Double Indemnity [1944]

When I decided to watch Double Indemnity, a movie directed by Billy Wilder, adapted from a James M. Cain novel by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, I wasn’t just expecting sparks to fly (considering that Wilder was perhaps one of the finest American directors, while Cain and Chandler hardy had any parallels where hard-boiled fiction was concerned), I was also anticipating a movie drenched in black irony. Though not as acerbic or nihilistic as the other Wilder masterpieces Sunset Boulevard and Ace in the Hole, I wasn’t disappointed on either count. Told in flashbacks, the movie recounts a murky tale of lust, steamy illicit affair, betrayal, double cross, and murder. A cocky insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) – who loves speaking in wisecracks, gets completely enamoured by a seductive (and married) femme fatale (Barbara Stanwyck) who lures him into murdering her husband. Falling head over heels for a sultry blonde is a dangerous thing in film noirs – the kind of stupid act that can get you killed; consequently things soon start spiraling way out of his hands. A plot that twists at every given opportunity, dialogues drenched in hardboiled cynicism, three wonderful performances, moody atmosphere littered with a fantastic use of chiaroscuro, and the bleak irony of the climax, made it one of the greatest movies in its genre; hell, in any genre.









Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Film Noir/Crime Thriller/Classic Hollywood
Language: English
Country: US

Gone Baby Gone [2007]

I’m really puzzled as to what Ben Affleck loves more – his hometown Boston or the crave to surprise us. We all agree he is a sub-average actor. But he also happened to win an Oscar for co-writing, along with Matt Damon, for the screenplay of Good Will Hunting. And now, with Gone Baby Gone, which marks his directorial debut, he has confirmed that perhaps acting was his means to find his true calling. This assured crime drama, starring his brother Casey Affleck (who undoubtedly is the more talented Affleck in front of the camera) in the role of a private investigator, opens up the underbelly of the city of Boston without, at any time, making us flinch. The plot essentially concerns the kidnapping of a young girl, the circus that ensues, and the dark truth that slowly gets revealed both to us as well as to the protagonist. The movie is a success because the director didn’t get bogged down by the heavy plot; rather he managed to etch the characters and the human story very well too. Though it did miss out on a few nuances or further explorations of the complexities hinted at – the ending was in fact more overstated than I would have wanted, I found watching the movie a largely satisfying experience. The moody, atmospheric cinematography did enhance the experience further. A special mention needs to be made about Ed Harris – his brilliant turn as a veteran cop who might be aware of more than he cares to state, once again shows what a terrific, albeit underrated, actor he is.









Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Crime Drama/Mystery/Thriller/Private Eye
Language: English
Country: US

Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Stadten) [1974]

Though not as universally renowned or recognized as Paris, Texas or Kings of the Road, Alice in the Cities is, nonetheless, one of the most heartfelt, nostalgic and thoroughly satisfying works of the legendary German filmmaker Wim Wenders. This also happens to be the first chapter of Wenders’ celebrated thematically linked Road Trilogy. The movie follows the unlikely bond between and the fascinating, psychologically exploratory and self-revelatory journey of Phillip – a loner German journalist who has been given the job of roaming around and writing about the American way of life, and Alice – a nine-year old lovely little girl abandoned by her mother and incidentally entrusted to the custody of Phillip. Dissatisfied with his drab existence and reluctant of the added responsibility, Phillip undergoes a gradual change of heart and attitude as he decides to roam around Germany with the lovable Alice to find her grandmother. As film critic Hal Erickson so aptly put it, “The plot takes second place to Wenders’ fascination with the contrast between the neon-and-billboard ambience of the U.S. and the rolling hills and the industrial pockets of Deutschland”. I couldn’t have appraised this mesmerizing road movie, boasting of terrific black-and-white photography, more precisely, or for that matter, more eloquently.









