Those Who Feel the Fire Burning

For fans of… Hotel Rwanda; The Tree of Life; Birdman; Enter the Void; I Am Cuba; Fox News; The Daily Mail

Country: The Netherlands   ♦   Year: 2014   ♦   Dir: Morgan Knibbe  ♦   74 minutes 

Why Should I Watch it?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few years, or perhaps have turned off your television sets and burnt your newspapers, you may have seen that there are great many people in the world for whom home is too dangerous. For all the media hoo-ha and all the politicians scaring and barricading borders, many of us cannot see the woods through the trees, the human beings through the headlines. Today I implore you my friend to seek out this artful documentary, which for 74 short minutes lets you into the lives of a handful of these very real people in very real circumstances. If you enjoyed the poetic, sweeping cinematography of Birdman, Enter the Void, I Am Cuba or The Tree of Life,  see it now  applied in a totally unexpected but fitting way. Drones aren’t just for spying. 

But what’s it about?

Here we have a rare beast: a documentary framed by a reconstruction. After a man drowns in the Mediterranean, his soul visits the refugees who struggle to exist on the edge of Europe.

The Local Point of View

Ah, here is where my favourite little section falls apart, for what is local anyway? A border drawn between people by old men many years ago. Here we have the perspective of the film’s cast, the unfortunate millions who are fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Eritrea. As I write this from my bedroom in Belgrade, ten minutes away hundreds of families are trapped in the rain on park benches or beneath overpasses, hoping to reach a safe environment for their children to grow up in, or a temporary shelter until they can return home to rebuild their lives. From their arrival in Italy, Greece or Albania, should they survive the stormy sea crossings, they face an impossibly long wait in purgatory.

For folk in Europe (or, come to think of it, the rest of our wondrous world), we’ve grown hardened and indifferent from year upon year of crafty media hyperbole, shameful scaremongering and politicians twisting us this way and that. My friend, I have seen prejudice spring up like daisies. If you’re reading this from a Western country, most likely you are living on the riches earned from the geopolitical games that have contributed to the conflict and dictatorships these everyday folk face. Watch, my friends, please. Imagine yourself in that boat, your sister rummaging those bins, your mother in that blanket.

And what is this Language?

Mostly Arabic, but in reality there’s a whole host of worldly voices, from Bengali to Tigrigna, Greek to Farsi, Italian to Wolof.

Devdas

For fans of…  Step Up; The King and I; Moulin Rouge!; Slumdog Millionaire; Titanic; Gone With the Wind

Country: India   ♦   Year: 2002   ♦   Dir: Sanjay Leela Bhansali  ♦   183 minutes 

Why Should I Watch it?

Because you are fellow who lives life to the absolute maximum. Maximum colour! Maximum happiness! Maximum tears! Over a maximum running time! To hell with subtlety. Let yourself eat cake for three delicious hours. Moulin Rouge! was barely an appetiser and Slumdog Millionaire isn’t a patch on the real thing. Prepare yourself for the melodrama of Gone With the Wind and Titanic… but with the songs of The King and I (along with a little treat for Chase and Status fans) and the otherworldly dance moves of Step Up. Tuck in my friend!

But what’s it about?

After his wealthy family prohibit him from marrying the lady of his dreams, a young man’s life spirals out of control and into the arms of liquor and vice.

The Local Point of View

The caste system runs deep in India and the approval of your family in the matters of love are ultra important.. especially 100 years ago, when this sordid tale is set. The beautiful Kaushalya comes from a family of nautsch dancers and nautanki performers – popular and fancy musical styles that hail from North India. Yet! Even if everyone loves a good show, not everyone deems the performers (or even the children of performers!) good enough for their own offspring. Childhood sweethearts be damned. This is marriage we are talking about, gentlemen.

But allow me, please my friend, to be frank. You didn’t come here for a class in social politics. And you certainly don’t watch Devdas for that either. Watch it for one of the grandest love stories you’ll ever see on screen. Weep, giggle, swoon and tap your toes all evening long…

And what is this Language?

Magical, magical Hindi.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring

For fans of…  Boyhood; Into the Wild; The Tree of Life; Baraka; Samsara

Country: South Korea   ♦   Year: 2003   ♦   Dir: Kim Ki-duk   ♦   103 minutes 

Why Should I Watch it?

Wait! Why do you rush so? Anyone would think you are in a race to your grave. Can you not see that the trees over the kasbah look particularly splendid today? That the young lady who served you your cappuccino this morning is having a really shitty day and would much rather be in bed with her beau like these two lovebirds above, yet still managed to give you a winning smile? And could you not see that her smile was infinitely more pretty than your smartphone?

I understand, habibi. Life today is so speedy. Why, I bet you feel guilty for having to stopping to tie your shoelace. No doubt Into the Wild left you yearning for escape. And you found Baraka and Samsara blissful breaks from daily routine. In that case, I prescribe you this ultra-rare healing crystal. Like both Boyhood and The Tree of Life, you’ll witness the years float by and a young boy grow up. Watch this and you’ll feel like you’ve had a million massages.

