C.R.A.Z.Y.

English Title: C.R.A.Z.Y.

Jean-Marc Vallee, Canada, 2005, imdb

Review: 5.0 Uchuvas
Comment: I loved this film! The actors are great, the casting was good, the little kid it's amazing! and when he grows up is amazing too! The story is great. It's funny, deep, delicate. The effects are good too. Summary: just loved it!

L' Enfant

English Title: The Child

Jean-Pierre Dardenne - Luc Dardenne, Belgium, 2005, imdb

Review: 4.5 Uchuvas
Comment: Super sad film but such a great film! 

Le Fate Ignoranti

English Title: His secret life

Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy, 2001, imdb

Review: 2.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I'm going to be tough with this film for one reason: I felt that the director wanted to make an Almodovar film and that, to start with, is really disappointed. There were a lot of empty spaces in the story where the characters end up in situations or doing things that didn't have much explanation.The story is good though.

El Laberinto del Fauno

English Title: Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro, Mexico-Spain, 2006, imdb

Review: 5.0 Uchuvas
Comment: Ok, I'm going to delete my previous comment on this film. "Someone" told me off as I was breaking my own golden rule: Make a comment without talking what's the film about. So I'm terribly sorry for the ones that read my previous comment (if anybody is reading them to start with!). So with this new comment I will only say that I don't give LaUchuva D'or to this film as I already have one film D'ore this year.

Lat den ratte komma in

English Title: Let the right one in

Tomas Alfredson, Sweden , 2008, imdb

Review: 5.0 Uchuvas
Comment: A great, great, great film! I'll include it as a candidate for LaUchuva d' Or 2009. I won't comment too much as I don't want to spoil the film but from my point of view there are 5 things I thought were great: 1. The story, (finally something different about that subject!) It's so well constructed! developed very, very delicately. 2. The actors and actress' performances were great. The girl couldn't be any better!! 3. The effects. There are A LOT of tiny details that you could miss but give so much power to the film (for example the noise of the girl's stomach or the change in her pupil in one scene, or ....) 4. The color, sooo appropriated! so much! 5. Somewhere I read that the music wasn't that good but I totally disagree with that. I like it, and I like it a lot!

So, now, go and see it!

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

English Title: I've loved you for so long

Philippe Claudel, France, 2008, imdb

Review: 3.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I will be tough with the review but it's a good film. It's not that I didn't like it but somehow I didn't buy the sad history. Maybe it's because the "happiness" came to her life kind of too quick? and only cost her a couple of tears or maybe the actress' appearance was the one that got better too quick. I really don't know but, have a look, it's a nice film.

Perro come Perro

English Title: Dog eat Dog

Carlos Moreno, Colombia, 2008, imdb

Review: 3.0 Uchuvas
Comment: The film starts very well, in fact the film is good until the final 20 minutes when the movie gets converted into the most common cliche where the fighters never EVER die! They get punched and their bodies are full of bullets everywhere but no, they don't die that easily, no with "only" 5 bullets in their hearts and two more in each lung.

Brazil

English Title: Brazil

Terry Gilliam, UK, 1985, imdb

Review: 4.0 Uchuvas
Comment: When Botero told me to see this film he mentioned something about thinking that Gilliam is an Industrial Designer so I saw the film with that in mind (although following Gilliam's biography he did start studying physics and   then fine arts but finished politic sciences).  I'm glad that I saw the film thinking that it was more an artistic film than a story telling.  But without any doubt the story is also good, kind of funny and bizarre! I just totally loved the visual art of the film. Every set is so well made exaggerating the perspectives in such a way that creates incredible spaces! The mixture of reality and dreams are great too. There are so many funny and great things to mention! like the aesthetic surgeries, the great design of the ducts systems in the house (like a body with even a heart!!), the food in the restaurant... yes, a great film!

Les Triplettes de Belleville

English Title: The triplets of Belleville

Sylvain Chomet, France, 2003, imdb

Review: 5.0 Uchuvas
Comment: I have always enjoyed very much animated films. I think this was the first animated film I've seen that is not from Hollywood. The story is so funny! The characters are amazingly well developed a long the first half part of the film. Every one of them is such a powerful character! The grandma it's just superb! The dog's dreams: the cleverest part of the film!! just love them! And the most important point: the perfect set of drawings!!! What a drawings! Do you still believe in "mute" films? well, have a go with this one!

