You know that story that seems too riveting, too poignant, and too heartrending to be true? Well, it might not be. Forbidden Lie$ is a dramatized documentary about the search for the truth, or lack thereof, behind Norma Khouri’s bestselling book Forbidden Love.
Forbidden Love is a memoir, starring a young Jordanian woman named Dalia as its protagonist. Dalia falls in love with a Christian American soldier and for that act of sin, is stabbed to death by her father in an “honor killing”. Forbidden Lie$ examines whether or not this actually happened, or if it was a cynical money-making fabrication by the author.
A few of the mini-reviews for this film on Criticker claim that the less known about the film before seeing it, the better, so we’ll stop with the description there. Only a handful of people have ranked this award winning Australian documentary from 2007, but they’ve been unanimously positive, making Forbidden Lie$ one of our
Neglected Gems. It’s difficult to find on DVD, but there are a few copies floating around Ebay. Seek it out.
Buy it here: Forbidden Lie$
Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s 1996 film A Moment of Innocence (Nun va Goldoon) is a semi-autobiographical reconstruction of an actual event in his life. As a teenager, Makhmalbaf stabbed a policeman while trying to steal his gun during a revolutionary rally in Tehran. Decades later, he attempted to find the policeman in an act of penance. His film pays homage to this event.
Makhmalbaf plays himself and (somewhat more remarkably) the police officer does the same. Both older, the film recounts their reunion and decision to create a film about the event. They set about doing so, casting younger versions of themselves and reimagining events from varying perspectives. But it’s not a documentary. The performances seem natural and unscripted, but the plot has been carefully planned. Banned in Iran, the movie won critical plaudits overseas.
It all might sound groaningly abstract, but Criticker users were almost unanimous in their praise, earning A Moment of Innocence a spot in our list of Neglected Gems. The film has a lightness and simplicity which make its complex themes easily accessible. You can’t help but ponder how much is real and how much imagined, and you’re unsure how much to trust what you’re watching. In his 4 1/2 star review, Slant’s Eric Henderson says that “A Moment of Innocence feels wispy and effortless, yet resonates heavy with the Proustian understanding of how memories only amplify and enrich with time”. A unique cinematic experience, at the very least.
Buy A Moment of Innocence here
Here’s a strange entry into our canon of Neglected Gems. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is a theatrical remake of the first 6 episodes of the beloved anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
I’m not sure if it’s best described as a remake or a cinematic adaptation of the series. But whatever it is, the first of four films in the “Rebuild of Evangelion” was a huge success with fans and critics alike. It’s mostly faithful to the source material, though there are a few changes that will surprise fans. A few scenes are cut, others are added, and new 3D technology is used in the animation where appropriate. Evangelion 1.0 was a smash in Japan and has found an appreciative audience overseas as well. It even landed on North American movie screens, avoiding the direct-to-DVD fate of almost all other anime.
Should I even bother trying to summarize the plot? Best leave that to the good folks of the Anime News Network:
After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that’s being attacked by giant creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas. Shinji’s objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01, while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei.
Um. Maybe it’s easier just to watch the film. Criticker users have given it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. The 2nd installment, You Can (Not) Advance, arrived in Japanese theaters this summer
- Coney Island Time Lapse
An Autumn Tale (Conte d’automne) is a quiet and touching romantic drama directed by French great Eric Rohmer. It’s the last of his film cycle based on the seasons (the others are similarly named, and similarly loved). The plot focuses on Magali, a widowed woman in her mid-forties whose 2 best friends decide, independently, to set her up with a man. Sounds typical, and the usual confusions and embarrassments do come to pass, but the movie’s strength is the delicacy and honesty with which it portrays these moments.
Rohmer was 79 when he directed this film (from 1998), and it’s proof positive that the quality of one’s work need not suffer with age. The movie has an extremely slow pace, though this reveals itself as one of its best aspects — slowed down, the viewer has time to establish a true connection with the extremely believable characters. Autumn Tale has an incredible 97% at Rotten Tomatoes. Kenneth Turan says that “besides being one of his wisest and most enjoyable films, it also has the light-fingered vigor and panache more chronologically youthful directors are not always able to muster.”
Criticker users agree. Not an incredible number of people have seen Autumn Tale, but there are very few scores in its list which aren’t colored a dark green. So if you’re feeling shell-shocked from bombastic fare like G.I. Joe and Transformers, maybe you’d find this quiet romance set in the French countryside a welcome relief.
Day of the Wacko (Dzien swira) was a huge hit in its native Poland, winning all sorts of awards, including Best Actor and Screenplay. That didn’t translate into a big international audience, though, as it was released straight-to-DVD in the USA. Its current sales rank at Amazon places it at #77,571 amongst films. But this dark little comedy about a man who hates everything definitely deserves a look.
Marek Kondrat stars as Adas, an obsessive-compulsive teacher who is slowly being driven mad by his noisy neighbors and annoying family. Adas is as mean-spirited as he is funny, and the film is propelled along by his imagination, and bitterly hilarious internal monologue.
Almost all the Criticker users who have seen Day of the Wacko have loved it, earns this Polish comedy a spot in our list of
Neglected Gems.
It might be that those who seek out Wim Wenders’ lesser-known films are already predisposed to enjoy them. But whatever the reason, his 1982 drama The State of Things (Der Stand der Dinge) meets the requirements for our list of Neglected Gems: few rankings, but nearly unanimous approval.
The movie focuses on that blessed, indispensable group of people who so often capture the attention of filmmakers: filmmakers. Here, it’s a German crew on location in Portugal, working on a remake of Roger Corman’s The Day The World Ended. The producer of the remake mysteriously goes missing and as the search for him goes on, we are enthralled witnesses to the boredom and philosophical musings of the crew. Action alternates between Lisbon and LA.
Sound exciting? I have to confess that I am not any sort of Wim Wenders fan, but this film has impressed a lot of people, even winning the 1982 Golden Lion at Venice. It’s a beautifully shot movie, and a must for anyone interested in the intricacies of film-making.
If you’d like to read a more nuanced critique of the film (written by someone who, ahem, has actually seen it), check out this article at DVD Times.
Mario Bava, possibly the most important director from Italy’s golden age of sleazy horror, never lived to see the theatrical release of Rabid Dogs. However, over the course of years, it’s become one of his most appreciated works.
A roller-coaster ride of blood, murder and terror, Rabid Dogs (later re-released as Kidnapped) is 90 minutes of either unadulterated adrenaline or offensiveness, depending entirely on your level of appreciation of such things.
The plot centers around a group of nasty criminals (Doc, Thirty-Two, Stiletto and Ace) who are attempting to make a getaway after a job. Their escape is botched and they’re left having to kill and brutalize their way to freedom, kidnapping beautiful and hapless Maria as a hostage for the road.
“Bava does a masterful job directing his small cast. The majority of the picture takes place inside a station wagon and he uses every angle and every spare inch of it, giving the picture a claustrophobic, hot, manky feeling. You can practically smell Stiletto’s body odor. Each character is perfectly cast. Cucciolla plays Riccardo calm and collected with rising menace, while Lander — in what had to be a demanding role — injects humanity into Maria.” –
Shameful CinemaThe Criticker users who have seen and ranked this film agree. Almost everyone has given it high marks — though this may be because the only people who’d willingly seek out violent Mario Bava films are those predisposed to like them… Still. Good enough to land Rabid Dogs in our list of Neglected Gems!
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