valeria Cavalli. The Past follows an Iranian man who deserts his French wife and two children to return to his homeland. His wife sparks up a new relationship, the reality of which hits her husband when he receives a request for a divorce.
- 12/4/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Past Trailer 2. Asghar Farhadi‘s The Past / Le Passé (2013) movie trailer 2 stars Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Sabrina Ouazani, and Babak Karimi. The Past‘s plot synopsis: “After four years of separation, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) arrives in Paris from Tehran, at the request of Marie (Bérénice Bejo), his [...]
Continue reading: The Past / Le Passe (2013) Movie Trailer 2: Divorce Reveals Dark Past...
Continue reading: The Past / Le Passe (2013) Movie Trailer 2: Divorce Reveals Dark Past...
- 11/20/2013
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
A second poster has arrived for The Past directed by Asghar Farhadi of A Separation. The drama stars Tahar Rahim, Bérénice Bejo and Ali Mosaffa. The Past (Le passé) follows an Iranian man who deserts his French wife and two children to return to his homeland. His wife sparks up a new relationship, the reality of which hits her husband when he receives a request for a divorce. Also in the cast of the film written by MAssoumeh Lahidji and Farhadi are Pauline Burlet, Elyes Aguis, Jeanne Jestin, Sabrina Ouazani, Babak Karimi and Valeria Cavalli.
- 10/31/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Past Trailer. Asghar Farhadi‘s The Past / Le Passé (2013) movie trailer stars Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Sabrina Ouazani, and Babak Karimi. The Past‘s plot synopsis: “After four years of separation, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) arrives in Paris from Tehran, at the request of Marie (Bérénice Bejo), his French wife, [...]
Continue reading: The Past (2013) Movie Trailer: Bérénice Bejo’s Divorce is Complicated...
Continue reading: The Past (2013) Movie Trailer: Bérénice Bejo’s Divorce is Complicated...
- 4/24/2013
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Main Competition
Golden Marc.Aurelio for Best Film: "Marfa Girl" by Larry Clark
Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Special Jury Prize: "Ali Has Blue Eyes" ("Alì ha gli occhi azzurri") by Claudio Giovannesi
Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm, "Hand in Hand" ("Main dans la main")
Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Best Emerging Actor Award: Marilyne Fontaine, "A Child With You" ("Un enfant de toi")
Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of "Never Die" ("Mai morire")
Best Screenplay Award: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for "The Motel Life"
Cinemaxxi Competition
The International Jury, chaired by Douglas Gordon and composed of Hans Hurch, Ed Lachman, Andrea Lissoni and Emily Jacir, awarded:
CinemaXXI Award (for feature-length films): "Avanti Popolo" by Michael Wahrmann
Special Jury Prize . CinemaXXI (for feature-length films): "Picas...
Golden Marc.Aurelio for Best Film: "Marfa Girl" by Larry Clark
Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Special Jury Prize: "Ali Has Blue Eyes" ("Alì ha gli occhi azzurri") by Claudio Giovannesi
Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm, "Hand in Hand" ("Main dans la main")
Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Best Emerging Actor Award: Marilyne Fontaine, "A Child With You" ("Un enfant de toi")
Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of "Never Die" ("Mai morire")
Best Screenplay Award: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for "The Motel Life"
Cinemaxxi Competition
The International Jury, chaired by Douglas Gordon and composed of Hans Hurch, Ed Lachman, Andrea Lissoni and Emily Jacir, awarded:
CinemaXXI Award (for feature-length films): "Avanti Popolo" by Michael Wahrmann
Special Jury Prize . CinemaXXI (for feature-length films): "Picas...
- 11/19/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
A Separation Trailer, Jodaeiye Nader az Simin Trailer. Asghar Farhadi‘s A Separation / Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011) movie trailer stars Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, and Babak Karimi. A Separation / Jodaeiye Nader az Simin‘s plot synopsis: “Nader (Peyman Moaadi)and Simin (Leila Hatami) argue about living abroad. Simin prefers to live abroad to provide better opportunities for their only daughter, Termeh. However, Nader refuses to go because he thinks he must stay in Iran and take care of his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi), who suffers from Alzheimers. However, Simin is determined to get a divorce and leave the country with her daughter.”
