Son of Saul (2015)
My second viewing of this unforgettable Hungarian film about a Sonderkommando at Auschwitz, his desperate search for a sliver of dignity and the horrifying logistics of mass extermination. Framed in tight human-face-shaped 4:3 with the camera never moving more than a couple of feet from Saul. We only see out-of-focus glimpses of the atrocities, or just hear the stomach churning sounds of what we know is happening of screen, simulating Saul's attempts to block it all out.
The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
Dario Argento's follow up to his smash debut Horror film
'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage' features another great Ennio Morricone score.
'The Cat o' Nine Tails' is a stylish and violent mystery that keeps you guessing 'til the last scene with skillful mis-direction.
Karl Malden is thoroughly likeable as a blind ex-reporter, forming one half of an amateur Holmes & Watson team.
They're a Weird Mob (1966)
One of
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's last films made during Powell's Aussie "exile" is a warm-hearted fish-out-of-water Comedy about the peculiarities of Australian life and the eccentricities of it's people. Our window on this world is Nino, a new Italian immigrant finding work, trying to fit in, to make friends and perhaps fall in love. Nino can speak a little English but that doesn't really help when everybody speaks Australian!
The general tone is sun and fun but Powell finds time for many an artistic Directorial flourish.
'They're a Wierd Mob' is rarely mentioned in
The Archers' acclaimed oeuvre, so I wasn't expecting much but it was a delightful watch, with many a laugh out loud moment.