Children Underground (2001, directed by Edet Belzberg)

I just saw this extremely disturbing documentary, which follows five children living in a subway station in Bucharest. As a Romanian, I am profoundly ashamed of the lack of interest shown by the authorities of my country regarding this issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVId0cXaro&feature=related

Cidade de Deus (City of God, 2002, Directors: Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)

I would have carried on posting Wong Kar-wai's films but, unfortunately, I didn't find any acceptable versions. I did find Happy Together and Eros but both of them were either amputated or dubbed. That's why today I'll change the film register and I'll post Cidade de Deus (City of God, 2002), a Brazilian movie that really shocked me the first time I saw it. Its narrative structure and the admirable performance of the young actors impress me every time I watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk7JuMMXIiA

Days of Being Wild (1990, Wong Kar-wai)

Catalonia says no to bullfighting

"Catalonia's regional parliament has voted to outlaw bullfighting in the Spanish region - making it the first area on the mainland to initiate a ban."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10780480

Chungking Express (1994, Wong Kar-wai)

In the Mood for Love

I should have begun this Wong Kar-wai cycle with its most famous film: In the Mood for Love. 2046 is its sequel.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5mR7NNut7s

2046

Wong Kar-wai's movies are subtle and very stylized. I fell in love with them some years ago when I had the chance to participate in a university course about the Chinese cinema. 2046 is the first movie of this briliant director that I will post on my blog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNKn5O_XmwA

How can this be true?

Some days ago I discovered this website. It is a project that aims to open our eyes to child abuse. Although it focuses on what happens in the Netherlands, this problem exists everywhere and it should make us think about it.

http://www.kinderenindekou.nl/index_en.asp

In The Mood For Love (Sequences)

Summer is here

"With the summer solstice now two weeks gone, the northern hemisphere is heating up. High temperatures in some places have made working difficult and have taxed power grids as usage of electricity neared record levels in the U.S. This past weekend, the United States celebrated its 234th birthday on July 4th, with fireworks, parades and many other outdoor activities. Collected here today are a handful of recent photographs of people (and animals) either trying to beat the heat, or just enjoying a sunny summer's day. (40 photos total)"

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/07/summer_is_here.html

Zbigniew Preisner

"Zbigniew Preisner (b. 1955) is Poland's leading film music composer and is considered to be one of the most outstanding film composers of his generation. For many years Preisner enjoyed a close collaborationwith the director Krzysztof Kieslowski and his script-writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz. His scores for Kieslowski's films Dekalog, The Double Life Of Veronique, Three Colours Blue, Three Colours White and Three Colours Red have brought him international acclaim.
Preisner currently lives in Poland and Switzerland.

During the last twelve years Preisner has scored many international feature films including Hector Babenco's At Play In The Fields Of The Lord, Louis Malle's Damage, Luis Mandoki's When A Man Loves A Woman, Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden, and Charles Sturridge's Fairytale: A True Story.

Preisner's soundtrack album for The Double Life Of Veronique and the three CDs of the soundtracks for Three Colours Blue, White and Red have sold more than two million copies around the world. The Double Life Of Veronique CD -originally released on the Sideral label in 1991 and re-issued on Virgin in1998 - was awarded a Gold Disc in France in 1992. Preisner's Music, the live recording of the suite drawn from the music he has created for films, achieved Platinum Disc status in Poland (more than 80,000 copies sold)."

http://www.preisner.com/

"In every life we have some trouble. But when you worry you make it double." (Bobby McFerrin, Don't worry, be happy)

Mozart's The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) directed by Kenneth Branagh,with English libretto and dialogue by Stephen Fry and conducted by James Conlon

Concierto en do mayor para flautín, cuerdas y bajo continuo RV 443. Antonio Vivaldi. Giovanni Antonini solista

Roberto Alagna sings "E Lucevan Le Stelle"

Hans Rosling on global population growth

"The world's population will grow to 9 billion over the next 50 years -- and only by raising the living standards of the poorest can we check population growth. This is the paradoxical answer that Hans Rosling unveils at TED@Cannes using colorful new data display technology (you'll see)."

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html

Filme Romanesti -arhiva-

"Prin intermediul acestui site vrem sa readucem in fata cititorului creatii cinematografice romanesti populare, dar si filme inedite, rar sau deloc difuzate."

http://filmele-copilariei.blogspot.com/

Valuri (Waves) - Adrian Sitaru

"Adrian Sitaru

Thirty-seven-year old Adrian Sitaru, born in the Transylvanian town of Deva, made a name for himself when his short film Waves won the Leopards of Tomorrow section of the 2007 Locarno International Film Festival."(http://www.icrny.org/c2-13-Our_creative_cluster.html)

http://filmeromania.blogspot.com/2009/09/valuri.html

Bricolatge emocional

"La bona sort

La bona sort no és que ens toqui la loteria; això és atzar, i l'atzar no el podem controlar. És per això que, en aquest capítol del "Bricolatge emocional", treballarem aquest nou concepte, que, en definitiva, fa referència a la voluntat i l'esforç personal que contribueixen a assolir objectius determinats. Els especialistes ens donaran eines per aconseguir les nostres fites."

http://www.tv3.cat/videos/2993810/La-bona-sort

Symphony No. 25 (Mozart) - Wiener Philharmoniker and Karl Bohm

Un cartuş de kent şi un pachet de cafea (Cigarettes and Coffee) - Golden Berlin Bear (Best Short Film, 2004)

"Cristi Puiu’s debut as a director was in 2001 with the low budget road movie Stuff and Dough (Marfa si Banii) starring Alexandru Papadopol and Dragos Bucur. The film received several awards in international film festivals and competed in the Quinzaines des Realisateurs section of the Cannes Film Festival. He continued with a short film, Cigarettes and Coffee (Un cartus de Kent si un pachet de cafea, 2004), which was awarded the Golden Bear for best short film at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival.
His second film, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Moartea domnului Lazarescu, 2005), features the drama of an old man who is carried by an ambulance from hospital to hospital all night long, as doctors keep refusing to treat him and send him away. The film was a critical success, being awarded with Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and numerous awards at other international film festivals. Year 2006 brought 47 prizes for his film The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Moartea domnului Lazarescu). —World Cinema Foundation" (http://mubi.com/cast_members/13563)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x58ss_un-cartus-de-kent-si-un-pachet-de-c_shortfilms#from=embed?start=2