This looks good. Many of of the key moments are kept in shadow, off screen. The father is between a rock and a hard place. How does pushing someone out the door result in them dying?
Watch A Separation / Jodaeiye Nader az Simin movie trailer...
This looks good. Many of of the key moments are kept in shadow, off screen. The father is between a rock and a hard place. How does pushing someone out the door result in them dying?
Watch A Separation / Jodaeiye Nader az Simin movie trailer...
- 12/7/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Jean-Marc Vallée's Café du Flore Chantal Akerman, Joseph Cedar, Béla Tarr, Nuri Bilge Ceylan: AFI Fest 2011 World Cinema Selections Arirang: Traumatized by a near-fatal accident during filming, director Kim Ki-duk offers a visionary self-portrait of a troubled artist reeling from an emotional breakdown. Dir Kim Ki-duk. South Korea. U.S. Premiere. CAFÉ Du Flore: In his follow-up to C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean Marc Vallée tells two parallel stories connected by music about a Montreal D.J. and a mother devoted to her special-needs son. Dir/Scr Jean-Marc Vallée. Cast Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, Evelyne Brochu, Marin Gerrier. Canada. U.S. Premiere. Extraterrestrial: Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalondo’s surprising second feature finds an alien invasion providing the backdrop for one of the most delightful romantic comedies in years. Dir/Scr Nacho Vigalondo. Cast Julian Villagran, Michelle Jenner, Raul Cimas, Carlos Areces, Miguel Noguera. Spain. Faust: Russian Ark director...
- 10/23/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Title: A Separation Directed By: Asghar Farhadi Written By: Asghar Farhadi Cast: Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, Merila Zarei Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 9/27/11 Opens: December 30, 2011 This Iranian film may be as talky as anything by the French, but instead of dealing like them with romantic love and lust and the jealousies created thereby, writer-director Asghar Farhadi goes deeply into the broad questions of loyalty, justice, social class, religion, and nuances of behavior that make us root first for one citizen, then for the other, finally leaving us to make our own decisions as...
- 9/28/2011
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
By A.J. Goldmann - February 20, 2011
Asghar Farhadi’s “Nader and Simin” was the big winner at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, which announced its awards Saturday evening, a day prior to the end of the fest.
Farhadi won the Silver Bear for best director two years ago for his film “About Elly.” “Nader and Simin” was widely seen as a shoo-in for the Golden Bear, both for its outstanding quality in a year of insipid competition fare and the spotlight thrown on Iranian cinema by incarcerated director Jafar Panahi, for whom the festival kept an open jury seat for the duration of the festival.
The international jury of the 61st Berlin Film Festival, presided over by actress Isabella Rossellini, jointly awarded the Silver Bears for acting to the ensemble cast of “Nader and Simin.” Among the six actors and actresses who shared the two statues was the director’s teenage daughter,...
Asghar Farhadi’s “Nader and Simin” was the big winner at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, which announced its awards Saturday evening, a day prior to the end of the fest.
Farhadi won the Silver Bear for best director two years ago for his film “About Elly.” “Nader and Simin” was widely seen as a shoo-in for the Golden Bear, both for its outstanding quality in a year of insipid competition fare and the spotlight thrown on Iranian cinema by incarcerated director Jafar Panahi, for whom the festival kept an open jury seat for the duration of the festival.
The international jury of the 61st Berlin Film Festival, presided over by actress Isabella Rossellini, jointly awarded the Silver Bears for acting to the ensemble cast of “Nader and Simin.” Among the six actors and actresses who shared the two statues was the director’s teenage daughter,...
- 2/21/2011
- by Screen Comment
- Screen Comment
Nader and Simin, a Separation
The competition at the 61st Berlin Film Festival just came to an end so it’s right time to announce some winners!
For the first time in the history of the Berlinale, The Golden Bear went to Iran! Asghar Farhadi‘s drama Nader and Simin, a Separation (a look at contemporary Iranian society) took the top three awards including the Golden Bear for best pic and ensemble male and female casts for actor and actress Silver Bears.
Now, that’s what we call a warm reception!
On receiving his Golden Bear, Farhadi said that he had never thought that he would win and then took a moment to think of his country and his imprisoned colleague Jafar Panahi who had been prevented from coming to Berlin to serve on the International Jury.
