Two cell mates with very different personalities, one a revolutionary the other a gay window dresser, bond in a Brazilian prison. Most of this is essentially in one room and is character driven and dialog heavy. That is my kind of movie. It also is anchored by two really strong performances by William Hurt and Raul Julia. The movie walks a precarious tone between a traditional drama, an over the top melodrama and dipping into paranoid thriller.
It doesn't all…

Barbara Loden's examination of an aimless woman who drifts into a relationship with a criminal. The plot points with the criminal and their eventual robberies is almost inconsequential to this movie. This is purely a character examination, and that's where it left an impact on me. Loden's Wanda is an interesting character. She is neither completely pitiful nor pitiless. She is very flawed. She drifts through life seemingly not feeling deserving enough or capable enough of anything that is meaningful,…

A sprawling look at one German family from just after the first World War up until the early 80s. Because this was more of a mini-series it has time to spread out and explore many different social, political and relational themes. We are introduced to many characters and see them age, see them fall in love, see them succeed, and see them fail. I became intertwined in their lives, harboring an affection for them and their outcomes.

Because there was…