Director: Wim Wenders
Genre: Drama/Road Movie/Existential Drama
Language: German
Country: Germany

The Orphanage (El Orphanto) [2007]

Directorial debut of Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona, The Orphanage is an assured venture in the oft-made genre of haunted house tales. Bayona being a protégé of Guillermo Del Toro (incidentally also its producer) – who himself made some fascinating films on the bizarre and the inexplicable like The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth, the Mexican auteur’s presence is palpable in quite a few scenes of this gothic horror movie. Laura (amazingly performed by the lead actress), who spent her formative years at an orphanage at a pristine god-forsaken location, has returned to the now unoccupied mansion after 30 years, along with her husband and her adopted son Simone. As expected, things soon start turning creepy with the lonely Simone befriending a bunch of invisible kids, and before long downright ugly with his sudden disappearance. Relying more on psychological explorations and deftly executed moments of high shock value, the movie succeeds for the simple reason that at the end of the day it is as much a human story as it is a supernatural one.









Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Haunted House Movie/Supernatural/Psychological Thriller
Language: Spanish
Country: Spain

I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK [2007]

Maverick Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook’s latest film and his first since he completed his vaunted Vengeance Trilogy with the aesthetic Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, has literally opened new doors (even by his standards) insofar as quirky film-making is concerned. The movie takes place in a mental asylum, and is absolutely unique in that it presents the world from the point-of-view of the mentally ill. Ultimately it is a whimsical yet heartfelt love story between a recently institutionalized frail, young girl who believes she is a cyborg who must seek (you guessed it) vengeance against “the white ones” and a good-natured, anti-social guy who has convinced his fellow inmates that he can steal people’s personality traits. Even though filled with vintage Park moments, character sketches, idiosyncrasies, craziness and a twisted sense of humour, it however feels a bit stretched, jaded and messy, especially in the last third act. At the end of the day I must add that even though this isn’t an exceptional movie per se – at times it is almost a failure by Park’s standards, it is a very brave and passionate attempt nonetheless.









Director: Park Chan-Wook
Genre: Comedy/Black Comedy/Social Satire/Romantic Drama/Asylum Movie/Experimental
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Good Will Hunting [1997]

Gus Van Sant’s first foray into a lesser offbeat movie is as engrossing and stimulating as his previous or subsequent (more critically acclaimed) arthouse classics. A plethora of movies have been made on geniuses and underdogs, but very few have done so from an otherwise common working man’s perspective. Matt Damon plays the eponymous role of a mathematical genius with a photographic memory, but he is also a very troubled, difficult individual, a member of the proletariat, who “knows the worth of everything, but the value of nothing.” Robin Williams plays an equally troubled, emotionally damaged professor of psychology with devastating effect. The complex, layered and fascinating bond that they develop ends up changing his very perspective on life for the former, while aids the latter to come to peace with his inner self. A visually enthralling, wonderfully enacted, touching and thought provoking underrated classic and the most mainstream effort from indie-specialist Van Sant, it manages to caress the heart and provide fodder for the brain with equal ease and grace.









Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Coming-of-Age/Buddy Film/Romantic Drama
Language: English
Country: US

Aranyer Din Ratri (Days & Nights in the Forest) [1970]

Often considered among Ray’s finest films, Aranyer Din Ratri is a tour de force whose character driven analysis of urbanization, human behaviour and class dynamics, have made this a masterpiece. It is a complex yet subtle character study of four Calcutta youths – an affluent, well read, and extroverted company executive and a leader by nature (Ray favourite Soumitra Chatterjee in one of his finest performances); an idealistic middle-class employee actively involved in union politics, who happens to believe in leftism; a hot headed and brash struggling sportsperson; and a goofy, witty, happy-go-lucky unemployed guy with a knack for gambling(brilliantly performed by the mercurial character actor Robi Ghosh) – representing four distinct walks of life, bonded by friendship, but unique in every other aspect. The movie, with its subtle, wry humour and deft psychoanalysis, managed to reinforce Ray’s ability to say so much in so few words. Sharmila Tagore’s restrained and endearing portrayal of a sophisticated, enigmatic Calcutta girl and Chatterjee’s love interest was also exceptional. The black-and-white cinematography aided by a fluid narrative and an ending left to the viewer’s interpretation, have all added to the underrated but undoubted greatness of the movie.

p.s. This is an earlier review. My latest review of this film can be found here.

Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Ensemble Film/Buddy Film/Psychological Drama/Romantic Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) [1998]

Once in a while one gets to watch a movie that is so unique in its content and so bold in its outlook that it stuns the senses out of the concerned moviegoer; the remarkable German film Run Lola Run is one such fabulous effort. Set in the vibrant city of Berlin, the movie starts off with a not so innocuous telephonic conversation where a guy informs his red-haired girlfriend Lola that he owes the mob a huge amount, and if she fails to get him that sum within the next 20 minutes, he will make an attempt to loot the departmental store in front of him. This sets off a chain of motion that’s so wacky and outrageously entertaining that it’ll blow anybody’s head off. Set against a pulsating score and a host of wildly innovative techniques like flash-forwards (employing ‘Butterfly Effect’), Lola’s run is recorded three time – the first two being hypothetical – each slightly dissimilar in path but devastatingly different in consequence. The only thing which can be added here without revealing more is that one has got to view this extraordinarily original high-octane movie to believe in the epithet that “imagination truly knows no bound”.








Director: Tom Tykwer
Genre: Thriller/Avant-Garde/Experimental/Black Comedy
Language: German
Country: Germany

The Godfather [1972]

The Godfather didn't just revolutionize the gangster genre, it literally became the face of American cinema overnight. Of course, it also happens to be one of the greatest movies ever made, and not just in America. Francis Ford Coppola was a wannabe director – he was roped in to adapt Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel to screen because the producers (mistakenly) felt he would listen to them, only that he didn’t; Marlon Brando was no more the super star that he was and was in desperate need of a great role; Al Pacino was an actor whom some people had noticed for a couple of good movies like Scarecrow, nothing much – and together they created history. The mesmerizing portrayal of ‘Family’ values, loyalty and cohesion (‘Mafia’ is never used), the bleak and yet strikingly captivating cinematography (the movie is washed in brown filter during indoors), the hauntingly beautiful score by Nino Rota, the lyrical narrative coupled with the fluid visuals – there isn’t really a single flaw in the movie. Brando’s turn as the ageing, principled godfather Vito Corleone who has been trying to have a piece of Sicily in the US, and Al Pacino’s portrayal of his youngest son Michael Corleone who has embraced the American Dream but is forced to take over the family business, are as good as Coppola’s superlative and flawless direction that propelled him to the highest echelons as far as respect and stardom are concerned. The celebrated climax feels like a synchronized ballet dance, despite the chilling portrayal of cold, ruthless violence.

p.s. This is an earlier viewing of this film. The review from my latest revisit can be found here.







Director: Francis Ford-Coppola
Genre: Drama/Crime Drama/Gangster Film/Family Drama
Language: English
Country: US

Romeo is Bleeding [1994]

Romeo is Bleeding is an exceedingly violent, over-stylized and distressing modern day noir, starring Gary Oldman, a respected though underrated character actor seen mostly in supporting roles, as the protagonist and the narrator of the story. He is a New York City cop with a lovely wife, a doting mistress and a good job. But he dreams of making big, monetarily that is; so he does dirty jobs for the Russian mafia on the sly in return for fat tips. But then he is asked to “take care of” a Russian over-sexed assassin – a sultry femme fatale who turns out to be more than a handful for him. Things thus take a horrible turn for him and soon he finds his life in complete shambles. Lena Olin, as the seductress is too violent, perverse and thoroughly repelling, and it’s a surprise that any smart, crooked cop with a decent sized brain would fall for her. The plot is engaging, but the tone is too unnecessarily bleak, pungently cynical and hopelessly shallow to be captivating. The only saving grace is Oldman’s brilliant turn as a brooding loner and an amoral anti-hero who realizes his foibles a tad too late. The final scene, too, is well presented; one can only hope that if only things had turned out a little differently (make that a lot) in the remaining movie as well, watching the movie wouldn't have turned out a disappointing experience.