Nader and Simin, a Separation follows the title’s couple when the husband,...
The competition at the 61st Berlin Film Festival just came to an end so it’s right time to announce some winners!
For the first time in the history of the Berlinale, The Golden Bear went to Iran! Asghar Farhadi‘s drama Nader and Simin, a Separation (a look at contemporary Iranian society) took the top three awards including the Golden Bear for best pic and ensemble male and female casts for actor and actress Silver Bears.
Now, that’s what we call a warm reception!
On receiving his Golden Bear, Farhadi said that he had never thought that he would win and then took a moment to think of his country and his imprisoned colleague Jafar Panahi who had been prevented from coming to Berlin to serve on the International Jury.
Nader and Simin, a Separation follows the title’s couple when the husband,...
- 2/20/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
This goes against the grain of the population's reduced attention spans, but adds something new in the festival world. The 67th Venice Film Festival's (September 1-11, 2010) Horizontal Section, the "Orizzonti", is creating four new awards to "extra-format" works which means Very Long Feature Films will receive a special award for its category, as well as three other new awards for long feature, short feature and medium feature formats.
They will also award John Woo with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
The 67th Festival’s advisors for the various regions of the world are: Paolo Bertolin (South Korea/South-east Asia); Dora Bouchoucha (Africa and Arab world); Chen Zhiheng (China); Cecilia Cossio (India); Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan (USA); Fabio Fumagalli (Benelux, Portugal, Switzerland); Babak Karimi (Iran); Donald Ranvaud, Luciano Barisone (Central and South America); Alëna Shumakova (Russia and former Ussr countries); and Tomita Mikiko (Japan).And the Venice Film Festival’s...
They will also award John Woo with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
The 67th Festival’s advisors for the various regions of the world are: Paolo Bertolin (South Korea/South-east Asia); Dora Bouchoucha (Africa and Arab world); Chen Zhiheng (China); Cecilia Cossio (India); Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan (USA); Fabio Fumagalli (Benelux, Portugal, Switzerland); Babak Karimi (Iran); Donald Ranvaud, Luciano Barisone (Central and South America); Alëna Shumakova (Russia and former Ussr countries); and Tomita Mikiko (Japan).And the Venice Film Festival’s...
- 3/27/2010
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
BERLIN -- Train rides can run the gamut, from the anxiety of catching a train to the excitement of a journey and tedium of long waits and nettlesome fellow passengers. Thus, Tickets -- a directorial triptych in which Italy's Ermanno Olmi, Iran's Abbas Kiarostami and Britain's Ken Loach combine to stage three different stories all set on the same intercity train from Central Europe to Rome -- is all of these things. Sometimes engrossing and at other times tiresome, the movie is a real mixed bag.
Each of the three short stories -- which feature overlapping characters and actions jointly directed -- contains arresting moments. Collectively though, the movie fails to live up to its pedigree. Tickets is a natural for festivals and special distribution, but boxoffice will be tepid.
The order of the directors' billing indicates the sequence of their work. Remarkably, there are no abrupt stylistic changes despite separate cinematographers, editors and writers. (Paul Laverty wrote the Loach episode while the other directors wrote their own).
Olmi's opening act makes good use of the format by going for a single emotional effect in a cinematic fragment. A professor Carlo Delle Piane), forced to take the train when his plans called for air travel, reflects back on his day and his life.
He thinks of the gracious and attractive Austrian PR lady Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), who smoothed his way to the train, flirted with him at the station, then vanished from his life. Such thoughts mingle with childhood memories that underscore the transitory nature of life.
Kiarostami's episode sees a bullying and overweight woman Silvana De Santis) climb aboard with a beleaguered young man (Filippo Trojano), assigned to help her as part of his National Service. She sits in first-class seats reserved for others and finds creative ways to annoy everyone, including her servant.
Escaping from her for a moment, the lad engages in a flirtatious conversation with a young girl (Carolina Benvenga) who comes from the same town and knows him better than he realizes. When the woman again starts to harass him, he simply disappears and she cannot find him.
Loach's piece has three young and boisterous Scottish soccer fans (Martin Compston, William Ruane and Gary Maitland) travel on an impulsive journey to see their favorite club play in Rome. They encounter an Albanian boy (Klajdi Qorraj) wearing a Manchester United shirt and generously give him and his family some food. When one fan realizes his train ticket is missing, the three suspect that the boy stole it. When their suspicions are confirmed, his older sister (Blerta Cahani) tearfully explains the family's perilous predicament.
