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Il sole anche di notte (1990)
study of miracles
Beautiful, spiritual and thought provoking film about a heart-broken man who decides to seclude himself in a mountain. I consider it the best by the directors. It might make you think of how the "miracle" is conceived in our mind from witnessing a super-human power of will, and how the legend of a saint may arise.
Yasei no shômei (1978)
Great Action Film with Emotion
A great action film with a human drama, featuring Ken Takakura of "Black Rain". A story about a soldier in a secret army division who escapes, and on the way, finds humanity. A sort of modern day samurai story. Stoicism and lyricism abound. I consider it as one of the best Japanese action films. In Japan, the movie was a big hit when it was released, but I have been unable to find a video in USA with English subtitle.
Fukkatsu no hi (1980)
Only Full Length Version is Worth Watching
I saw the original one in cinema when it first came out in 1980 in Japan. Great adaptation of an original novel by Sakyo Komatsu. It was an epic of more than two hours, which shook my youthful soul with the power of love.
I was flabbergasted by how this epic was mutilated when I saw it again in video in USA. The one you can see in USA has no resemblance to the original version, where, I recall, much longer portion of the film was spent describing "the walk". Also all the episodes in Japan were omitted, so most of the Japanese characters in Antarctica made no sense. In a nutshell, the "American" version only talks about American people, so there is really only half the story left in the film. If you can get the original version, it is a very emotional film, 8/10. The "American" version is not worth anything, 4/10.
Maschenka (1987)
better than novel
It is about a young man escaping from revolutionary Russia, leaving his memory of the beautiful country together with the memory of his first love. It questions the meaning of love: what is it that one wants when a person is in love? What is it for?
This film is better than the original novel by Nabokov. (But take it into account that I saw the movie first, then read the novel. At least the movie was beautiful enough to make me read the book.) I do not understand why such a good movie, (and very accessible to anyone) is not available in video or DVD in USA.
The only drawback of the movie is that everybody in Russia and Germany (where the story takes place) is speaking English.
El sur (1983)
most beautiful movie I've ever seen
It must be almost twenty years since I saw this movie (and I saw it only once, when I was in Japan), but the memory of this movie remains in me like an old haunting dream from childhood. Cinematography at its best. I think, for the first time, this film made me think that the best media for poetry is not words, but vision.
I would want to recommend this to anyone who loves "Spirit of the Beehive" and thinks it cannot be surpassed. But alas, I don't know how you get this movie in USA with English subtitle.