Makioka Sisters

The film adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki's brilliant novel 'The Makioka Sisters' of 1983 is very unknown, though it should be a rather good adaptation. I just wonder if they could catch the feeling of the firefly hunt and the magical feeling of the cherry blossoms...

Meinte's Daily Film Fact #10 - Roman Holiday

The Roman summer was stiflingly hot, with the temperatures in the high 90s. Crowds swarmed over all the locations, making huge impromptu audiences for the actors. Meanwhile, Italy itself was beset with clashes between political parties that resulted in strikes and unrest that threatened to disrupt production.

At the beginning of the movie, the elder gentleman dancing with princess Ann says to her, in Italian: "I want absolutely to die on the ship!"

Meinte's Daily Film Fact # 9 - District 9

All the shacks in District 9 were actual shacks that exists in a section of Johannesburg which were to be evacuated and the residents moved to better government housing, paralleling the events in the film. Also paralleling, the residents had not actually been moved out before filming began. The only shack that was created solely for filming was Christopher Johnson's shack.

Zhou Xun

Zhou Xun covers the january edition of Elle. She also talks about her favorite actresses Juliette Ninoche, Isabel Hupert and Cate Blanchett.

Zhou Xun stars in the new film 'The Message' which recently won prizes at the Horse Awards in Taiwan.

Amour à Tair / A Love to Hide (France, 2005)

‘A Love to Hide’ is a less known anti-war film, but nonetheless a very powerful one. It shows the fate which had the homosexual had to suffer, they also were transported to transition camps, work camps and concentration camps.
A French movie which was released back in 2005 and probably the first time this subject was getting attention in France. In WW2 there were laws against homosexuals, they were ill and had to be reformed. After the war ended the laws against them weren’t abandoned. It was 1981 when finally they were accepted in society.

Jean (Jérémie Renier) lives in Paris and wants to help his friend Sarah Morgenstern. He brings her to his friend Philippe’s place and for a while they live kind of happily together though Sarah has a hard time accepting the fact Jean loves Philippe more than herself. Jean’s brother Jacques has always been the black sheep of the family and when he discovers about Jean’s sexuality he makes a plan to regain the trust of especially his father. Jacques collaborates and makes a deal that will put Jena in a jail for one day. But, it horribly goes wrong and Jean is deported.

A strong and powerful film, by director Christian Faure, about love, hatred and the cruelty of war.