Woman of the Dunes (1964) - Hiroshi Teshigahara

"Do you shovel to survive, or survive to shovel? "

The images of sand and a few close-ups alone would make this worth watching, but there is a lot more to see here. Sisyphean and haunting.

Murderers and thieves (1957) - Sacha Guitry

To get you out of blues, nothing like a good old Sacha Guitry, with his tales of infidel hunsbands and wives. Jean Poiret paired off with a young Michel Serrault as a gullible thief. The court testimony scene (with the wrong witness) is hilarious.

No Country for Old Men (2007) - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

The kind of film only Americans can make. A nice blend of bleak irony, wry humour and southern warmth; some great dialogue (thanks to Cormac McCarthy, of course) in the midst of epic Western visuals. The golden Western of bygone days made modern. Fal...ls a fair bit short becoming a modern classic, though.

Sheriff Bell: I always figured when I got older, God would sorta come inta my life somehow. And he didn't. I don't blame him. If I was him I would have the same opinion of me that he does.

Carla Jean Moss: I got a bad feeling, Llewelyn.
Llewelyn Moss: Well I got a good feeling, so that should even out.

Loretta Bell: Be careful.
Sheriff Bell: I always am.
Loretta Bell: Don't get hurt.
Sheriff Bell: I never do.
Loretta Bell: Don't hurt no one.
Sheriff Bell: [smiles] Well. If you say so.

Family Life (1971) - Krzysztof Zanussi

A brilliant film from a brilliant director. The crumbling of a former oligarchy during the communist regime. The son is in denial of his bourgeois roots, but can't really escape who he is. Excellent performances by two giants of Polish cinema - Daniel Olbrychski and Maja Komorowska as the son and daughter of the oligarch.

Siberiade (1979) - Andrei Konchalovsky

Russian history presented as an epic story about a little village in Siberia.
See http://russianfilm.blogspot.com/2007/10/andrei-mikhalkov-konchalovsky-siberiad.html