Anemic Cinema

A Throw of Dice(hi)

Two neighboring kings addicted to gambling, Ranjit and his cousin Sohat, vie for the same beautiful young woman, Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa.

Bye, Old Times(zh)

Do you have experiences in your life that you write off to the indiscretions of youth? When you’re in the heyday of your youth, do you intentionally do things that are reckless because you know you can? A group of friends look back on their past, some with fear, some with regrets, as they think back to the mistakes and choices they made when they were young and wonder if they would do it all over again in the same way if they got another chance. “Bye, Old Times,” also known as “Bye, Old Days” and “Be, Jiu Shi Guang,” is a 2013 Chinese film directed by Li Xin. It stars Tang Ji Liang, Liu Cheng Rui, Qiang Yu and Hua Jiao.

Eh Jeung(ko)

In the remote countryside of Korea, Jun Kyung struggles to choose between sisterly love and the temptation of a man's affections.

We Know(nl)

An intimate moment between a father and an almost grown-up son leads to a fundamental, though subtle, change in their relationship. Their unconditional love towards each other becomes clear, albeit unsaid.

Roxanna(en)

When Roxanna discovers her fascination with lesbian sexuality, she finds herself dragged deeper and deeper into it. This leaves her at odds with her boyfriend, with tragic results.

The Farmer's Wife(en)

Successful middle-aged farmer Samuel Sweetland becomes widowed, then his daughter marries and leaves home. Deciding he wishes to remarry, Sweetland pursues some local women he considers prospects.

E.M.M.A.(en)

Imagine awakening one day to discover that you are not human. That you can memorize entire books word for word but not recall the day before. Imagine discovering that everything you have ever known and every memory that you have is a lie. What would you do? This is the story of Emma and what she did.

The Beast in Man(ru)

Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs(en)

The grail is not the gold, nor the books of ancient wisdom, but the 3,000 year old DNA of the mummies, which may lead to a cure for malaria.

Robin Hood(en)

Robin Hood and his followers aid the poor and oppressed from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The 47 Loyal Ronin(ja)

An adventure film with Benshi performers. Sometimes considered the 'first Japanese feature film', it survives today as a compilation of scenes from various different 1910s adaptations totaling nearly three hours in length. The bulk of the content comes from the 1911 adaptation by legendary Japanese filmmaker Makino Shozo.

Daughters of Today(en)

Daughters of Today was a 1928 silent film from Lahore, in present-day Pakistan (then British India). It was produced by G.K Mehta and directed by Shankradev Arya. This was the first feature film made in Lahore, and helped to establish the city of Lahore as one of the centers of filming in India. The Lahore film industry is now known as Lollywood. Production started in 1924 and took three years to complete, mainly due to financial problems. Two participants later became prominent personalities of the South Asian film industry: A.R. Kardar was one of the most famous Bombay film directors in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s; and actor M. Ismael's film career spanned over five decades.

Blacksmithing Scene(xx)

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

The Kid Brother(en)

The timid youngest son of the most important family in town must use his wits to win the respect of his strong father and the love of a beautiful new woman in town.

Lola(en)

It's Christmas time, and a grandmother spends a quiet afternoon tending to the family chores. But the arrival of an unexpected visitor brings with her some deadly consequences.

The Life of Moses(en)

Released in five parts (The Persecution of the Children of Israel by the Egyptians, Forty Years in the Land of Midian, The Plagues of Egypt and the Deliverance of the Hebrews, The Victory of Israel, The Promised Land), 4 December 1909 to 19 February 1910. A Vitagraph advertisement in the Moving Picture World (31 Dec. 1909) refers to The Life of Moses as a "Biblical Film-de-Luxe". It is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.

Esmeralda(fr)

It was the first film version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Battle at Honnôji Temple(ja)

In 1908, Director/Producer Shozo Makino (father of Japanese cinema) directed and produced the first dramatic film in Kyoto. “Honnô-ji Gassen” was shot at Shinnyo-Do Temple. Considered a lost film.

Too Many Kisses(en)

Wanting his son to get away from his many girlfriends and buckle down to work, the New York industrialist father of a playboy sends him to an obscure village in Spain to find samples of a rare mineral. When the son gets to Spain, he runs afoul of the local police chief - who has a secret that he tries to keep the young man from discovering.

