Around the World in 20 Films - Day 5

 Parasite (2019) and In the Mood for Love (2000)

"This movie throws the viewer through a whirlwind of emotions as the movie unfolds." - Todd

“From simple colors to the smell of people, Parasite offers a assortment of great symbols that are easy to understand” - Declan

"Parasite is a suspenseful film that takes a turn I didn’t expect at the beginning of the movie." - Gehrig

“Parasite is a masterpiece of cinema that perfectly melds together all the elements of film to create one of the greatest films of all time.”—Henry

“A masterpiece from start to finish”-Rowan

“'Parasite' is a great movie that comes with a unique storyline and an exceptional actor performance. It definitely deserves to have won several film rewards.” -Herdegan 

“The characters are not easy to root for and it leaves you with a sense of confusion on what to think during the final parts of the movie. It really makes you rack your brain on what fo think about the characters and if you feel bad for them or not.” - Justin

"This movie tells a dramatic story with a surprise ending using many symbols." - Leon

"'Parasite' is a great movie filled with symbols and detailed hints." - Paul

"Whilst being a good reflection on the structure of our society, Parasite is quite overrated, as not even amazing scenario, operator’s job and acting can bring it to oscar for best film, which was completely undeserved." - Alex

"A memorable film that shows a massive class struggle as a poor family tries to make it in society." - Jack

“'Parasite' creates an understanding of the upper class versus the lower class. It shows the two different lives that each class family lives.” - Jay

“'Parasite' is a great movie that is very unique and different from the typical movie, it is also filled with twist and turns so that the viewer has no idea what’s going to happen next.” - Cameron

"An insanely well done film with major plot twists. I did not expect any of what happened." - Arabella

"'Parasite' uses the verbal and imagery reactions to smell and the symbolism in the levels between the rich and poor to highlight the issue of classism" - Jared

“Parasite has the perfect combination of thriller and comedy. The behavior of each actor/actress in the movie, and how they played their roles were superb, and the film was a must watch.” - Sam

“In the Mood for Love consists of wonderful color contrast, using bright hues of complimentary colors such as red and green. The intensity of the colors added to the culture and various moods of the film.”-Sam

“The scenery and setting in this movie is outstanding with great colors and backgrounds which really make you feel as if you are in the movie with the characters. A truly beautiful display of colors and the setting.” - Justin

"This movie uses unique filmmaking to throw the viewers mind through a loop while watching the film. - Todd

"This romantic movie “In the Mood for Love” is very slow, emotional and moody while using excellent colors." - Leon

"I was often confused about where we were in the filmed far as the setting. The movie was also hard to follow at times." - Gehrig

“In the Mood for Love is the antithesis of an action movie: designed to provoke thought rather than emotion.”—Henry

“I did not enjoy this movie, I found it far to depressing, and the soundtrack was repetitive as it seemed like there was only even one song playing throughout the entire movie, the way it was shot also made me somewhat uncomfortable as it seemed as every shot was either a close up or a shot from down a tight narrow hallway. One thing I liked however was the choice of costumes as I liked the beautiful and traditional dresses that the women where wearing.” - Cameron 

"A wonderful atmosphere with a well composed scenario and aesthetic lets “In the Mood for Love” explain how truly horrible monogamy is." - Alex

"A gorgeous film with vibrant visuals." - Arabella

“The movie shows all the hard conflicts that people experience with relationships” - Declan

“A great story with emotional characters and complicate plot." - Paul

"'In the mood for love' is a complex movie which is sometimes hard to follow but still is a great watching experience.“ -Herdegan 

“An honest look at how love comes in many forms”-Rowan

Around the World in 20 Films - Day 3

 

"This movie plays with your heart because you create a relationship with each of the characters involved and as it progresses you get to watch some grow out of the hoodlum and some take their place as bosses." - Todd

“A film filled with furious energy, based on a true story, follows Rocket, a young boy who’s grown up amongst the slum gangs of Rio de Janeiro. The film is lengthy, but worthwhile if you are in for a true story” - Sam 

"'City of God' is a great film to understand the culture of Brazilian suburbs in-depth, although it fails to provide the right morale and has an amount of plot holes which is unacceptable for such a high rating." - Alex

“'City of God' is a great movie that displays the violent dilemma that a lot of young men in Brazilian slums are confronted with.” -Herdegan

“'City of God' is a great movie that documents and shows the viewer how chaotic life in the slums of Brazil are.” - Cameron

“'City of God' gives the audience a perspective of the favelas in Brazil. It shows the actual violence of two rival gangs going at each other.” - Jay