Persepolis

English Title: Persepolis

Vincent Paronnaud - Marjane Satrapi, France, 2007, imdb

Review: 4.5 Uchuvas
Comment: It's incredible how an animated movie made in black and white creates such a beautiful feeling of reality. Great, great, great drawings! A movie as good as the book. 

Dogvillle

English Title: Dogville

Lars Von Trier, UK, 2003, imdb

Review: 4.0 Uchuvas
Comment: It's great to see new ideas in films! This movie is a great case of creativity. It's a tough movie but the crazy set proposal is so great that the movie is worth watching only for that. I enjoyed very much how I had to get use to believe in a scenography that "didn't" exist, how to believe that a private space didn't need any wall around it;  in the end you  are totally free to create in your mind your own set if need it. You can propose your own walls, paths, colors, materials, surely very different from the ones any other will create.  It's tough looking at a movie with no set but some how it's not disturbing at all in the end!  Great proposal, great film!

Snatch

English Title: Snatch

Guy Ritchie, UK, 2000, imdb

Review: 4.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I've seen this film at least 4 times and every time I see it I enjoy it even more! I have to confess that the reason why I enjoy the movie more and more is because ONLY from the second time I saw it, I started to understand (finally) the super difficult assent (therefore what was going on in the film!) The captions helped but the movie is so quick and complex that you really need to keep an eye on every scene. The acting is superb! Pitt is brilliant! Just love the film! Do Not miss it!

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

English Title: Cinema Paradiso

Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy, 1998, imdb

Review: 4.0 Uchuvas
Comment: I had to see this movie again so I can review it. I did like it a lot. It's a pity when the child character dissapears from the movie. I kind of think that more than half of the movie's success is the kid's acting (Salvatore Cascio), he is too good! I was trying to find what other movies he's done but apparently nothing worth mentioning at the moment.

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain

English Title: The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain

Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2001, imdb

Review: 4.5 Uchuvas
Comment: Beautiful story with a great color's composition. Sweet and easy film. Great acting. I love the combination of the narrator with the quick shots.

High Fidelity

English Title: High Fidelity

Stephen Frears, UK, 2000, imdb

Review: 1.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I think this movie is very boring. Nothing really happens all along the film. The main character is too boring. The story is not attractive at all. I give all my credits (all of them!) to Jack Black (every single time that he appears, I laughed) without him in the film I would have gave "0" Uchuvas to it. 

Liam

English Title: Liam

Stephen Frears, UK, 2000, imdb

Review: 3.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I saw Far from Heaven's bonus film and I remember they mentioned something about how the design of the set was essential for some scenes as they helped to emphasize the character of the scene. Also I heard somewhere how the camera's location (how high, how low, how close, how far) is also essential when shooting the scene (which it's I guess a basic principle when filming).  All this crap was just to say that in this film the set and the camera's location were amazing. They just made the whole film, especially when talking about religion! BTW I don't know how we survived Catholic education!!! 

Delicatessen

English Title: Delicatessen

Marc Caro - Jean Pierre Jeunet, France, 1991, imdb

Review: 3.5 Uchuvas
Comment: I'm sorry for the Caro-Jeunet's lovers, I really don't know why I didn't like their super Delicatessen movie. What I did like from the film thou was: Dominique Pinon's acting, he's great (as he's in The City of Lost Children and Amelie). I loved the color. The scenography was superb! and the coustoms were a great complement (or vs). Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this movie when I saw it. I'll have another go in future as the movie has so many great reviews. If you haven't seen it, have a look! it's a French icon film!

4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile

English Title: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Cristian Mungiu, Romania, 2007, imdb

Review: 5.0 Uchuvas
Comment: It's very sad and tough, VERY! One of the greatest films I've seen this year.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

English Title: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Tom Tykwer, Germany, 2006, imdb

Review: 4.5 Uchuvas
Comment: Normally when a director wants to bring a novel to the big screen is because the book is really good. There is where the risk is taken! I think a book is a book and a film is a film. I've seen so many adaptation's disasters that I was very sad to see that The Perfume will become a movie too. To my big surprise the movie is as incredibly good as the book! The main actor (Ben Whishaw) is just amazing!!!

Kolja

English Title: Kolya

Jan Sverak, Czech Republic, 1996, imdb

Review: 4.0 Uchuvas
Comment: Yes, yes, I know 4 is too low for such a beautiful film and maybe deserves more but it's too sweet for my taste. The kid must be the sweetest little boy in all of the Czech Republic!