GOMORRAH (2008, ITALY)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 8 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Complex and penetrating Italian crime film about feuding criminal clans and those that run or are run over by them. A film whose nuances and story arcs would certainly gain through repeated viewings, it is definitely not for the faint of heart violence wise or linear plot wise.

THE PIANO TEACHER (2001, AUSTRIA)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 7 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

The major conflict of The Piano Teacher is the duality between a woman named Erika who is classically trained in the arts but has secret sexual desires, many involving sexual masochism and humiliation. I don't know if we are supposed to sympathize with her, as we do  feel bad about parts of her upbringing, but we can't excuse some of the things she does either. But I think that's the point, our feelings toward her are not black and white and the film addresses these points. I did find the look into that duality as being very interesting, if often unpleasant.

THE SON'S ROOM (2001, ITALY)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 6 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Considering I knew this was a film about how a family copes with the death of the son in the family, I felt myself during the first half hour of the movie just waiting for the inevitable demise of the titular son. But once the son dies, the drama unfolds to be a bit more than the standard movie of the week. The father is a psychologist and I liked the way we are slowly shown how he simply can't deal with his patients anymore. The film has a reminds me in subject matter and tone of Ordinary People (but with subtitles).

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 5 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Inside Llweyn Davis is the story of a struggling folk singer in a pre-Bob Dylan Greenwich Village. If that brief description sounds appealing (it does to me) and you like Coen Brothers films (like I do) then Inside Llweyn Davis is worth checking out. On the other hand, I don't think it's top of the line Coen Brothers, but it does have a lot of moments to recommend it, many supplied by John Goodman who has developed quite a gallery of characterizations in the Coen's films.