Pier Paolo Pasolini’s last film, released after his murder, is an orgasm of sin, debated and banned in many countries. Taking place in northern Italy near the end of WWII, it depicts a group of fascists abusing young men and women in countless ways at a mansion – expect rapes, torture and generous helpings of … Continue reading Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
THEY CALLED IT FILTH. IT BECAME A REVOLUTION. After fighting in World War II, Finnish veteran Touko Laaksonen (Pekka Strang) tries to find himself, as a gay man in a society that won’t tolerate it, and as a fledgling artist. He was certainly controversial, with his drawings of men in leather and tight jeans, sporting … Continue reading Tom of Finland
Stockholm, 1940; two amusement parks are at war with each other, but then the daughter (Frida Gustavsson) and the son (Albin Grenholm) of the two rivals fall in love… A visually arresting film, based on real events, that benefits from good supporting performances and two directors eager to show off. Unfortunately, the two leads are … Continue reading Swoon
After the premiere of what came to be director Bo Widerberg’s last film, he was accused of having stolen the idea for it from colleagues who were also making a movie about a young man who falls in love with an older woman. In an interview, the director replied by pointing out that the first … Continue reading All Things Fair: Bad Teacher
In 1940, Nazi Germany offers Norway to allow their troops to protect the country from a ”British invasion”; the royal family prepares to leave Oslo… There are always new stories to tell about World War II and this one focuses on the showdown between Nazi Germany and Norway prior to the occupation, where a German … Continue reading The King’s Choice
THEY SURVIVED WORLD WAR II. NOW THEY HAVE TO SURVIVE THE CLEARING. After the end of World War II, a group of teenage German prisoners-of-war are ordered to find and remove thousands of mines hidden beneath the sand on the Danish west coast. This Oscar-nominated film gives us a piece of post-war history that is … Continue reading Land of Mine
Ahead of the Normandy landings in 1944, U.S. paratroopers land behind enemy lines to take out a radio tower… but soon learn that the Germans are conducting frightening experiments. As if D-Day wasn’t challenging enough, who knew that the Allies had to fight zombie-like creatures as well? This wacky horror-action movie starts out intensely and … Continue reading Overlord
INSPIRED BY THE TRUE STORY. After surviving World War I, writer A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) becomes a father to a boy and reluctantly postpones his project of writing an anti-war book in favor of stories about a boy and his live toys. Much like Miss Potter (2006) showed us how Beatrix Potter found her way … Continue reading Goodbye Christopher Robin
WAR TAKES NO PRISONERS. Director Elmo Nüganen took on the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920) in Names in Marble (2002); this time, it’s World War II and a portrait of Estonian soldiers fighting on both the German and Soviet sides. The war is drawing to a close and the men are disillusioned, trapped between two … Continue reading 1944
NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE IN. In 2014, there were two different Winston Churchill projects in development. Producer Douglas Urbanski, who was also Gary Oldman’s manager, kept nagging the actor to play the prime minister, but he dismissed the idea, unable to picture himself as Churchill. At the same time, producer Eric Fellner had his … Continue reading Darkest Hour: More Than Just Oldman
A successful adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s novel that introduces us to two families in Mississippi shortly before, during and after World War II – one is white, the other is black. Their sons are fighting together over in Europe, which opens their eyes in ways that the old, racist Mississippi can’t understand. The story subjects … Continue reading Mudbound
NO LIES. JUST LEADERSHIP. In 1944, as the Allied leaders are preparing to launch Operation Overlord, Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) is haunted by the memories of the bloody 1915 Gallipoli campaign. The first of two Churchill biographies to be released within six months (the other one being Darkest Hour) is a major disappointment. Cox is … Continue reading Churchill
BASED ON A TRUE STORY OF SURVIVAL. On a mission to deliver parts for the atomic bomb that will be used on Hiroshima, the USS Indianapolis is sunk by the Japanese navy; the survivors battle fatigue and sharks. One of the greatest disasters in American military history gets a silver screen treatment of the worst … Continue reading USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