"'City of God' tells a violent story of Brazilian slums with mainly non-professional, but incredible, acting." - Leon

“'City of God' connects you to characters and will have them ripped away to show you the life of living in a favela.” - Declan

“'City of God' is an excellent movie that goes in multiple story lines and introduces a lot of characters but tells a complete, excellent story.” - Paul 

"'City of god' was a very good movie that showed a realistic situation in the slums. The movie portrayed gang violence and how ruthless it can be, and they didn’t hold back from showing us anything as there were on screen killings, even of children." - Gehrig

“An honest look at how dangerous gang life can be.”- Rowan 

"'City of God' uses realistic camera movements and angles to truly bring the audience into the story" - Jared

“The intertwining stories of the many characters really makes this movie feel like you are there and a part of the action.” - Justin

"A captivating story of Brazilian gang violence and the hobbies that can save you." - Jack

“City of God demonstrates the cycles of violence that children face and end up perpetuating in areas where government and policing are lax and corrupt.”—Henry

"A spectacular, raw film that relays real events with real people." - Arabella

"Guillermo Del Toro went above my expectations by a lot! The movie wasn’t horrible, but instead, it was just terrible. The only thing I liked was the picture, but as to everything else, we get: boring plot, a lot of montage mistakes, cliches, worthless acting and no showing of Spanish culture at all. The movie is bad, just like its director, who has made nothing good except for Fauno’s Labyrinth in 2006. Miserable director and miserable movie bring a solid 2/10," - Alex

“The Devils Backbone is a spectacular film from 2001. From the slow pans from the ground up, to the eerie soundtrack, the film does a wonderful job portraying suspense through cinematics and sound.” -Sam

“The stroryline is really easy to follow and the characters are put into good and bad roles which gives you someone to root for and against.” - Justin

“A movie that will leave you amazed long after the credits have rolled”-Rowan

"This movie tells a great ghost story about revenge, hatred and friendship." - Leon

"A horror thriller that makes you question who's the real monster." - Jack

“'The Devils Backbone' deserves to be titled as a good horror movie as it conveys an interesting plot taking place at a Spanish orphanage and is playing with a classical horror setting” - Herdegan 

"This movie plays with the heart of the viewer as you build connections to each of the characters and watch them face their challenges." - Todd

“The Devil’s Backbone is a prime example of what not to do in a film: ghost stories, boring cinematography, and cliche plot.”—Henry

“'The Devil’s Backbone' is a fantastic and creative horror movie that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat” - Cameron

"An interesting take on a ghost story that reflects on humanity and Spain during the Spanish Civil War." - Arabella

"The movie was very suspenseful and used tactics like the bomb just to keep the audience on their toes." - Gehrig

“The movie goes through a thrilling story with multiple kids that have a lot of depth” - Declan

“A great movie with beautiful images and symbols. ” - Paul

“This movie expresses children’s experiences within an orphanage.”- Jay 

Around the World in 20 Films - Day 3

 "The 400 Blows" and "Ivan's Childhood"

“'The 400 Blows' is a touching story about a young boy whose character is brilliantly acted by Jean-Pierre Leaud." - Leon

"This movie gives us a look into the mischief a child can get into when their home life isn’t so stable." - Todd

“A beautiful coming of age story”- Rowan

“The main characters story was so convincing that you were on the edge of your seat, rooting for him to live out his dream and succeed.” - Justin

“'The 400 Blows' is a great movie reflecting society issues and leave an amazing open ending for the audiences.” - Paul

“A very interesting story that can connect to people in the real world” - Declan

"The 400 blows touching movie with memorable characters, that are played by strong actors." - Gehrig

“The 400 blows is a great movie that shows the hardships of growing up in a lower class family in Paris” -Cameron

"An interesting film reflecting on an adolescent, insolent boy; a plot very similar to that of The Catcher in the Rye." - Arabella

"The story of a troubled child finding his way through a gritty Paris sure to captivate the moviegoer." - Jack

“The 400 Blows demonstrates that people should attempt to communicate with children who don’t fit in to prevent a troubled life.”—Henry

“The 400 Blows was expressed to dive into the life of the director, Francois Truffaut’s life. The leading role was played by an inspiring young actor.” - Jay

"The 400 Blows masterfully presents the story of Antoine as he struggles through his neglectful parents and the consequences of his own action" - Jared 

“'The 400 Blows' is a movie about freedom that is based on the childhood of the director Francois Truffaut” - Herdegan

