Uncategorized

0316 – Kolberg (1945)

spacetime coordinates: 1807 Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) //  1945 Germany

kolbergfilm1945-filminthethirdreich-deutschland-thirdreich

Kolberg is a 1945 German historical film directed by Veit Harlan. One of the last films of the Third Reich, it was intended as a Nazi propaganda piece to bolster the will of the German population to resist the Allies.

The film is based on the autobiography of Joachim Nettelbeck, mayor of Kolberg in Pomerania, and on a play drawn from the book by Paul Heyse. It tells the story of the defence of the besieged fortress town of Kolberg against French troops between mid-March and July 2, 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. In reality, the city’s defense, led by then-Lieutenant Colonel August von Gneisenau, held out until the war was ended by the Treaty of Tilsit. In the film, the French abandon the siege.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036989/

movies

311 – Nova Zembla (2011)

novazemblaNova Zembla is a 2011 Dutch historical drama film directed by Reinout Oerlemans. It is the first Dutch feature film in 3D.

The film describes the last journey of Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerk through 1596-1597 when they and their crew tried to discover the Northeast Passage to the Indies. However, due to the sea ice, they are stranded on the island of Novaya Zemlya and have to spend the winter there in Het Behouden Huys (The Safe Home). The story is told through the eyes of Gerrit de Veer, and is loosely based on a diary he published in 1598 after his safe return. Gerrit is portrayed as having a relationship with Catharina Plancius, the daughter of the astronomer, cartographer and reverend Petrus Plancius, who pioneered the concept of the North East passage to reach the Indies. The Novaya Zemlya effect, first described by De Veer, is shown in the film, albeit in a non-historical fashion.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1911607/

animation, documentary

295 – Vals Im Bashir (2008)

spacetime coordinates: 1982 Lebanon War

Waltz with Bashir (Hebrew: ואלס עם באשיר‎‎, translit. Vals Im Bashir) is a 2008 Israeli animated war documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman in search of his lost memories of his experience as a soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War.

Artist David Polonsky is right handed, but did most of the illustration for this film with his left hand, as he felt that his original drawing were ‘too pretty. The comics medium, in particular Joe Sacco, the novels Catch-22The Adventures of Wesley Jackson, and Slaughterhouse-Five, and painter Otto Dix were mentioned by Folman and art director David Polonsky as influences on the film. The film itself was adapted into a graphic novel in 2009.

The original soundtrack was composed by minimalist electronic musician Max Richter

The film is officially banned in Lebanon.

In 1982, Ari Folman was a 19-year-old IDF infantry soldier. In 2006, he meets with a friend from that period, who tells him of the nightmares he’s having connected to his experiences from the Lebanon War. Folman is surprised to find that he recalls nothing from that period. Later that night he has a vision from the night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the reality of which he is unable to clearly recall. In his memory, he and his soldier comrades are bathing at night by the seaside in Beirut under the light of flares descending over the city…

imdb       wikipedia

animation

290 – Persepolis (2007)

spacetime coordinates: 1970s > 1980s > 1990s  Tehran / Vienna

Main Poster

Persepolis is a 2007 French-Iranian animated biographical film based on Marjane Satrapi‘s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud.  The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The title is a reference to the historic city of Persepolis.

MV5BMGRkZThmYzEtYjQxZC00OWEzLThjYjAtYzFkMjY0NGZkZWI4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTAyODkwOQ@@._V1_

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis_(film)

movies

0278 – Mongol (2007)

spacetime coordinates: 1172 – 1206  Mongolia

mongol0709

Mongol (Монгол), also known as Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan  is a 2007 Russian semi-historical epic film directed by Sergei Bodrov, about the early life of Temüjin (inspired by The Secret History of the Mongols), who later came to be known as Genghis Khan. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Bodrov and Arif Aliev. It was produced by Bodrov, Sergei Selyanov and Anton Melnik and stars Tadanobu AsanoSun Honglei and Chuluuny Khulan in the main roles. Mongol explores abduction, kinship and the repercussions of war.

The film was a co-production between companies in Russia, Germany and Kazakhstan, intended to be the first part of a trilogy about Genghis Khan. (Sequel)

mongol-movie-poster-genghis-khan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416044/

movies

0269 – A Taxi Driver // Taeksi Woonjunsa (2017)

spacetime coordinates: 1980  Gwangju / Seoul

A Taxi Driver (Hangul: 택시운전사; Hanja: 택시運轉士; RR: Taeksi Unjeonsa) is a 2017 South Korean historical action drama film directed by Jang Hoon, with Song Kang-ho starring in the title role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann.

a-taxi-driver-2017-i-movie-poster

A taxi driver from Seoul, accidentally gets involved in a German journalist’s reporting of the events of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, also called the Gwangju Uprising, in 1980.

A_Taxi_Driver_Character_Poster_Peter

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6878038/