Condemned men, strange? The Quare Fellow is directed by Arthur Dreifuss who along with Jacqueline Sundstrom co-adapts the screenplay from the Brendan Behan play. It stars Patrick McGoohan, Sylvia Syms, Walter Macken and Dermot Kelly. Music is by Alexander Faris and cinematography by Peter Hennessy. Thomas Crimmin (McGoohan) begins new employment at a Dublin jail firmly believing in the benefits of the death penalty. Not everyone of his colleagues feels the same, though, and as Crimmin works through his time and gets close to the wife of a condemned man, his beliefs are splintered. The play by all accounts was awash with humour, something which this filmic version considerably lacks. Dreifuss prefers to make the film bleak, both in surroundings and via the characterisations. The prison is perpetually cold and grey, smiles are hard to find within these walls, cynicism and fatalism drip from the wrought iron doors, and of course moral compasses are all over the place. This doesn't make it a bad film, not a bit of it, it's a tough drama acted superbly, with some brains and brawn injected into the script. Yet it ultimately plays its hand as a straight forward anti-capital punishment peace, missing opportunities to expand upon hinted at themes, particularly where Syms' fraught wife character is concerned. Still, it's a must for McGoohan and Syms fans and for those who like gritty pics set in prisons. 6.5/10
Love, sex, heterosexual, homosexual ... But then people think of gay sexuality, their meetings? Is there a way to love more than another? This is the first thread of the film Bruno Rodriguez-Haney, for which he also signed the BO and scenario. This film, based on the novel of the same name (Edilivre-APARIS Editions) takes us to the heart of reality. love between people of the same sex is good! A story told with humor, but also with great sensitivity.
Azat is a Syrian refugee who is trying to get to Germany. While passing through Bulgaria, he is accused of attempted manslaughter over a child and goes to jail. There he meets The Boss - Koko. The friendship between them changes both their destinies.
Like the perfect ending of a great film - that is the way filmmaker João describes the end of his 10-year relationship with Hugo. Despite breaking up, they remained best friends. However, reentering the dating scene brought a whirlwind of emotions, revealing that reality can’t be controlled like a movie script.
Famous concert pianist William retires to a rectory in West Cork, Ireland. There, he hires a local woman, Tara, as a housekeeper, whom he has met three times yet forgotten all about. While he remembers nothing of their previous meetings, she remembers everything. When an abandoned well is found on the property, she shares legends of the well’s magical history with him, setting the stage for a story of murder, lost eroticism, and revenge.
An American loses all his money and finds himself stranded in England. He finds hope when he meets a female smuggler who has brought jewels into the country inside a teddy bear, but unfortunately, things quickly get out of hand.
After becoming involved in a killing, Kiddo gets on board Boyton's ship. When he learns what happened he dumps her on a South Sea island.
Bootlegger Ed Carson is sent to prison. His old gang turns from liquor (now legal) to kidnapping. When they nab the son and daughter-in-law of the judge who sent Carson to prison, he is paroled to help in the capture.
Ricky is a young man who takes care of his sick mother. His father hovers at the edge of the picture, so Ricky provides for himself and his mom through prostitution, running errands, and acting as a caregiver for a blind man. Through the course of the film, Ricky befriends Janey, a young woman he finds beaten by her ex-boyfriend, and Trenn, a mysterious young man in trouble with the law. The three of them navigate a dark and confusing world. It uses many of the actors who have come to constitute the Dar A Luz company, including Tony Torn, Tom Fitzpatrick, Juliana Francis, and Tom Pearl. It will disappoint those who approach it looking for a film analogue of the “faster and louder” aesthetic that critics have used to characterize much of Abdoh’s stage work. The Blind Owl does use a variety of techniques reminiscent of his stage direction, giving it an unusual theatricality.