“A remarkable film about a cunning 14 year old boy, trying to find his way in the world.” - Sam

“A masterpiece by François Truffaut about a reality of the society that gives birth to monsters” - Alex

“'Ivan’s Childhood' is a realistic masterpiece by Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky: a war movie like none of the others. This film reminds people of how it really was in World War II and how important it is to respect the people who have fought in it: to be proud, to be the generation of people, whose ancestors defeated the Nazi invaders. 'Ivan’s Childhood' is a beautiful, symbolic and intense reality of the USSR during the beginning of 1940s. A film that brings hope to the nation that such atrocities shall never happen again: an anti-war film." - Alex

“I believe it is special when a film about war, or a film with a grim plot, incorporates friendly childhood flashbacks of wonderful experiences. I believe Ivan’s Childhood does exactly that.” -Sam 

“Ivan’s Childhood expresses what it was like for a young boy living in Soviet Russia during WWII.” - Jay

“Ivan’s childhood is a hard to understand movie about the life of a child soldier” -Cameron 

"Ivan’s childhood is very confusing and hard to follow at times, it often left me puzzled; like we were missing certain pieces of information to tie the story together." - Gehrig

"Ivan’s life is a brutal childhood story with beautiful imagery that captures how destructive war is to all people especially children." - Jack

"Ivan's childhood is a great movie that reflects people's life at war. The images are beautiful especially the officer kissing the girl in the woods." - Paul

“The final shot encapsulates how terrifying the war is on Children.”- Rowan 

"Mesmerizing visuals paired with perspective shots and intriguing camera angles that help portray the vivid and tormenting experience of war." - Arabella

“The movie provides excellent symbols that help create a story and characters with great depth” - Declan

"Ivan's Chlidhood uses changing camera angles and close up shots to demonstrate the war's harsh effect on Ivan." - Jared

"This movie uses elaborate direction and filmmaking to portray the horrors of war." - Todd

“The scenery in Ivan’s Childhood is beautiful and the camera work is stunning. The images of the apples and the well really distract you from the confusing plot and make you appreciate nature and its beauty.” - Justin

“Ivan’s Childhood is a breathtaking critique of war, shown through the lens of childhood.”—Henry

"This movie has a complex plot and comes with exceptional shots." - Leon

“'Ivan’s childhood' is a drama movie from 1962 which is gloomy as the war in Russia is displayed very detailed and the main protagonist the 12 year old Ivan in the end dies.”

-Herdegan

Around the World in 20 Films - Day 2

 La Belle et la Bête and Three Colors: Red

“Beauty and the beast has exceptional special effects for when it was filmed.” -Cameron

“The attention and love for detail is clearly shown in the way the best’s mask designed, magnificent details likes whiskers and claws create a very realistic look for the beast.” -Herdegan

“Features elegant and detailed costumes supporting every actor/actress and their role.”-Sam

“The production design brings this magical story to life.” - Rowan

"Beauty and the Beast has extraordinary special effects that were ahead of its time." - Leon

“The Beauty and the Beast shows it’s true beauty with the legendary special effects which will surely attract." - Declan

The special effects in the movie were pretty good for the time it was shot. One that I noticed was the smoking effect on the beasts body, this effect looked believable." - Gehrig

”Although the make up of the beast looks a little stiff for facial expressions, the eye movements amazes the audiences. Eye contacts between the beast and the beauty is done well.” - Paul

"In the film La Belle et la Bête, it contains stock characters, to which the audience may understand certain characters more even if they don’t appear that often. Amidst the more infrequent characters, like the sisters and the father, the actors played those roles well and diligently. Overall, amazing acting!" - Arabella

“The costume of the beast was beautifully crafted and looked as if it were a real lion. The mask was way ahead it’s time and could compare with current masks. A truly wonderful costume that fulfilled the role perfectly.” – Justin

“Beauty and the Beast is meticulously designed to make the impossible possible, and transport you to a magical world” - Jared

“This movie’s costume design expresses a great level of creativity, especially in the 1940s.” - Jay 

“The acting of the main characters is outstanding and their characters seem truly real and their emotions are raw and believable” - Justin

"A mind bending drama that presents the challenges of individual moral codes and the clash they share." - Jack

“A gripping story that will leave you thinking for days.”- Rowan

"'Three colors: red' tells a unique story full of emotion and friendship." - Leon

“The movie goes in depth with multiple characters and has a great plot which wraps up well at the end” - Declan

“This film is the story of relationships between human beings, and them almost crossing paths to meet each other.” - Jay 

