The big black sea

Now for a request. I don't know much about this film. Never heard of it...yet is a "european" (in a wider sense of course) film, with a little palm branch logo on the cover (cliché, I know - but I needed to write here something).
So here it goes:

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When: Wednesday 19th of March, 2014: 18:30
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Where: GSN Room, ground floor, LMU Biocenter.
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Üç maymun (Three Monkeys) - 2008 (109 min)

Grave of ...

Ok, now for a request that has been in the air for quite some while - an a title that I considered several times of screening. The film was produced in 1988, and at that time CG (computer-graphics) was not yet the huge thing it evolved nowadays being - so all that you'll see is beautifully hand-painted.
A great story - partly autobiographical, part fantasy (we - what else have you expected from a cartoon-film?!...no phantasy?), of how the end of the WWII was perceived by a orphaned girl and her older brother. I's a refreshing movie, especially after the quite intense title we screened last time - though because of the war-theme it fits quite well with the latter.

Cheers!


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When: 19th of Feb 2014, 18:30.
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Where: GSN Room, Ground Floor, Biocenter
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Grave of the Fireflies (1988) - 89 min

RIP. Roger! Another great review; thanks for that!

Maximilian Schell (Dec. 8, 1930 - Feb. 1, 2014)

I know I've promised we'll watch the second DVD from the Clouzot collection, but this weekend a great actor has passed away. His name was Maximilian Schell. I thought to commemorate this great artist, with on of his best known films: "Judgment at Nuremberg" - and postpone "L'Enfer" for the next GSN-Film-Club edition.

Here is what "The Telegraph" had to say about him:

Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Academy award for his role as a German defence attorney in the acclaimed 1961 courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg, has died aged 83.

The Vienna-born actor died overnight at a clinic in Innsbruck as the result of a "sudden and serious illness", his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, told the Austria Press Agency on Saturday.

One of the best-known foreign actors in US films, Schell starred on stage and screen on both sides of the Atlantic after growing up in Switzerland, where his family settled to escape the Nazis after Germany's 1938 annexation of Austria.

The brother of actress Maria Schell, he also won a Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg, which followed a television drama version of the play.

The film, directed by Stanley Kramer, was a dramatisation of the war crimes trials in Germany that followed the second world war. It focused on an international tribunal, headed by Americans, that was handling the trials of four German judges accused of knowingly condemning innocent men to death in concert with the Nazis.

For his portrayal of defence attorney Hans Rolfe, Schell earned broad international recognition. He was part of an all-star cast that also included Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Clift, Richard Widmark and Judy Garland.

Schell won the Oscar for best actor, beating, among others, his co-star Tracy.

Schell was nominated for two more Oscars, for best actor for The Man in the Glass Booth in 1976 and for best supporting actor in Julia in 1978.

Also a prolific television actor, Schell won the 1993 Golden Globe for best actor in a supporting role in the TV movie Stalin, in which he co-starred with Robert Duvall.

He made his mark as a film director as well. He directed and starred in The Pedestrian (1973), which was nominated for an Oscar as best foreign language film. He also directed the Oscar-nominated documentary Marlene (1984) about Marlene Dietrich.

Schell was also a talented pianist and directed operas.

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When: Wednesday, 5th of Feb., 18:30
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Where: GSN Room, Ground Floor - Biocenter
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Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Director: Stanley Kramer

Starring: Spencer Tracy

                Maximilian Schell

                Montgomery Clift

                Marlene Dietrich

Clouzot I

Now, after some busy weeks, holidays and administrative things, here's a new GSN-Film-Club post, announcing the next screening. We'll be watching the first of the two Georges-Henri Clouzot films I intend to show (the second will be L'Enfer). Psychedelic, psychological, picturesque - this french master piece is truly what grand cinema is about: love for details.

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When: Wednesday, 29th of Jan, 18:30
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Where: GSN Room, ground floor, BioCenter
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Le prisonnière (1968), 108 min.

Director:  Georges-Henri Clouzot 

The Easterbunny!

Again, some busy weeks, but tomorrow another classic will hit the screen of our quasi-regular film club. Building up on the Paris excursion and also on my recent fascination with the young Romy, I picked another more-or-less odd comedy. "Le trio infernal" is a french-german-italian production starring the by then world renowned Romy Schneider (in her mid-thirties) and Michel Piccoli in a the first film directed by Francis Girod.