Director: Peter Medak
Genre: Thriller/Post-Noir/Erotic Thriller
Language: English
Country: US

Five Easy Pieces [1970]

Five Easy Pieces is in many ways a comparatively lesser hallowed and more sedate version of Easy Rider. Like the latter, this wonderful road movie strongly propounded the themes of moral detachment, spiritual emancipation and strong anti-establishmentarian sentiments. And along with Easy Rider, Chinatown and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it firmly established Jack Nicholson as the most distinctive spokeperson of a generation drenched in angst, urban alienation, disillusionment and rebelliousness. Directed by Bob Rafelson, Nicholson plays the role of Bobby Dupea, who is yet to find his place in the world and lives his life without any strings attached, as a proletariat, to flee from his suffocating bourgeois past, even though he was born in an affluent family and was a great musician in the making. The concoction of fast tracks, classical Western music and long moments of silence, coupled with the languid cinematography filled with realism, made this one of the finest movies of the turbulent Vietnam War era. And as for the brilliant Jack Nicholson, who provided a restrained and nuanced performance (in complete contrast to the volatile and dynamic roles he is generally associated with) as a loner and a reluctant intellectual at odds with the world around him and a quintessential archetype of Bob Dylan's iconic pronouncement “No Direction Home” – the less said about him is better lest I start speaking in clichés and hyperboles.









Director: Bob Rafelson
Genre: Drama/Road Movie/Psychological Drama//Existential Drama/Family Drama/Anti-Establishmentarian Movie
Language: English
Country: US

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance [2002]

Park Chan-Wook’s acclaimed Vengeance Trilogy got a fabulous kick-start by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. The movie essentially comprises of multiple violent revenge tales presented in a single, scintillating package. A mute blue collar guy, in desperate need of money to get kidney transplant for his ailing sister, opts to sell his kidney at the black market in return for money, but gets robbed in the process. Conspiring with his politically active girlfriend, he decides to kidnap his boss’ daughter; but as is bound to happen, it goes horribly wrong. What follows is quintessential Park Chan-Wook. Even though it is a revenge movie, it very nearly missed being a thriller thanks to its lazy pace and philosophical tone. The long shots, screeching silences and detailed depictions of seemingly mundane events, are memorably contrasted with sudden bursts of nerve-wracking violence, kinetic action and black humour. A very well made movie, it also acts as a great precursor (and an introduction for those uninitiated to Park’s quirky style of filmmaking) to his brilliant masterpiece Oldboy and the poetic climax Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

To read a detailed review by me on the complete Vengeance Trilogy, click here.






Director: Park Chan-Wook
Genre: Crime Thriller/Black Comedy/Revenge Movie/Psychological Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Following [1998]

Filmed using 16-mm camera with grainy black-and-white films, only on weekends and on a tight financial leash, Following would be expected to be a good experimental effort by a wannabe filmmaker at the most. On the contrary, this British indie with a heavy leaning towards classic noirs (what with its Expressionistic B/W feel) has turned out to be a brilliant debut feature by Christopher Nolan. Told in flashbacks and employing fractured narratives, Following tells the tale of a down-and-out-of-luck two-bit writer, who out of severe loneliness and boredom develops the strange habit of following people. And as is usually the case in film noirs, this apparently harmless little habit, followed by his partnership with a fellow loner, and a relationship with a damsel in distress/femme fatale that starts developing out of thin air, sets him up for dark, ugly consequences and clears his path for his walk down to doom. The movie is well enacted and very well edited, and the twists are worth savouring. Watching this mesmerizing and beguiling piece of work would leave one in no doubt that Following is a prequel of sorts (and a damn worthy one at that) to Nolan’s audacious follow-up, Memento.


To read a larger review of Following by me, click here.









Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Thriller/Post-Noir/Psychological Thriller
Language: English
Country: UK

Little Miss Sunshine [2006]

Just when you thought you are being served with yet another hackneyed tale of the American Dream gone awry, one is served with Little Miss Sunshine – a delicious, quirky, delirious, bitterly satirical black comedy that manages to stroke one’s head and hit a vicious punch below one’s belt with equal aplomb. A terrific chronicling of an eventful cross-country trip, to the eponymous beauty pageant for kids, undertaken by a fast-crumbling dysfunctional family, comprising of some of the most unforgettably atypical characters (each as idiosyncratic and obsessively self-occupied as the other), Little Miss Sunshine is as hilarious with its vitriolic humour as it is cerebral because of its wicked depiction of identity crisis and the vicious cycle of love and loss. Fantastic performance by every single member of its ensemble cast, aided by direction that is as good as one can aspire, has ensured that it isn't just a movie that has managed to break moulds with facile ease, it is also one of the finest on American Dream (lost and found) – you laugh, without realizing you are being gently pinched all the while.









