Random Thoughts

I thought I had only physical films left, but here’s another Amazon video find. The other three remaining films are still stuck in the mail somewhere. Bordelinx seems to have possibly lost a bunch of my packages, and aren’t responsing to any queries. *sigh*

I must admit that I found this film rather befuddling. There’s a bunch of various conflicts that intersect, but I didn’t really understand what any of these conflicts were about.

Opaque.

That the subtitles were seriously out of sync didn’t help, either.

The ending was really sweet, though.

The Orator. Tusi Tamasese. 2011. Samoa.

Samoan island cocktail recipe

• 1 part Malibu coconut rum
• 1 part Cointreau
• 10 parts orange juice
• 1 part lime juice
• 5 parts mango

Put the mango flesh into a blender with the lime juice and some orange juice. Purée. Add the remaining liquids and pour into an ice-filled glass.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

Gah! This DVD only has German subtitles. Two of them!

Some of the dialogue is in Danish, though, and I can kinda sorta almost read German, so I decided to go for it anyway. I’m shocked at how much German I’m able to parse.

Movies from Greenland have a tendency to focus on the more exotic parts of living there, so it’s refreshing to watch an “urban” film from Greenland.

But then all that changes one third into the film and we’re off to the north and the ice and everything is just about how you’d expect. The encouraging speeches and everything.

It manages to be kinda original even while doing the dog sled thing. But it’s kinda hokey.

But I really like the actors.

But but but.

Inuk. Mike Magidson. 2010. Greenland.

Arctic Cirle Secrets

• 1 part red wine
• 2 parts simple syrup
• 2 parts orange juice
• 5 parts cranberry juice
• 5 parts lemon juice
• 10 parts Isfjord gin
• 1 part egg white

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice-filled goblet. Garnish with orange peel and a cinnamon stick.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

There are apparently several films that are from Andorra (and not Spanish films with an Andorran co-production credit), but this is not one of them. Because they’re impossible to find.

This is one of those 70s Spanish horror/sex films, probably made for the international market since it’s dubbed into English.

I googled it, and apparently everybody (of the dozens of people who’ve seen it and are still alive) out there loathes it. But I think it has a certain charm. Lots of nice 70s interiors to look at while the er actors are nattering on about very very important (I think) stuff.

I must admit I wasn’t paying that much attention towards the end.

The Devil’s Kiss. Jordi Gigó. 1976. Andorra.

Sangria

• 20 parts wine
• 3 parts rum
• 1 part sugar
• 2 parts orange juice
• lemon
• lime
• orange

Slice the fruits into rounds and put in a large pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar and allow to chill for some time. Crush the fruit lightly and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust the sweetness by possibly adding more sugar.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

This is a lighthearted comedy about a junior policeman in a small village that just can’t get any respect, but starts investigating a mysterious death anyway.

It’s fun! Good actors, beautiful scenery, and it’s inventive despite pursuing pretty well-known tropes. The many, many different ways he imagined that the death had taken place are very amusing.

It does kinda collapse two thirds in when they do the obligatory serious third act.

This isn’t really very Cypriotic, though. Apparently the director god some of the financing from Cyprus, if I understand the “making of” documentary correctly, but it’s basically a Greek film.

Anyway, I was going to do all the remaining seven films in this blog series this weekend, but this film was the only one that arrived in time: The other six are stuck in the mail in various parts of the world. (Yes, all the remaining films are honest-to-Emacs real, proper films on real, proper DVDs.)

Perhaps they’ll arrive in time for next weekend.

Small Crimes. Christos Georgiou. 2008. Cyprus.

Authentic Cypriot Taverna Brandy Sour Cocktail

• 2 parts brandy
• 1 part lemon cordial
• 3 parts lemonade
• some dashes of Angostura bitters

In a tall glass, add the bitters, the brandy and the lemon cordial. Add ice and swirl to chill. Top up with lemonade.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.