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Posts tagged Biography
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Dec 30th
A fictionalized account in four segments of the life of Japan’s celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima. Three of the segments parallel events in Mishima’s life with his novels (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), Kyoko’s House, and Runaway Horses), while the fourth depicts 25 November 1970, “The Last Day”…
Moneyball (2011)
Dec 17th
Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane is handicapped with the lowest salary constraint in baseball. If he ever wants to win the World Series, Billy must find a competitive advantage. Billy is about to turn baseball on its ear when he uses statistical data to analyze and place value on the players he picks for the team.
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (宮本武蔵完結編 決闘巌流島) (1956)
Nov 1st
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He’s sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan’s most powerful clan leader. He’s also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year’s time but rejects Shogun’s patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He’s followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu’s forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (続宮本武蔵 一乗寺の決闘) (1955)
Oct 29th
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan’s greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region’s finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school’s followers. While Otsu waits, Akemi also seeks him, expressing her desires directly. Meanwhile, Takezo is observed by Sasaki Kojiro, a brilliant young fighter, confident he can dethrone Takezo. After leaving Kyoto in triumph, Takezo declares his love for Otsu, but in a way that dishonors her and shames him. Once again, he leaves alone.
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto / Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) (1954)
Oct 29th
With his closest friend, Matahachi, Takezo (the town’s wild, orphan kid) leaves his village to join an army on its way to battle. After their side loses, they seek shelter in the isolated home of a widow, Oko, and her daughter, Akemi. Oko seduces Matahachi, who forgets his betrothal to the virtuous Otsu. Oko, Matahachi, and Akemi go to Kyoto, but Takezo returns to the village. Matahachi’s family rejects Takezo’s report and has him arrested for treason. A monk rescues him from death and sentences him to the study of the samurai code. Otsu and Takezo fall in love, and she promises to wait for him when he sets off on the road as a knight errant.
Rakta Charitra – II (2010)
Oct 9th
Based in Anandpur, Andhra Pradesh, Pratap Ravi, who lives with his expectant wife, Nandini, is fully engrossed in avenging the brutal death of his father, Veera Bhadra and brother, Shankar. He is now invited by actor-turned-politician, Shivaji Rao, to join politics and end the bloodshed. Pratap does so, but must face off against a vengeful male, Surya, who blames him for the death of his family in a TV bomb blast. Pratap not only manages to elude Surya, but through DCP Mohan Prasad, has him arrested and sent to prison. Ready to contest elections, he is faced with another adversary – Surya’s wife, Bhavani. He decides to kill her but is prevented by his very own wife. With Bhavani’s increasing popularity, and Surya joining forces with opposition leader, Krishna Swamy, Pratap finds his life in danger and decides to organize a meeting of all political leaders in the region – a decision that may well change his and everyone’s lives.
Rakta Charitra – I (2010)
Oct 9th
Rakta Charitra is a biographical tale of Paritala Ravi from Andhra Pradesh, a prime accused in a number of murder cases. It is the story of a man’s phenomenal rise to power and a story of the most intense blood curdling conflict ever heard of between two individuals. Moreover, the story is also the ultimate statement on the often heard disastrous consequences of a fatal mixture of caste, crime, family feuds and politics.
The Fighter (2010)
Sep 2nd
The Fighter, is a drama about boxer “Irish” Micky Ward’s unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer on the verge of being KO’d by drugs and crime.
The King’s Speech (2010)
Sep 2nd
Tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George (‘Bertie’) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.
Fair Game (2010)
Aug 31st
Plame’s status as a CIA agent was revealed by White House officials allegedly out to discredit her husband after he wrote a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece saying that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The Robber (Der Räuber) (2010)
Jul 9th
Tells the true story of Johann Rettenberger, a marathon athlete who developed robbing banks as a hobby.
Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)
Jul 9th
This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 70s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14 years old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-storey apartment building in Berlin. She’s fascinated by the ‘Sound’, a new disco with most modern equipment. Although she’s legally too young, she asks a friend to take her. There she meets Detlef, who’s in a clique where everybody’s on drugs. Step by step she gets drawn deeper into the scene.
Colonel Redl (Oberst Redl) (1985)
Jul 8th
Set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl (Brandauer), an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception.
Rosa Luxemburg (1986)
Jul 8th
Wronke Prison, 1916. Social democrat Rosa Luxemburg faces a mock execution. Twenty years earlier, Rosa’s political gifts are acknowledged by everyone, as she struggles for democratic government in Germany and revolution in Poland. There she works closely with Leo Jogiches. Their political activity creates some difficulty for their personal relationship… As international tensions rise, Rosa makes speeches denouncing war and militarism. She seems too radical for her fellow Socialists. She meets Karl Liebknecht. When World War I begins, Rosa and Karl are united in opposition…
Ludwig II. (1972)
Jul 8th
Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandonned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (1972)
Jul 8th
A few decades after the destruction of the Inca empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon river in search of gold and wealth. Soon, they come across great difficulties and Don Aguirres, a ruthless man who cares only about riches, becomes their leader. But will his quest lead them to “the golden city”, or to certain destruction?
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Jul 8th
Herzog’s film is based upon the true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to speak or walk, and bearing a strange note; he later explained that he had been held captive in a dungeon of some sort for his entire life that he could remember, and only recently was he released, for reasons unknown. His benefactor attempts to integrate him into society, with intriguing results
Il Divo (2008)
Jan 6th
The story of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who has been elected to Parliament seven times since is was established in 1946.
Placido Rizzotto (2000)
Jan 6th
E’ la sera del 10 marzo del 1948. Placido Rizzotto, segretario della Camera del Lavoro di Corleone, in Sicilia, è in casa con i genitori. Subito prima di cena esce di casa, assicurando che sarebbe tornato di lì a poco. Aveva 33 anni e 70 giorni. Non tornò più. Scomparve nel nulla. Il film racconta la storia di un combattente per i diritti dei contadini siciliani e dei lavoratori tutti in una cittadina, Corleone, diventata in seguito la capitale della mafia. Per uno strano caso del destino, intorno alla sua scomparsa (il suo corpo fu gettato dai sicari in un fosso irrangiungibile dagli inquirenti) vi fu il convergere di personalità diventate di rilievo nella storia dell’Italia dei nostri anni. Il capitano dei carabinieri, Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, che fece le indagini e arrestò gli assassini di Rizzotto; lo studente universitario, Pio La Torre, che sostituì Rizzotto nelle lotte sindacali (e fu ucciso a sua volta dalla mafia) ; Luciano Liggio (l’assassino)…
