After watching and liking Our Time so much, I said I’d have to look into director Carlos Reygadas’ older films and so we start with this, his very first feature film. I have no idea why it’s called Japón even after finishing it and in general I found this harder to parse than Our Time. On reflection, in addition to the obvious subject of suicide, I believe that the main point is the Christian motif of turning the other cheek to the point of self-sacrifice. I can’t say that I liked this as much but I can appreciate its visceral power which even the crudeness of its production values helps enhance.

You might think that a traditional Western played completely straight may not make for a very interesting film but it is! The plot is entirely conventional and ultimately predictable though the film keeps things interesting by having all of the characters be cautious about revealing their true motivations. Yet what really impresses me is how understated the action is, placing dramatic weight instead on the clash of personalities and integrity of the characters. This doesn’t seem to be a particularly well-known film and I don’t remember how it even got added to my list but it really is a film that deserves greater acknowledgement.

This Hong Kong film is partially based on a true event involving government workers clearing the shacks of homeless people in Sham Shui Po. For a while I was inclined to dislike it as it seemed like an overly sentimental take on a complex issue, falling into the trap of the recent spate of Hong Kong films that are well-intentioned but simplistic. Then I realized that the opinions of its main character might not be the film’s own opinion and indeed some of the other homeless people call him out for his stubbornness. Perhaps director Jun Li might personally be more sympathetic to those views than I’d like but at least he proves that he has thought through it carefully and that makes me feel a lot better about this film.

I was a little hesitant to watch this because on the surface it feels like it’s just another mountaineering documentary so why watch more of the same. What makes this particular project interesting to me is that it was conceived and led by a Nepali Nirmal Purja with a team of fellow Nepali climbers. As such it’s a deliberate attempt to move away from the old tradition of Westerners leading mountain expeditions and the Nepali sherpas being credited only as assistants. I also appreciated that this film, unlike so many others, actually goes into the difficulty of raising money in the pursuit of such an insane dream, on top of the physical and mental challenges of the climbing itself.

This was Ingmar Bergman’s last film and the sequel to Scenes from a Marriage. Just as it was made some 30 years after the television series, this film picks on up Marianne and Johan 30 years later as well. The premise is deceptive though as the main story is really about new characters, Johan’s son and granddaughter from a later relationship, rather than the old couple. This allows Bergman to explore fresh themes, in this case the relationship between a parent and a child, and that is welcome but it is a chore to muster up enthusiasm for entirely new characters who are unknown to us.

This film by Ridley Scott features a triptych structure to tell its story from the perspectives of its three main characters. That instantly earns comparisons with Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. Unfortunately this film is simply unworthy of the comparison as the treble format here is an unnecessary indulgence that detracts from the film instead of enriching it. The film is technically well made and the duel at its center is one of the most brutal and realistic ones I’ve ever seen. But it is confused about where its emotional and dramatic heart is and really only needs one point of view.

This film is mostly interesting as being of the very few comedies directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In keeping with the reputation and style of the legendary director, the plot still revolves entirely around what to do with a corpse. It’s amusing enough but it’s not laugh out loud funny and the plot is predictable once you understand what Hitchcock is going for. The colors of the fall foliage were so vivid I thought it must have been colorized after the fact but it seems that this was exactly the look Hitchcock wanted. As usual, the director’s execution is impeccable but this one is probably worth watching only for committed fans.