Friday, July 1, 2022

Sibyl Buck

 

ph: Christian Kettiger

Oyû-sama (1951)

 

Shinnosuke is introduced to Shizu as a prospective wife, but he falls in love with her widowed sister Oyu. Convention forbids Oyu to marry because she has to raise her son as the head of her husband's family. Oyu convinces Shinnosuke and Shizu to marry so that she can remain close to Shinnosuke.

Heart-wrenching and sad tale of love and sacrifice under harsh traditional rules is told in beautiful, lyrical black-and-white imagery and the cast perform excellently throughout, especially Kinuyo Tanaka in the title role.


 

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Sonya Zoloeva


 

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

  

Over the summer, a series of unfortunate happening triggers a financial crisis for a young woman and she soon finds her life falling apart.

Intense and gripping drama of isolation and loneliness amidst smalltown American settings is very well observed, and Michelle Williams' performance is extraordinary.