Director: Jonathan Dayton
Genre: Black Comedy/Social Satire/Road Movie/Family Drama/Ensemble Film
Language: English
Country: US

Trainspotting [1996]

One of the most brutally honest depictions of drug addiction and an incredible movie by any standards, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting is as unflinching in its boldness as it is mordant in its twisted sense of humour. The movie follows the wild, idiosyncratic and fascinating experiences of four die-hard British junkies. Audacious in its outlook and mesmerizing in its execution, the movie has managed to seamlessly merge elements that range from poetic to surreal to off-putting to nauseating. The passionately written and directed biting satire, with its kinetic pace and terrific soundtrack, also manages to convey sympathy for moral bankruptcy of as well as the memorable camaraderie between the characters brilliantly enacted by a bunch of character actors led superbly by Ewan McGregor. The grim, nihistic and wacky take on drug abuse and the dark, psychedelic, violent world of crack-heads and dopeheads might severely alienate (and even repel) the faint-hearted viewers; but it is an absolute must watch for cine-lovers as is evident by the movie’s huge cult status both in and outside Britain.









Director: Danny Boyle
Genre: Black Comedy/Social Satire/Buddy Film/Psychedelic Drama
Language: English
Country: UK

Easy Rider [1969]

Naming one movie that managed to vividly capture the nuances, the rebelliousness, the freedom, the anti-establishmentarianism, the counter culture, the angst, and the existentialism postulated and typified by the hippie culture, would be exceptionally difficult, but Easy Rider would be right up there. Directed by one of the most versatile character actors of his generation, Denis Hopper, Easy Rider has managed to lucidly portray the thoughts and expressions of a generation. The tale of two bikers (the Zen-like Peter Fonda and his manic sidekick Hopper), without any strings attached to their existence, who have hit the road without their watches and with a whole lot of dope, criss-crossing through America in search of psychedelia, freedom, love and utopia, in other words America, was as relevant to the turbulent post-Vietnam War era as it is today. Jack Nicholson, as an alcoholic equally free-spirited and rebellious lawyer who isn’t a hippie but craves to be part of the journey, established himself as the premier thespian of his generation, and with his devilish charm and Cheshire grin as one of the most fascinating actors to have stepped in front of a motion picture camera. There have been numerous movies on the iconic hippie movement, but never quite one like Easy Rider.








Director: Dennis Hopper
Genre: Drama/Road Movie/Americana/Existential Drama
Language: English
Country: US

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Chin-jeol-han Geum-ja-ssi) [2005]

Park Chan-Wook’s final chapter of his renowned “Vengeance Trilogy”, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a quirky, offbeat and absolutely irresistible thriller that endears itself to the viewers in spite of its violence-ridden subject matter. However, despite being a revenge flick, it is as different from its precursor Oldboy, as Oliver Stone’s Platoon was from Born on the 4^th of July, even though both were deeply anti-war movies. While the former was as violent as a movie could get, in this one hardly gets to see much blood on screen. Yet both are connected by the common string of visual splendour. The over-employed tale of a falsely accused convict leveling the equation with his – in this case, her – perpetrator reaches an almost surreal, psycho-analytical plane as much because of its brilliantly stylized form as because of its deeply layered plot and character sketches. The movie is laced with a poetic amalgamation of screeching silences and evocative score, and interspersed with moments of great pathos with punches of a wicked sense of humour. Add to that terrific performances from every actor, especially by the beautiful protagonist (she's in fact so beautiful and innocent looking that she decides to put red lining around her eyes to look more cold and determined), and you have a movie as engaging as any in its genre. Whoever said “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” must surely be smiling in utmost appreciation.


To read a detailed review by me on the complete Vengeance Trilogy, click here.









