Category Archives: Film

KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Petr Zelenka’s ‘The Karamazovs’

Posted on July 13, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Fyodor Dostoevski’s classic Russian novel about four brothers divided by the murder of their father forms the basis of Petr Zelenka’s “The Karamazovs,” which is a film about a play based on … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Aleksey Uchitel’s ‘Captive’

Posted on July 12, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Shot in ferocious conditions and told with harsh economy, Aleksey Uchitel’s hard-as-nails little war picture “Captive” gives a pointed snapshot of how men in combat tend to extreme behavior. High in the … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Ed Gass-Donnelly’s ‘This Beautiful City’

Posted on July 12, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Stark and inventive, Ed Gass-Donnelly’s “This Beautiful City” compares and interlinks the lives of a middle-class couple and a pair of down-and-out drug users all suffering from inner-city angst. Boasting superior performances … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Henrik Ruben Genz’s ‘Terribly Happy’

Posted on July 12, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Set in an insular community on the windswept plains of southern Denmark, Henrik Ruben Genz’s “Terribly Happy” plays like a modern-day Western with a solitary lawman squaring off against corrupt townsfolk. It’s … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Nan T. Achnas’s ‘The Photograph’

Posted on July 11, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Singapore-born director Nan T. Achnas’s tender and contemplative drama “The Photograph” tells of an ailing picture taker determined to find a successor before he dies and the sympathetic trollop who becomes an … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Vladimir Michalek’s ‘Of Parents and Children’

Posted on July 11, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – An ageing and cantankerous father and his devoted but conflicted son chat, argue, drink, reminisce and rehash old differences while strolling through Prague in Czech director Vladimir Michalek’s rewarding drama “Of Parents … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Sam Karmann’s ‘True Enough’

Posted on July 11, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Set to an engaging jazz beat, Sam Karmann’s French treat “True Enough” is a wise and witty riff on the perils of infidelity full of droll playing and memorable lines. Shrewd and … Continue reading →

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KVIFF FILM REVIEW: Anna Friel in ‘Bathory’

Posted on July 10, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic – Legend has it that Countess Elizabeth Bathory was a murdering monster, the scourge of 16th century Europe, slaughtering virgin girls by the score and bathing in their blood in order to stay … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: ‘Mamma Mia!’

Posted on June 29, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – No matter how many blockbusters there are, Universal Pictures’ screen version of the global hit stage musical “Mamma Mia!” is the most fun to be had at the movies this or any other recent summer. … Continue reading →

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EDINBURGH FILM REVIEW: Robert Carlyle in ‘Summer’

Posted on June 28, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett EDINBURGH – Robert Carlyle and Steve Evets make a credible pair of survivors at the nasty end of life’s social stick as an ill-tempered dyslectic looking after his quadriplegic buddy in Kenny Glenaan’s uneven slice-of-life drama “Summer”. … Continue reading →

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