But what’s it about?

In a floating temple on an isolated lake, an ageing Buddhist monk mentors a young rambunctious apprentice. But when the outside world arrives in their tiny paradise, so too does temptation.

The Local Point of View

Next to the hyperactive robots and wise-cracking detectives in Tinseltown, this film might look to you as bland as a rice cake. But Buddhists are not afraid of a nasty bite. They believe peace and serenity comes from experiencing all of life’s pain, anger and pleasure as deeply as possible. Otherwise, we end up as bitter and cranky assholes. You could consume all of the books and movies in the universe, but they will never make you as wise as life itself. The best ones, though, like this lovely thing here, can point you in the right direction.

Alas, we don’t all have a floating temple where we can go to unwind. No matter if you are in Seoul or San Francisco, there are always secret spots to create your own tiny paradise. Me? I sit on my souq canopy and watch the seagulls shit on tourists. But nature is even better and, my oh my, this film’s heart beats for nature so hard. Out in the wilderness, it is easy to see how your little dilemmas fit into the grand scheme of things. Catch you on the village green, habibi.

And what is this Language?

That is the lilting tones of Korean, pumpkin.

Black Cat, White Cat

For fans of…  Monty Python; My Big Fat Greek Wedding; Moulin Rouge!; Mr Bean

Country: FR Yugoslavia   ♦   Year: 1998   ♦   Dir: Emir Kusturica   ♦   135 minutes 

Why Should I Watch it?

Did you watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding and think, well this is nice but I’d enjoy it much more if the car was being eaten by a pig and the wedding band was tied up in a tree? No, oh well. Did you grow up on the slapstick of Mr Bean and boundless imagination of Monty Python and now are so very itchy for something new? Try this crime caper on for size. It’s as hyperactive as Moulin Rouge! with none of the schmaltz or sugar. You might think you’ve drank one too many shots of rakia, but don’t worry my friend; it’s the film that’s drunk and not you.

But what’s it about?

After a business deal goes awry, a small-time hustler in a gypsy community agrees to marry his son off to a gangster’s daughter who no one wants. Money and lives are at stake, but neither the bride nor groom-to-be have any intention of seeing through their arranged marriage.

The Local Point of View

Strong opinions on Roma gypsies grow shoot up like weeds wherever you go, but especially in the Balkans. You may well have a little collection of your own. Of all the many people that populate that south east wedge of Europe, the Roma are the only ones who make no claim to a homeland. In a world of nation states and merry UN get-togethers, this can be a sticky position indeed. Communist Bulgaria even denied their very existence and, can you believe it, banned their music and dancing!

Yet for the next two hours, I ask you kindly to leave all politics at the door by your shoes. This little film is a fiesta with a heart of gold. And besides, we’re at a wedding!

Speaking of which, if there is one thing that the Roma know how to do, it is to party. Their music is so magical it has made them world famous. Before he slipped in a dash of madcap storytelling, the director set out to make a documentary. Praise the gods he did! Because whether you are a punk or a princess, you will all be dancing alike on your brand new kitchen table.

And what is this Language?

Romani, but those in the know will recognise Serbo-Croat and Bulgarian thrown in just as often.

Come and See

For fans of…  Schindler’s List;  12 Years a Slave;  Saving Private Ryan;  The Thin Red Line; Full Metal Jacket; Apocalypse Now

Country: USSR   ♦   Year: 1985   ♦   Dir: Elem Klimov   ♦   142 minutes 

Why Should I Watch it?

You, sir! I’ve got something very special for you. Do you count Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket amongst your favourite films? Well, here’s a film so anti-war it’ll make your nose bleed. Blend together the battle scenes of Saving Private Ryan, the horrifying reality of Schindler’s List and the poetic beauty of The Thin Red Line. You’re half way there. Remember how urgent and overdue 12 Years a Slave felt? How it made every film set in that era before it look like a foolish pantomime? Then take a few shots of this soviet vodka…. Oh, and you’ll be in good company; Steven Spielberg is a fan!

But what’s it about?

Our story takes place in Belorussia, 1943: after finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance against Germany and experiences World War II in all its horror. 

The Local Point of View

Hollywood has a bizarre infatuation with war, no? All those heroes lighting up the screens with their machine guns and their dreamy blue eyes. Ah, to be half the men they are! But let me tell you good sir, America has never been occupied or invaded. Their heroes get to go home.

In occupied Europe, heroics led only to an unmarked mass grave. When three generations of your family have been executed, who will be left to honour your memory?

Before you watch, remember – Belorussia was tossed about from foreign empire to empire for decades. Always a battleground, always strife! Then when the Nazis arrived, 3 million people were wiped from the world like dust from a chalkboard.

Now, some of the things you see in this film may strike you as surreal. Implausible, some might say. But as you watch what you think can’t be possibly be true, know that much of this story was based on survivor eyewitness accounts. For ordinary Belorussians, my friend, there were no heroes in war, and there was no redemption. Only loss.

And what is this Language?

Belorussian, amigo, but also Russian. And, if you keep your ears peeled, a little German too.