Author Archives: bharathmahendran

Close-Up is a 1990 Iranian film by the director Abbas Kiarostami. The film is based on a true story and even has the characters from real life playing the same characters in the movie. Parts of the movie are still completely made up and trying to figure out what events did happen in real lifeContinue reading “Close-Up”

The Crimes of Padre Amaro is a 2002 Spanish romantic drama film directed by Carlos Carrera. It is based on a 1875 novel of the same name by Eca de Queiroz. The story centers on young Father Amaro, who has just recently become a priest. He notices a young girl named Amelia who has feelingsContinue reading “The Crimes of Padre Amaro”

In the Mood for Love is a 2000 romantic drama about the life of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan in 1960’s Hong Kong. The film is colorful and many of the scenes are recorded in unique and interesting ways to produce a visual masterpiece. Wong Kar-wai makes several artistic and cinematic choices to make theContinue reading “In the Mood for Love”

The Milky Way was a 1969 film directed by Luis Buñuel, who has directed other great films such as The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Phantom of Liberty which are all part of a trilogy. They do not have an interlocking story or even the same main characters. However, all these films shareContinue reading “The Milky Way”

Pather Panchali is a Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray in the year 1955. It is a very unique film, especially for its time when most films were shot in a typical Bollywood style with intermittent dances numbers and highly dramatized stories. The story of Pather Panchali is shown through the eyes of Apu, aContinue reading “Pather Panchali”

Seven Samurai is a Japanese film set in sixth century feudal Japan. In it a band of samurai work together with the people in a small farming community to help defend themselves against a pillaging group of bandits. The leader of the samurai group is Kambei, unlike many samurai of his timed, is only tryingContinue reading “Seven Samurai”

Bicycle Thieves is an Italian Neorealist movie about Antonio Ricci’s hardships in life. The story is based on a novel of the same name by Luigi Bartolini. The movie starts with Antonio struggling to find a job. He gets offered a job to put up posters around the city, however, is unable to do soContinue reading “Bicycle Thieves”

A Man with a Movie Camera is a film about a normal day in a city in the Soviet Union. In the start is states that this film is an experimental film which was made without scripts, sets or even any context in the form of intertitles that many silent films of the time usedContinue reading “A Man with a Movie Camera”

Metropolis is one of the earliest and most influential science fiction films of all time. It was based on a novel by the same name released 2 years prior to the release of the film, in the year 1925. The film is about a utopian city build on top of a dystopian underground where theContinue reading “Metropolis”

400 blows is a French New Wave film about Antoine Doinel’s life as he does increasingly more mischievous acts that eventually lead to him committing actual crimes like stealing. The film is based on the director François Truffaut’s own life as a young boy and is his first feature length film. In the film, Antoine’sContinue reading “400 Blows”