palefirefilms

palefirefilms

If the world is going bad then so am I.

Favorite films

  • Daisies
  • Mirror
  • Mulholland Drive
  • The Double Life of Véronique

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  • Rome, Open City

    ★★★★½

  • The Wolf of Wall Street

    ★★★½

  • Damage

    ★★★★½

  • Flow

    ★★★½

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  • Rome, Open City

    Rome, Open City

    ★★★★½

    A stunning film by Rossellini filmed in the ruins of post war Rome. What’s tragic is that in 2025 we are back to torturing prisoners and war in Europe. I was so grateful for Melbourne Cinematheque’s screening of this film but found it incredibly bitter sweet viewing.

  • Damage

    Damage

    ★★★★½

    Quite possibly the most devastating story of femme fatale ever. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Juliette Binoche, but some triangles can only lead to sadness.

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  • Capricious Summer

    Capricious Summer

    ★★★★

    It’s summer and rain refuses to stop. Three middle aged friends have a chance of a lifetime for an encounter with a beautiful circus artist. The three of them dream and fail and fall flat in mud, because some dreams are beyond your capacity to perform. We can dream of being on stage but imagine if you end up there without the training, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare. The script has Chechov’s vibe with a more Czech accent…

  • American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy

    American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy

    ★★★½

    This documentary feels like a stylised theatrical recreation of recorded monologues. Playful and serious narratives are intertwined and spiced with jokes and anecdotes, some are funny and familiar like the joke about the husband getting money from the side table and some land flat. But overall there’s a richness of Jewish monologues in exhile or rather in their new adopted homeland. 
    Loved the opening sequence of the boat travelling towards the shore and the voices speaking in Ukrainian, Polish, Russian,…

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