A Funny Old Man (1969) - Karel Kachyna

A scientist who was imprisoned in a Stalinist concentration camp undergoes heart surgery. The authorities are willing to rehabilitate him, but he has no will to live. The only thing that fascinates him is a girl who releases pigeons on the terrace of a building a few blocks away.

A grieving film. Brilliant use of the colour red and lensing. It is a wonder that a film so critical of the Communist regime could be made right after the Russian invasion of 1968 that quashed the Prague Spring.

See http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/jachn952.htm for more about Karel Kachyna.

Chihwaseon aka Painted Fire (2002) - Im Kwon-taek

A Korean period film about a painter from humble origins, his struggle to keep painting according to his vision and not commissioned works that please people. Excellent visuals; replete with aphorisms about art. Won the best director award at Cannes 2002.

The paintings are quite sumptuous and the film is worth watching even for their sake alone. One of his paintings:


And another:

Secret Sunshine (2007) - Lee Chang-dong

A harrowing film about a young woman's attempts to come to terms with life in all its post-modern futility.

Tickets (2005) - Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach, Ermanno Olmi

An excellent compilation. Two of the three films present simple ethical issues of kindness and trust towards strangers. The Kiarostami episode also shows an act of kindness, but is more complex, showing shifts in relationships and a teenager viewing adult relationships (in the past as well as in present).