Robot Dreams(es)

A lonely dog's friendship with his robot companion takes a sad turn when an unexpected malfunction forces him to abandon Robot at the beach. Will Dog ever meet Robot again?

Entr'acte(fr)

Stop-motion photography blends with extreme slow-motion in Clair's first and most 'dada' film, composed of a series of zany, interconnected scenes. We witness a rooftop chess match between Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray, a hearse pulled by a camel (and chased by its pallbearers) and a dizzying roller coaster finale. A film of contradictions and agreements.

Ballet Mécanique(fr)

A pulsing, kaleidoscope of images set to an energetic soundtrack. This is a world in motion, dominated by mechanical and repetitive images, with a few moments of solitude in a garden.

The Starfish(fr)

The romantic relationship between a man and a woman.

Sparrows(en)

Molly, the eldest child of a group of orphans being used as slaves on a farm hidden deep in a swamp, must rescue the others when their cruel master decides that one of them will be disposed of.

An Optical Poem(en)

A dance of shapes. A title card tells us this is an experiment in conveying the mental images of music in a visual form. Liszt's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" is the music. The shapes, all two-dimensional, are circles primarily, with some squares and rectangles, and a few triangles. The shapes move rhythmically to the music: receding from view or moving across the screen. Red circles on a blue background; light blue squares; white rectangles. Then, a red background of many circles with a few in the foreground. Red gives way to blue then to white. Shapes reappear as Liszt's themes re-occur. Then, with a few staccato notes and images, it's over.

Erotique(en)

One can determine a line in Tscherkassky’s oeuvre which turns around a game with filmic presentation, with degrees of recognisability — with the only-just and the not-any-more. Just to see desire. An example of this is Erotique. One sees swirling pictures, parts of a woman’s face, red lips, eyes in cyclical fragments of movement. Often it is difficult to tell which part of the body one actually sees (whoever wants to can see/imagine/think sexual organs and sexual acts.) The gaze gets hung up on partial objects, no integral, whole body to think about. No body, whose representation was always one of the problems in cinema.

Montparnasse(fr)

Come take an avant-garde walk in the Montparnasse of the late 1920's. This district of Paris, filmed in a most unusual way, shows how dedicated it is to art. Visit its art galleries and exhibitions, take a glimpse of famous painter Fujita, of Luis Buñuel eyeing the legs of beautiful Parisian passing the terrace of the café where he sits, of Italian futurists Marinetti, Prampolini and Russolo.

7362(xx)

7362 is concerned with dividing and joining together. It begins with two black circles against a white background, knocking together and gradually moving further apart. The circles fade out, and return as white circles against black inside a square. Images similar to Rorschach blots appear. Gradually the viewer realizes that the images were not originally abstract, but were human forms (dancers, gymnasts, etc.), bridges, and others that have been split down the center of the frame, with their mirror images printed on either side of the split. Red, green, and white tints further abstract the images from their original foundations in the natural world, making dancers appear to be amoebas or dividing cells. The accompanying sound track is a mixture of electronic music and musique concrète ("real" recorded sounds manipulated to sound abstract).

Un Chien Andalou(fr)

Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.

Rope(en)

Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

The Exorcist(en)

When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.

Julieta(es)

The film spans 30 years in Julieta’s life from a nostalgic 1985 where everything seems hopeful, to 2015 where her life appears to be beyond repair and she is on the verge of madness.

Cries and Whispers(sv)

As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so immersed in their own psychic pains that they are unable to offer her the support she needs.

The Man Without a Past(fi)

Arriving in Helsinki, a nameless man is beaten within an inch of his life by thugs, miraculously recovering only to find that he has completely lost his memory. Back on the streets, he attempts to begin again from zero, befriending a moody dog and becoming besotted with a Salvation Army volunteer.

The Two Popes(en)

Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me(en)

In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.

Joker(en)

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

Vermiglio(it)

Set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the waning days of WWII, a series of dramatic, consequential events unfold after the arrival of a taciturn Sicilian soldier, who hides out in town after deserting the army. While there, the soldier develops a romance with a provincial family’s eldest daughter.

Chungking Express(cn)

Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant.

Buffalo '66(en)

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.