This is the most fully realized of the three tales as it demonstrates the richest sense of character, suspense and action. In the other two, the annoying woman is all too annoying and the professor's reveries are rather thin.
Shooting aboard a moving train, the filmmaking collective certainly capture the spirit of a chaotic train trip while introducing a few memorably characters.
TICKETS
A Fandango and Sixteen Films production
Credits:
Directors: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach
Writers: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Paul Laverty
Producers: Carlo Cresto-Dina, Babak Karimi, Domenico Procacci, Rebecca O'Brien
Directors of photography: Fabio Olmi, Mahmoud Kalari, Chris Menges
Production designer: Alessandro Vannucci
Music: George Fenton
Costumes: Maurizio Basile
Editors: Giovanni Ziberna, Babak Karimi, Jonathan Morris. Cast:
Professor: Carlo Delle Piane
PR Lady: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Woman: Silvana De Santis, Fillipo: Filippo Trojano, Jamesy: Martin Compston, Frank: William Ruane, Spaceman: Gary Maitland, Girl: Blerta Cahani, Boy: Klajdi Qorraj
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 110 minutes...
Each of the three short stories -- which feature overlapping characters and actions jointly directed -- contains arresting moments. Collectively though, the movie fails to live up to its pedigree. Tickets is a natural for festivals and special distribution, but boxoffice will be tepid.
The order of the directors' billing indicates the sequence of their work. Remarkably, there are no abrupt stylistic changes despite separate cinematographers, editors and writers. (Paul Laverty wrote the Loach episode while the other directors wrote their own).
Olmi's opening act makes good use of the format by going for a single emotional effect in a cinematic fragment. A professor Carlo Delle Piane), forced to take the train when his plans called for air travel, reflects back on his day and his life.
He thinks of the gracious and attractive Austrian PR lady Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), who smoothed his way to the train, flirted with him at the station, then vanished from his life. Such thoughts mingle with childhood memories that underscore the transitory nature of life.
Kiarostami's episode sees a bullying and overweight woman Silvana De Santis) climb aboard with a beleaguered young man (Filippo Trojano), assigned to help her as part of his National Service. She sits in first-class seats reserved for others and finds creative ways to annoy everyone, including her servant.
Escaping from her for a moment, the lad engages in a flirtatious conversation with a young girl (Carolina Benvenga) who comes from the same town and knows him better than he realizes. When the woman again starts to harass him, he simply disappears and she cannot find him.
Loach's piece has three young and boisterous Scottish soccer fans (Martin Compston, William Ruane and Gary Maitland) travel on an impulsive journey to see their favorite club play in Rome. They encounter an Albanian boy (Klajdi Qorraj) wearing a Manchester United shirt and generously give him and his family some food. When one fan realizes his train ticket is missing, the three suspect that the boy stole it. When their suspicions are confirmed, his older sister (Blerta Cahani) tearfully explains the family's perilous predicament.
This is the most fully realized of the three tales as it demonstrates the richest sense of character, suspense and action. In the other two, the annoying woman is all too annoying and the professor's reveries are rather thin.
Shooting aboard a moving train, the filmmaking collective certainly capture the spirit of a chaotic train trip while introducing a few memorably characters.
TICKETS
A Fandango and Sixteen Films production
Credits:
Directors: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach
Writers: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Paul Laverty
Producers: Carlo Cresto-Dina, Babak Karimi, Domenico Procacci, Rebecca O'Brien
Directors of photography: Fabio Olmi, Mahmoud Kalari, Chris Menges
Production designer: Alessandro Vannucci
Music: George Fenton
Costumes: Maurizio Basile
Editors: Giovanni Ziberna, Babak Karimi, Jonathan Morris. Cast:
Professor: Carlo Delle Piane
PR Lady: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Woman: Silvana De Santis, Fillipo: Filippo Trojano, Jamesy: Martin Compston, Frank: William Ruane, Spaceman: Gary Maitland, Girl: Blerta Cahani, Boy: Klajdi Qorraj
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 110 minutes...
- 2/15/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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