“Three colors: Red is a movie with great stories, characters and strong visual elements that catches the audiences.” - Paul

“Three Colours: Red is a movie that explores the interconnected relationships between people and the questions where there is no real correct answer.”—Henry

“Three Colors: Red, teases the audience of two characters who have yet to cross paths multiple times, only by a hair. This style of production keeps the audience asking questions, wondering if the two will meet. ” -Sam 

"The movie red displays a interesting story of love, hate and friendship." - Gehrig

"'Three colors: Red' showcases a relationship between a retired judge and a young model and the growth that comes from this relationship to both individuals." - Jared

"An intriguing and confusing film where important points or references are marked with  the vivid color: red." - Arabella

“A fantastic physiological film with twists and turns as each character is developed thoroughly with intriguing backstories” - Cam 

"This movie will leave your mind boggled as this drama romance unfolds." - Todd

“Three colors: Red”combines French romance and tragedy in a movie that conveys a great plot.” - Herdegan

"The final part of Kieslowski’s trilogy brings real love to the people, to life, and to the main character — Valentine: a woman with a big heart and a beautiful soul. The idea of seriousness in the relationship with the society and its laws, the idea of judges’ justice and the correctness of sentences given is amazingly portrayed by Trintigant!" - Alex

Around the World in 20 films

Participants in Around the World in 20 Films will take in two International films each day (so, actually, we'll be going around the world in ten films, but who's counting?).

Here on the blog, we will post each student's reviewer "blurb." 

We started Day One by traveling back to the 1940s with Guiseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso" (1988). In it, a filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist. It also provides a lovely look at a mid-century Italian village.

“Nuovo Cinema Paradiso is a poignant film about love: for movies, memories, and for each other” - Henry

“Cinema Paradiso is a magical experience for all ages.” - Rowan

“The many different points of view gives you a complete understanding of the life of Toto.” – Justin

 “A funny, romantic, coming to age story with the message go enjoy the beautiful things in life as they fleeting, but to not get stuck on them.” - Jared

"A heart warming storyline about a young boys passion for film." - Leon 

"This movie is Incredibly transformative, emotional, and inspirational." - Todd

"It transcends a typical coming of age story with its use of film and cinema being an overarching concept that links in the theme of nostalgia." – Arabella

"A film filled with love, emotion, action, heartbreak, and abandonment.” - Gehrig

 “An excellent soundtrack to accompany the romantic and heartfelt coming of age film.” - Sam

“A rollercoaster of life from start to finish!" - Jack

“The movie gives a clear backstory of the life of Toto.” - Jay

“The movie not only talks about the story of a man but also what old movie theaters are like and how they fall, and both work well.” —Paul

“A simple yet great movie that wraps up perfectly at the end.” - Declan

 “It represented Italian culture well, however, there where some holes where they cut the film to make it shorter” - Cameron

“'Cinema Paradiso' is an exciting Italian movie that conveys the life story of Salvatore Di Vita who has a passion for movies and the life experiences he made in his hometown.” - Herdegan 

“'People go to cinema to share the same dream — Bernardo Bertolucci. Giuseppe Tornatore, a fantabulous director, made an ode to the world of cinema, but he did not just make it — he made it with love." - Alex K. Top critic via kinopoisk.ru (/who

Here's the group after lunch getting ready to dive into Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon"

After lunch we looked at one of the all-time classic movies, Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1950). The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter. The film takes place in feudal Japan and is one of Kurosawa's famous Samurai films.

“Rashomon is an intense and mysterious film ending with an unresolved case of murder, leaving the audience the option for their minds to wander.” - Sam

"This movie does a great job at diving into the world of perceptional memory." - Todd

“Rashomon is a film that has captured the human tendency towards turning memories into changed stories." - Henry

"A mystery that will leave you thinking for days." - Rowan

“One of the best films by Akira Kurosawa. A film without borders. A timeless film. A film that gives hope.” - Alex K.

"Rashomon shows the viewpoints of different people that do not align with one another and

Introduces this concept to the world of film." - Leon

“The movie introduces a crime but goes further to discuss the complexity of people’s minds. Leaving an open end to question the audiences.” - Paul

“This movie show the different perspectives of different individuals.” – Jay

"A perplexing display of the morality of man” - Jack

“The movie displays people having a variation of perceptions on a murder case. Additionally, the complexity of the movie causes it to be a unique experience to watch.” -Herdegan 

“Is a good example of how a film can show multiple different perceptions of a single event, and letting the viewer decide what they think happened” - Cameron 

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