CFB's Greatest Movies by Country, Chapter 22: Brazil

1. City of God (2002)
2. Black God, White Devil (1964)
3. Pixote (1981)
4. Central Station (1998)
5. Black Orpheus (1959)
6. Barren Lives (1963)
7. Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
8. Behind the Sun (2001)
9. Entranced Earth (1967)
10. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976)
11. Antonio das Mortes (1969)
12. Limite (1931)
13. Bye Bye Brasil (1980)
14. Elite Squad (2007)
15. Madame Satã (2002)
16. The Age of the Earth (1980)
17. The Year My Parents Went on Holiday (2006)
18. Assault on the Pay Train (1962)
19. Foreign Land (1996)
20. Carandiru (2003)

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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

Essential Viewing

France/Italy/Spain

Feature Film

Original Title: Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

Director: Luis Buñuel

Writers: Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière

Cinematographer: Edmond Richard

Cast: Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Julien Bertheau, Milena Vukotic

A group of wealthy friends attempt to enjoy a dinner party but are constantly interrupted, in Buñuel’s bitingly funny, enigmatically satirical, and delightfully cynical portrait of the idle rich, attackingly depicting corruption, prejudice, double standards, and illogical social conventions. Iain.Stott

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The Man Who Can't Stop Hiccupping (2010)

Recommended

UK

Short Television Documentary

Director/Cinematographer: Luke Menges

Narrator: Amanda St John

Featuring: Christopher Sands

This brief but effective documentary follows Christopher Sands, a 25-year-old aspiring musician who has suffered from hiccups for nearly three years, as he attempts to find a cure or explanation for his debilitating condition, which makes it impossible for him to work and nigh impossible for him to eat, sleep, or socialise. Iain.Stott

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Robinson in Space (1997)

Recommended

UK

Feature Documentary

Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Patrick Keiller

Narrator: Paul Scofield

Following on from the oft delightful London (1994), Keiller’s docu-essay again sees an unseen narrator and his companion, Robinson, setting out on a journey to paint a picture of the state of the nation, this time leaving behind the capital to explore the provinces, seeking out sights of historical interest whilst lamenting modern trends, and whilst it’s just as insightful and informative as its predecessor it is decidedly less witty. Iain.Stott

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London (1994)

Recommended

UK

Feature Documentary

Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Patrick Keiller

Narrator: Paul Scofield

Our narrator, accompanied by his former lover, Robinson, take us on several journeys around London throughout 1992, imparting pithy observations and pessimistic insights about the state of the nation, observing John Major’s re-election, the IRA’s sustained bombing campaign, and numerous other rather depressing events, in Keiller’s delightfully irreverent but decidedly unnerving docu-essay. Iain.Stott

Followed by Robinson in Space (1997)

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Love in the Afternoon (1972)

Highly Recommended

France

Feature Film

Original Title: L'amour l'après-midi

Writer/Director: Eric Rohmer

Cinematographer: Néstor Almendros

Composer: Arié Dzierlatka

Cast: Bernard Verley, Zouzou, Françoise Verley

When the sexy former girlfriend of an old pal re-enters his life after a gap of six years, a Parisian businessman, happily married with a young family and a comfortable bourgeois existence, finds himself reassessing his life and questioning his ingrained notion of sexual ethics, in Rohmer’s subtle, authentic, and thoroughly compelling film, the sixth and final instalment of his Moral Tales series. Iain.Stott

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Rock & Chips (2010)

UK

Television Film

Director: Dewi Humphreys

Writer: John Sullivan

Cinematographer: John Sorapure

Cast: Nicholas Lyndhurst, Kellie Bright, Phil Daniels, Shaun Dingwall, James Buckley, Stephen Lloyd, Lewis Osborne, Ashley Gerlach, Lee Long, Jonathan Readwin, Paul Putner, Emma Cooke, Robert Daws, Roger Griffiths, Jodie Mooney, Katie Griffiths

Rock & Chips (2010)

John Sullivan’s gently humorous, surprisingly touching, and reassuringly familiar prequel to his long running sitcom Only Fools and Horses presents – with a wonderful performance from Bright and a gorgeous soundtrack – a bitter-sweet portrait of the Trotter clan in early ‘60s Peckham, concentrating on Joan Trotter’s illicit but beautiful and all too fleeting romance with Fredrick ‘Freddie the Frog’ Robdal.

Five Gold Rings (2010)

With his schooldays behind him, Del, imported American records and fake diamond rings in hand, sets out on a life of dodgy-dealing and bird-pulling, whilst his beloved mother, Joan, as put-upon as ever, struggles to resist the advances of a recently bailed Freddie the Frog, in this entertaining though less affecting second outing for Sullivan’s ‘60s-set Only Fools and Horses prequel. Iain.Stott

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