Eric Abraham Movies

With Quiet Chaos (Caos Calmo), acclaimed Italian helmer Nanni Moretti steps away from his standard directorial role to essay the lead and co-author the script in a gentle psychological drama directed by Antonello Grimaldi. Moretti stars as Pietro, a film executive whose life takes an irreversible and devastating turn one fateful morning. During a trip to the beach with his brother, Pietro's path intersects with that of a woman, Eleonora (Isabella Ferrari), who is drowning in the ocean; horrified, Pietro rushes in to save her. He subsequently returns home only to discover that his wife, Lara, just died in a nasty falling accident; devastated to the core, this nascent widower must make the necessary psychological accommodations to adjust to life as a single parent, with sole responsibility for raising his ten-year-old daughter, Claudia (Blu Yoshimi). Almost instinctively, as a reaction to Lara's death, Pietro opts to sit and wait for his daughter to finish school each day (in a park across from the school), in lieu of abandoning her to his own priorities and commitments. This means that the fellow's colleagues in the film industry must, by necessity, come to do business with him in the park. Through it all, Pietro remains silently dumbfounded that the tragedy itself hasn't shaken him more, that the grief (the "quiet chaos" of the title) is subtly agonizing instead of grossly traumatizing and debilitating. Nevertheless, he ultimately begins to approach a full realization and acceptance of his loss, and gains an enhanced awareness of himself and others from the potentially crippling events thrust into his path. Valeria Golino (Rain Man) co-stars; Roman Polanski appears in a cameo as one of Pietro's industry colleagues. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A man looking for love gets more than he bargained for when he chooses his prospective wife on the internet in this dark comedy. The manager of a bank in a small British community (Ben Chaplin) decides that he's in need of long-term companionship, and through an on-line marriage broker called From Russia With Love, he obtains a "mail order" bride (Nicole Kidman). While he's more than pleased that his new fiancée is so beautiful, she turns out to have a dangerous and mysterious side that he wasn't counting on, and things become quite complicated when two of her cousins (Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz) arrive from Russia and move into his tiny house in St. Albans. Though set in England, Birthday Girl was actually shot in Australia, which allowed leading lady Nicole Kidman to stay in touch with her then- husband, Tom Cruise, who was shooting Mission: Impossible II in Australia at the same time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Noted actor Tim Roth made his directorial debut with this powerful drama about a family in crisis. Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) is an awkward and troubled 15-year-old boy whose isolation increases when his family moves from London to a remote community in the Devon countryside. Tom, his 18-year-old sister Jessie (Lara Belmont), his father (Ray Winstone), and his pregnant mother (Tilda Swinton) live in close quarters in a small cottage; they sometimes bathe in the kitchen, and they have grown used to casual nudity around the house. But one day, Tom sees his father in a sexual embrace with Jessie. He tries to discuss what he's seen with her, but she refuses to talk about it. Unable to stand the tension in the household after his mother takes the seriously ill baby to the hospital, Tom confronts his father, who angrily denies the truth. Tom is finally forced to take drastic action to stop his vengeful and violent father. Written by Alexander Stuart from his own novel, The War Zone received an enthusiastic response at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was named Best New British Feature at the 1999 Edinburgh International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jez Butterworth directed this adaptation of his own play about the 1958 rock scene in London's Soho. Silver Johnny (Hans Matheson) performs at the Atlantic Club where he catches the eye of big-shot Sam Ross (Harold Pinter). Ross invites Johnny and Johnny's manager Ezra (Ricky Tomlinson) for a meeting to discuss Johnny's jump to a bigger plateau. Skinny (Ewan Bremner), a member of Johnny's group, discovers Ezra sawed in half, and Ezra's associate Mickey (Ian Hart) announces that Ross intends to take over the Atlantic Club, setting the stage for major power struggles. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

55-year-old Louka (Zdenek Sverak) is a gifted musician in Czechoslovakia who once made a good living playing in the State Symphony Orchestra. However, he has little use for the government, and after putting a playfully insulting statement on a government form, he's been banished from official music making. He ekes out a living by giving private lessons, painting gravestones with gold leaf, and performing at funerals. Louka also likes to chase younger women, a surprisingly number of whom are more than happy to be caught. However, when a friend suggests marriage to a stranger, Louka is unexpectedly willing to consider the matter. It seems that Broz (Ondrej Vetchy), a gravedigger and a good friend of Louka's, has a niece, Nadezda (Irena Livanova), with a young son who wants to stay in Czechoslovakia. However, she's a Russian citizen and lacks the proper papers. In order to stay, the young mother needs to marry a Czech citizen, and she and her aunt are willing to pay a "husband" for his troubles. Louka, hard up for cash and in need of a used car, grudgingly agrees to the arrangement and weds Nadezda. However, once she has her papers, Nadezda heads for West Germany to be with her boyfriend, and after her aunt unexpectedly dies, Louka finds himself in custody of his new "stepson," six-year-old Kolya (Andrei Khalimon). A confirmed bachelor, Louka knows next to nothing about taking care of a child, and he discovers that parenthood cramps his style with the ladies. However, Louka and Kolya soon become good friends, and Louka finds his outlook on life beginning to change, just as the "Velvet Revolution" sounds the call of a new era in Czechoslovakia. Kolya won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film of 1997. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This film presents the poignant story of the exile of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok. Bartok left his homeland during the destruction of Europe in World War II, and sought refuge in New York. The film chronicles his life there, through his own recollections, as well as through the recollections of friends and relatives. Artistically misunderstood and impoverished, Bartok lived his final five years in adversity; yet, he triumphed in creating some of his most outstanding musical compositions, including his Third Piano Concerto, the Sonata for Solo Violin, and the Concerto for Orchestra. The Budapest Symphony Orchestra perform excerpts from Bartok's works. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Though undoubtedly best known as a classical conductor, Briton Sir Georg Solti was in fact one of the world's most accomplished concert pianists as well, and unveils that aspect of his musical intuition in this release - a film of a now-famous session on Bela Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, with Murray Perahia on the other piano and the two percussion roles filled by David Corkhill and Evelyn Glennie. As an added bonus, the program includes a documentary about the making of the CBS Masterworks recording by the aforementioned artists of Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide