Andres Pfaeffli Movies
- 2007
French filmmaker Paolo Franchi's sophomore feature follows a psychologically damaged youth who makes the grim decision to kill his parents. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruno Todeschini, Elio Germano, (more)
- 2006
Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa offers a long and richly detailed look at his nation's poor and needy in this affecting blend of drama and documentary. Fontainhas was a community in Lisbon primarily populated by exiles from Cape Verde; Costa shot two of his earlier films there, Bones and In Vanda's Room, but Portuguese authorities tore down the village to make room for a new construction project, and its people were relocated to Casal Boba, a housing project on the edge of Lisbon. Ventura was a native of Fontainhas who appeared in Bones; he and his wife, Clotilde (Isabel Cardoso), moved to Casal Boba, but Clotilde became disenchanted with her new surroundings and left him to move back to Cape Verde. Now Ventura, left to his own devices, struggles to make a decent and dignified home for himself and the friends he calls his "children" in the slums of Casal Boba, including Vanda (Vanda Duarte), a recovering drug addict who was the focus of In Vanda's Room, and Lento (Alberto Barros), a close friend who is the only one Ventura trusts to hear the lovesick poetry he's written for his absent wife. Colossal Youth received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ventura, Vanda Duarte, (more)
Hamro (Maruf Pulodzoda) is a thug--an irresponsible lowlife ex-con who seems to care for nothing but his own fleeting satisfaction. He lives in Moscow, but when he hears that his elderly mother, Halima (Uktamoi Miyasarova), is sick, he returns to his hometown of Asht in Tajikistan. He's not greeted with any joy. The townspeople remember him too well, and he owes money to too many of them. The doctor gives him the bad news. Halima will be dead in a few days. Savri (Malkqat Maqsumova), his mother's pretty nurse, tells Hamro that Halima's dying wish is that he fix up her ramshackle home, and replace her narrow door with a double door, so that her casket will fit through. As Hamro works on getting Halima's house in order, and on seducing Savri, his creditors come calling. His abandoned young son, Yatim (Kova Tilavpur), is brought to him by the family of the boy's mother, who forcefully demand that Hamro take him in. After spending a good deal of money to get the house fixed up, in anticipation of selling it after his mother dies, Hamro learns that Halima was faking her illness. As he struggles to find a way to address his many problems, Hamro surprisingly begins to take an interest in his son's well being. Director Jamshed Usmonov, who also wrote and co-directed the festival hit Flight of the Bee and starred as a filmmaker in Darezhan Omirbaev's The Road, set Angel on the Right in his own hometown, and cast his own mother (Miyasarova) and brother (Pulodzoda) in the lead roles. The film was selected for Un Certain Regard at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and the 2003 installment of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uktamoi Miyasarova, Maruf Pulodzoda, (more)
- 2000
A three-hour drama about the daily existence of a drug addict living in a Lisbon slum, In Vanda's Room centers on the 30-something Vanda who, when she isn't selling vegetables, spends most of her time consuming enormous quantities of drugs and engaging in long, ponderous conversations with her sister Zita. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanda Duarte, Zita Duarte, (more)
- 1991
- R
In a futuristic world, the U.S. is ruled by a repressive government that bans most forms of media. As part of the enforcement, a cop (Billy Zane) is sent to the rebel state of Megaville on an undercover mission to infiltrate an unlawful media organization. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, J.C. Quinn, (more)
