24.7.25

black '47 (2018)

"I don't understand that aboriginal nonsense. Speak English, man!"
Martin Feeney (James Frecheville) arrives back in Ireland after serving abroad in the British army to find his home suffering during the height of the Great Hunger, His mother dead of starvation and his brother killed after resisting the familys eviction. Subsequent injustices lead Feeney to be arrested and he begins his journey of revenge...
A well made and sometimes visually striking revenge thriller distinguished by its famine setting.

21.7.25

the mermaid (1965)

AKA Yu mei ren.
"I've tasted the fickleness of human nature."
Poor scholar Chang Chen (Ivy Ling Po) comes to live with a rich relative whose daughter Peony (Li Ching) he was promised in an arranged marrage. He is smitten with Peony, though she isn't as taken with him or the idea. Into this steps a Carp spirit who loves Chang and takes the form of his fiancée to get close to him leading to the inevitable conflicts and confusion...
A classic Huangmei Opera that intertwines fantasy and romance and a beautiful look.