Here's an excerpt from an external review (as I haven't seen it completely myself) :
"There is no doubt that the history behind Francis Girod's Le Trio Infernal is as fascinating as is the film itself. Vehemently criticized, butchered by the censors, and eventually labeled by moralist watchdogs "the worst of Romy Schneider's films" this truly is a piece of cinema whose message instigated a reaction only a few other films managed to match during the early 70s.

 The story of Le Trio Infernal focuses on the deeds of a famous Marseille lawyer (Piccoli) and his two lovers (Schneider and Gonska) who decide to make a fortune by cheating the French life insurance industry. As expected the bulk of the film follows the three-stage scheme mapped out by the trio: locating a target, entering the target's world, and executing. In between the criminals indulge in passionate sexual games which Girod uses as a perfect excuse to slam everything bourgeois. With the political overtone obviously a factor here the sexual decadence is that much more impressive given the fact that the lawyer's lovers are sisters."

Bonus: Music by Ennio Morricone!

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When: Wednesday, 3. April, 18:30
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Where:  GSN Room, Ground Floor, Biocenter
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Le Trio Infernal (1974)

Directed:  Francis Girod
Starring: Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli
Music: Ennio Morricone

Goettingen alternative

Yep, the Goettingen neuroscience conference has is just about to start, jet for the ones who need to produce hard science and have some other folks presenting their latest poster in the hotel lobby, we've thought of an alternative program.... :P ...our now established Film-Club. So, this time Jo came with a really special roll from his very own personal collection, which I think will everybody will enjoy. But due to some inhomogeneities in our common schedule we'll start this week 1h later. So, here is Jo's pick!

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When:  19:30 Wednesday 13th. March 2013.
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Where: GSN Room, Biocenter, LMU
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Royal Space Force – Wings of Honneamise (1987)

Written & directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga

„Royal Space Force – Wings of Honneamise“ retraces mankind’s baby steps into space, particularly the beginnings of the space program during the Cold War. However, its setting, the entirely fictional kingdom of “Honneamise”, keeps it from being misunderstood as an historic movie. Rather, it indulges in universal musings on war and progress, society and religion, and focuses on the individuals caught up in it. The movie follows cadet Shiro Lladat, as he transforms from a bored slacker into the first man in space, and it is slow-paced, but intense.

Honneamise represents a singular feat in the animation industry. It was produced by a small group of students – amateur artists, who were given a huge budget to realize their ambitious first full-length feature. Yet, the result was not amateurish at all: The intricate designs of the fictional world of Honneamise and its smooth animation still exceeds that of some of the best professionals in the field. This group known as “Gainax” later went on to produce some of the most popular and successful animated TV series of all time – Honneamise still stands as a testament to their exceptional talent, and to the power of animation in general.

“A visually sensational two-hour extravaganza” (Roger Ebert)

“A story that's mature, resonant, and authentic. Every single thing in that movie is wholly idiosyncratic. It's wonderful. And not only is it unique, it is exceptionally well done. Every frame is teeming with detail” (Anime News Network)

Carnival Edition

 

Lately there have skipped weeks, but this Wednesday we'll start our film club for this year again, with the promise to be somewhat more regular. So, the next film on the list is a Romanian (the first of this kind in the film-club), and even though it's quite recent, I don't think it will ever be a "blockbuster". Instead, it's a very well thought play with some unique features among "modern" films. The one thing which is obvious (maybe not right from the beginning) is the total absence of any kind of music score in the background, which conveys a rather first-person experience. Second, the theme of this movie is inspired form a major media-scandal a few years ago (just google Tanacu), and none-of-the-less the director managed to avoid the kitsch side of the story.
And, as a little side-info...Jo, Stephan and me went to see this film in the Film-Museum Munchen at some point in November, yet it was sold out and we had to spend the rest of the evening lingering around some bottles of beer (...yeah I know, though reality!).

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When: Wednesday 13th of Feb, 18:30
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Where: GSN Room, Ground floor, Biocenter.
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Dupa Dealuri (Beyond the Hills) [2012]

Director: Cristian Mungiu
IMDB: here