http://efas.livedrive.com/item/281cbe531eb04991a2ba7c0d2d2f2c4d
http://efas.livedrive.com/item/249219a64cb64f7aaf9382df4f5dec58 (subs)
This week EFAS heads to two countries it has never been to before. Firstly Hany Abu-Assad's topical and controversial tense thriller was the first Palestinian film to have received an Oscar nomination, and it offers a frank look at the state of things in that country today...
The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
http://efas.livedrive.com/item/785f5f791d9b44bf8ed6c1a4c1eeec3c
Second destination this week for EFAS is Vietnam, also a country that has had its tribulations and bloodshed in recent history, but this film is very different to Paradise Now... Tran Anh Hung's captivating drama was also nominated for an Oscar and won the Camera d'Or prize at Cannes for best directorial debut.
Paradise Now:
ReplyDeleteA really brave and important film about a highly sensitive and volatile topic dealt with intelligently, a shining example that great, mature Arab-language films can come out of the middle east.
Scent of Green Papaya:
Very slow, languorous pace which I did not quite expect as I knew little about the film before watching it to be honest, the cinematography was similar in colour and splendour to Raise the red lantern but I expected the plot to be just as moving only it wasn't, this one kind of just washed over me a bit and maybe underwhelemed me I must admit.