Celluloid #67

In Home

Fear of Fear (1975) Fassbinder - A woman has just had her second child and feels as if she is going crazy. Her husband does not take her seriously, her in-laws criticize her constantly, and even her doctor only seems to recommend sex with him as a remedy. She's afraid of some feeling...basically the worst post-partum depression ever. 3.5/5

Gabbeh (1997) Makmalbaf - A young Iranian woman wants to get married, but her father keeps coming up with excuses for postponement. A very colorful, beautiful, and simple tale featuring nomadic rug makers. 3.5/5

Goodbye Solo (2009) Bahrani - Solo is a charismatic African immigrant cab driver. William is an elderly man, a former biker, and seems on the verge of being ready to kill himself. William is one of Solo's regular clients and the two become friends at Solo's urging. Solo is a part of a community, and William desperately needs one. 3.5/5

Gun Crazy (1949) Lewis - Precursor to Bonnie and Clyde, where a gun enthusiast falls in love with a sharpshooter. Laurie has a shady past and convinces Bart that they should engage in bank robbing to maintain her lifestyle. He has a conscience and feels terrible about their crimes, but can't turn back and can't leave her. 4/5

Humpday (2009) Shelton - Ben's old friend Andrew drops by unexpectedly one night. Ben is married and living a pretty traditional life. Andrew lives more like a hippie; traveling around and hanging out with artists. At a party with some of Andrew's new friends, Ben and Andrew start talking about an amateur porn festival. Unbelievably, but somehow believably within the context of the conversation, the two decide that they should not only enter, but that they should fuck each other. Some bizarre one-up-manship at work. 3.5/5

Irma Vep (1997) Assayas - Meta movie about making a movie. The boy from 400 Blows has grown up to become the fake director in this film, and he wants to remake a 1919 silent film about vampires thieves with Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung as the lead. Maggie plays herself and mostly walks around in a latex catsuit. A very stylish full of movie references that even manages to throw in some Sonic Youth. Very enjoyable, especially for anyone who knows a bit about the history of French cinema. 4/5

La Femme Nikita (1990) Besson - Very stylish French action film about a street punk girl sentenced to life in prison, but given the opportunity to work off her debt by becoming an assassin for the government. 4/5

Time Bandits (1981) Gilliam - A cross between Life of Brian, the Neverending Story, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (I probably would have loved this movie as a kid!). A boy gets captured by a bunch of midget robbers who can time travel. They start out searching for famous artifacts to acquire wealth, but their mission morphs into saving the world from evil. 3/5