#420 – I Am Cuba, (Soy Cuba), 1964, Mikhail Kalatozov
An unabashed exercise in cinema stylistics, I Am Cuba is pro-Castro/anti-Batista rhetoric dressed up in the finest clothes. The film’s four dramatic stories take place in the final days of the Batista regime; the first two illustrate the ills that led to the revolution, the third and fourth the call to arms which cut across social and economic lines.
#421 – Mean Streets, 1973, Martin Scorsese
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#422 – The Mother and the Whore, (La maman et la putain), 1973, Jean Eustache
In this sexually frank French drama, the aimless young Alexandre juggles his relationships with his girlfriend, Marie, and a casual lover named Veronika. The dialogue-heavy film focuses intently on the love triangle, with Marie increasingly jealous of Alexandre’s fling with Veronika. As the trio continues their unsustainable affair, the emotional stakes get higher, leading to conflict and unhappiness.
#423 – Memories of Murder, (살인의 추억), 2003, Bong Joon-ho
1986 Gyunggi Province. The body of a young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. Two months later, a series of rapes and murders commences under similar circumstances. And in a country that had never known such crimes, the dark whispers about a serial murderer grow louder. A special task force is set up in the area, with two local detectives Park Doo-Man and Jo Young-Goo joined by a detective from Seoul who requested to be assigned to the case.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#424 – This Is Spinal Tap, 1984, Rob Reiner
“This Is Spinal Tap” shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold albums, name changes and undersold concert dates, along with the full host of requisite groupies, promoters, hangers-on and historians, sessions, release events and those special behind-the-scenes moments that keep it all real.
#425 – Love Exposure, (愛のむきだし), 2008, Sion Sono
The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an “up-skirt” photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing – which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian – dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that’s a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#426 – Red Beard, (赤ひげ), 1965, Akira Kurosawa
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
#427 – Amélie, (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain), 2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie (Audrey Tautou) accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
#428 – Yearning, (乱れる), 1964, Mikio Naruse
After a bombing raid destroys the family store and her husband, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
#429 – The Great Dictator, 1940, Charlie Chaplin
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel’s regime.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
Jumbo Cactuar Film Index 