Director: Park Chan-Wook
Genre: Thriller/Crime Drama/Psychological Thriller/Revenge Movie
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too) [2001]

Before his foray to America and a good half a decade before he made the remarkable psychological thriller Children of Men, Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón made the smashing sex-comedy Y Tu Mamá También. This bold-as-hell, carefree, whimsical, and deeply introspective film couldn’t have been more different from the gritty, paranoia-laden post-apocalyptic landscape of the latter. Road movies have rarely been as much fun or sexy as the one taken by the two young and hedonistic protagonists – representing literally the two sides of the same coin – along with a sympathetic older, married lady, in search for an elusive paradise on the Mexican Beach called Heaven’s Mouth (I guess the pun was intended). However their journey is anything but heavenly, as simmering jealousies, ego tussles and profound self-explorations lead the once inseparable buddies to the cross-roads of their friendship. Each character carries a baggage which they are reluctant to share. Consequently the self-discoveries and the revelation of the nuances of the personalities of their fellow travelers couldn’t have been more unanticipated or darkly funny. Laced with a sort of frank sexual openness that very few viewers would be comfortable with, unabashed in its usage of titillating innuendoes as well as in-your-face crassness, and filled with bitter humour, a deep sense of nostalgia and wonderfully underplayed pathos, the real journeys of the boys (now men) begin where their memorable cinematic journey concludes.









Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Genre: Comedy/Sex Comedy/Teen Comedy/Coming-of-Age/Road Movie/Buddy Film
Language: Spanish
Country: Mexico

The Conversation [1974]

Sandwiched between two of America’s most iconic movies – The Godfather and its equally famous sequel The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola’s low-budget and far more personal effort The Conversation has unfortunately failed to attain recognition commensurate with its implosive quality. Devoid of any high-end production designs and quietly meditative in its tone, The Conversation raises serious issues like privacy vis-à-vis right to information, without taking any subjective standpoint. Gene Hackman, as a veteran surveillance expert and an obsessive loner, given the job of recording the conversation of a couple by the mysterious “Director”, is fabulous in his struggle between clinical efficiency, personal impassivity and pangs of conscience. An influential precursor to the German movie The Lives of Others, Ulrich Muhe’s terrific turn in the latter is heavily reminiscent of Hackman’s layered role here. Right from its wonderfully constructed long opening shot slowly zooming in on Union Square in San Francisco, Coppola has led the movie (through a great mixture of lazy elegance and gripping psychological foreplay) from indifference through a gradual propagation of fracture in the protagonist’s otherwise stoic façade to complete paranoia and psychological breakdown – as the ‘bugger’ ends up getting ‘bugged’ – and finally into cinematic excellence and a defining achievement of the great filmmaker.

p.s. The movie was lying with me for sometime now. So thanks is due to LAMB's MOTM feature for compelling me to watch it.

p.p.s. This was an earlier watch. My recent revisit of the film can be found here.






Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Spy Thriller
Language: English
Country: US

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (New Cinema Paradise) [1988]

A beautifully composed film, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso is Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore’s loving and evocative homage to the world of cinema and a nostalgic look at the simple, unadulterated joys of movie going in the yesteryears. The coming-of-age story of a young boy’s journey (now a famous filmmaker) through poverty, experience of a wonderful friendship and first love, lost innocence, childhood, youth, heartbreak, celebrity-hood, world-weariness, and finally his return from Rome back home to the little village where he grew up thus completing a full cycle, in post-war Italy, is a truly marvelous, touching and heart-wrenching experience. All the while the only constant string is his tryst with the magical world of cinema, which started at the eponymous New Cinema Paradise theatre before completing the aforementioned journey, filled with joy, pain, smiles and tears, thanks in large parts to the passionately honest and heartfelt direction of Tornatore. The acting is exceptional, especially that of the character Alfredo – film-projectionist and the protagonist Salvatore’s best friend during his formative years (the chemistry between them is unforgettable to say the least), the legendary music director Ennio Moricone’s haunting tunes amplify the sense of nostalgia and passing away of an era, and the climax of this timeless classic will surely move even the most hard-hearted cynics.









Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Genre: Drama/Coming-of-Age/Romantic Drama/Buddy Film
Language: Italian
Country: Italy