Movie Magazine International Blog

By Moira Sullivan Flamenco, Flamenco   Opening Dec 26 at Landmark Opera Plaza is a rare film by the Spanish Veteran filmmaker Carlos Saura called “FLAMENCO FLAMENCO”. At the screening  Nina Menendez, artistic director of the 10th Annual Bay Area Flamenco Festival , will introduce the films.Saura made the Flamenco Trilogy of the 1980s ( Blood Wedding, Carmen, a nd   El Amor Brujo ). This 1995 film is in the documentary format and filmed by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro who has worked on many films such as Last Emperor and Apocalypse Now . I was struck by the performers –musicians and dancers and the extraordinary professionalism of ensemble as filmed by Storaro. For the uninitiated, this is an excellent introduction to the art form of flamenco. Saura filmed at the Seville Expo ’92 Spanish pavilion commemorating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by  Christopher Columbus  (1492-1992). Paintings ...

Norway stakes its oil claim in the North Sea By Moira Sullivan Norway prides itself on its economic independence and always boasts that it has its fish and its oil and is financially solvent for years to come. Pioneer is a Norwegian film by Erik Skjoldbjærg that looks into just how Norway got its oil and the subject is pretty fishy. The technology to build a pipeline came from the USA and in this film the clandestine operations that were behind the creation of a pipeline in the Norwegian sea are taken to task. Set in the 80’s, Norwegian deep sea divers embark on a mission to install a gas pipe.  This  involves time in   a real-life decompression chamber on an oil rig.  The film centers on Petter ( Aksel Hennie ) and his brother Knut André Eriksen ) who risk their lives to discover oil for Norway. The cinematography evokes the time period with its grainy almost yellow film stock and the film has the dramatic form of a thiller, although based on a real lif...