Benny's Video (1992) - 110 min

Country: Switzerland
Director: Michael Haneke
Cast: Arno Frisch, Angela Winkler & Ulrich Mühe.
Benny is fond of shooting videos and he watches a particular video to fully understand the nuances of killing. Benny meets a girl at the video shop and invites her to his home to watch video tapes.
The first video footage is enough to prove director's point of cinematic violence. This movie was the stepping stone for Haneke and brought the attention of critics too. Haneke's trademark was evident in the movie with shots of empty rooms and talking about the room atmosphere, 'Funny games' is the best among his works. Overall, it's a disturbingly written movie and a phenomenal movie to watch if you like Haneke's movies.
Verdict: Good

The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005) - 92 min

Country: Mongolia
Director: Byambasuren Davaa
Cast: Urjindorjyn Batchuluun, Buyandulamyn Daramdadi, Batchuluuny Nansal & Batchuluuny Batbayar.
The Batchuluun family shifts from one place to another according to the seasons. The oldest daughter, Nansal brings home a dog and names him Zochor. Nansal's father refuses to allow her to keep it.
German director Byambasuren Davaa interviewed many Mongolian families and finally decides to go with Batchuluun family. The compelling story immerses into us and the scene stealer in the movie was Nansalmaa Batchuluun. Outside you can see the story of a girl and her adorable dog, Davaa actually welcomes you to feel how Mongolian nomads live in the world and feels like their affection, love is entirely different from us. Overall, it's a fascinating movie to watch and no words to say about the final showdown.
Verdict: Good

An Affair of Love (1999) - 80 min

Country: Luxembourg
Director: Frédéric Fonteyne
Cast: Nathalie Baye & Sergi López.
Two strangers Her and Him meet through a personal ad and their relationship is purely based on sex. Due to the continuous sex encounters they start to like each other more.
A sexual fantasy about two people and this is what an adult relationship film should be. The story is handled properly by the director and this is far better than the so called romantic movies. I believe in the theory of logics, Every person in the world has a secret sex fantasy which they don't want to share. Towards the end of every relation, we realize emotions, love matters not sex. Overall, it is a superb film with naturalistic dialogues and the intrigue factor of what happens to their relationship makes this film a very frank one to watch.
Verdict: Good

Pi (1998) - 84 min

Pi is an American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Starring Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib & Pamela Hart.
Max Cohen is interested in numbers and tries to discover the pattern in stock market where he can predict the numbers correctly. The continuous effort of doing so makes him unstable and drives him to the state of madness.
It's a strange character study of a man and a different approach towards the genre which means it is not your typical psychological thriller movie. I like mathematics and Pi got my attention from the start with the number magics. Like any other Darren's movie, this film will also mess with you and Pi is the first feature film by Darren Aronofsky. It has a single narrative point of view and whatever Max feels you can feel it too. Overall, Pi is a thriller that increases your brain stimulation and force you to rethink your view against the world.
Verdict: Good

Trash (2014) - 114 min

Country: Brazil
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Wagner Moura, Selton Mello, Rooney Mara & Martin Sheen.
Raphael and his friends spend their time working in the trash. One day they find a wallet that can tear down the political corrupt system and within no time police shows up looking for it. They offer a reward to the one who finds out the wallet and Raphael decides to do something else.
'Do you like roller coasters?' The charm of the three boys makes this urban thriller looks more interesting from the moment it kicks off. It is based on a novel and you can call it a Brazilian Slumdog Millionaire. The dumpster boys deliver a dynamic performance and the cool hip hop tracks work perfectly when it plays in the movie. Trash is fully set in Portuguese and few accomplished actors play extended cameos in the movie. Overall, As a viewer it meets my expectations and I really enjoyed watching this thriller movie.
Verdict: Good

The Attack (2012) - 102 min

Country: Qatar
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Cast: Ali Suliman, Reymond Amsalem,Evgenia Dodina & Dvir Benedek.
Amin Jaafari, a Palestinian surgeon receives an Israeli medical prize for his works and he is the first Arab ever to get that achievement. Next day police inform him that his wife was a suicide bomber. Amin decides to find out the truth behind that accusation.
It is adapted from Yasmina Khadra’s international bestseller of the same name. The story is presented in a sleepy dramatic style, Even though it comes under the mystery category. The Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri, who works under Quentin Tarantino is the man behind this movie and The Insult was his recent movie. That's the main reason why I choose this movie to watch and turns out Ali Suliman's eloquent performance makes this drama worth a try. Overall, it's a decent movie to watch and only recommended to those who likes pure drama.
Verdict: Good

What a Wonderful World (2014) - 72 min

Country: Moldova
Director: Anatol Durbala
Cast: Igor Caras-Romanov, Igor Babiac, Sergiu Bitca, Tudor Tarna & Artiom Perciun.
After spending two years in Boston, a 22 year old Petru comes back to his home town. The story took place in April 2009 during the time of Moldovan parliamentary election protests and Petru does not know the current situation of Moldova. While coming from a friend’s home with a computer monitor Petru encounters a deadly dangerous situation.
"A man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time". With a very low budget, you can't wish more from this movie. Still, It captures my attention from the moment it chooses the highway. After finishing the movie, you can call this film a clash between the two countries or two mentalities battle - it's up to you guys. Everything makes sense after the end credits why they choose this title and it is perfectly appropriate for this situation. There are many hidden things in the movie and director creates a dark world to show the reality. It frightens when you realize this incident actually happened in Moldovan history. Overall, It is a strong movie that holds the suspense of what's going to happen next and worth a try if you like to watch a Moldovan film.
Verdict: Good

Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990) - 95 min

Country: Tunisia
Director: Férid Boughedir
Cast: Selim Boughedir, Carolyn Chelby, Mustapha Adouani & Rabia Ben Abdallah.
Noura takes the advantage of childhood and his mother took him to the women's only bath house. Later, his family hires a young female servant and Noura always wanted to see a full naked female body.
A charming coming-of-age movie from Tunisia which offers many explicit scenes. Like Malena, this film also tells the story of a boy's sexual awakening. It captures the inner story of Arabic culture and due to religious sensitivities many directors say no to sexuality oriented subjects. Noura's interest towards women is common at that age and the innocent face expresses the rest. Overall, Childhood obsessions are unforgettable and this time I am going to take Noura's side.
Verdict: Good