The Mona Lisa by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous painting in the world. What is the secret behind the "real" Mona Lisa? It draws legions of visitors to the Louvre in Paris to contemplate her enigmatic expression. In this "detective story," historians tell us how Leonardo developed the painting and uncover the long-hidden identity of the smiling woman.
During the Anti Japanese War (Second Sino-Japanese War), Chen fool joined the Eighth Route Army in order to earn money and marry his wife, and was assigned to Class Two of the Third Company. He is well known as an idiot, is totally incompetent, can't distinguish left or right, He fails to learn how to shoot, and fails to retreat jeopardizing the risk of death for his comrade, and foiling his squad leader plan. He is deemed useless and is the laughing stock of the army. His only advantage is his strong physique and a big stature, thereby he is only assigned a cooking position in the army and only do trite errands suitable for his physique and strength. One eventful day when Chen fool goes to the battlefield to deliver food and meets the Imperial Japanese army, where he is asked to help his comrades fight the devil. An event that will earn him the title, "the brave bombardier", a revolutionary hero, and gain the deserved respect from his comrades and leader.
A young actress got into a car accident and crossed over to an era 100 years from now and met her lover then.
The title was based from a famous letter written by Lin Juemin, an early Qing Dynasty revolutionary, to his wife before his death.
February 28 is Deniz Gezmiş's birthday… He would have been 75 years old today; but it only lived for 25 years, and in those 25 years, it had an impact that spanned 75 years. When you have a 25-year-old son, one feels better, what was done to him...
Therese lives in two worlds. As housemaid she has fallen in love with the sophisticated Countess Meta von W. As a young woman of poor/humble descent, she has to watch as her sister Magdalena is being hauled into the abyss by a devilish sectarian. Together with this notorious pastor, Thomas Pöschl, Magdalena conducts exorcisms at her community/in the village. Small children have to renounce Satan, a young woman is brutally exorcized and later proclaimed a saint by Pöschl.
A group of friends, sharing a passion for cinema, assemble in Corregidor, a small island in Manila Bay that has preserved relics from the Pacific War as its foremost attractions. There, they explore the island and retire in a rustic mansion used once to make silent films. Outside the city, the woods and sea become a meeting place for more movie personalities and it all becomes a celebration of what was left behind.
Documentary covering the end of an era as Polaroid stops producing its signature cameras and film as well as The Impossible Project to keep instant photography alive.
Gallipoli from Above: The Untold Story is the true story of how a team of Australian officers used aerial intelligence, emerging technology and innovative tactics to plan the landing at Anzac Cove. It is now nearly 100 years since the landing and hundreds of books, movies and documentaries have failed to grasp the significance of the ANZAC achievement. Instead, the mythology has clouded the real story of how these two influential Australian officers took control of the landing using every innovation they could muster to safely land their men on Z beach.
Liu Bocheng’s short but impactful time as the first mayor of Nanjing in 1949 where he showcases his dedication to the city's development and his strong bond with the people during a crucial period in history.
Abstract (2012) is a return to the contested narrative of Andrea Wolf’s death, with Steyerl traveling to Kurdistan in search of information about her friend's murder. The work links cinematic shooting and military warfare together, implicating Germany’s role in the operation. This has been screened in the past as a dual-channel work. But in this case it has been re-purposed by the artist as a split screen film. (KG) From e-flux:
Abstract presents a scenario in which the violence of warfare and the violence of aesthetics twist around each other. The two-channel video visits the site where Steyerl’s friend Andrea Wolf was killed in 1998, but through a prism that refracts cinematic language against the weapons that killed her friend. As the site and circumstances of her death fold into the act of witnessing it from a distance, the ethical burden of identifying those responsible also appears to live and die with the debris that still remains at the site of the helicopter attack.
A little known fact is that Chinggis Khaan, better known as Genghis Khan, would collect orphans from his bloody battlefields and have his own mother raise them. These adopted brothers grew up to become his most loyal officials and advisers. Khaan organised his Mongol soldiers into groups according to the decimal system. Soldiers were arranged in units of 10 ("aravt"), 100 ("zuut"), 1,000 ("minghan") and 10,000 ("tumen"). Each unit had an appointed leader reporting to a larger unit. A 10-person "aravt" unit is ordered by Khaan to locate a skilled doctor who lives in a forest. En route, they discover an abandoned baby. He is in fact the child of an enemy warrior who gives pursuit, even though they have saved the child's life. Whilst protecting the child from attacks from enemy soldiers, the members of the "aravt" must also complete their mission. Through their actions, they demonstrate the benevolence and bravery of Mongol warriors as the final battle closes in.
Movie is set during a period of time when Japanese invaded China. The story is told from Gao's perspective, a soldier seeking revenge from the Japanese in trying to assassinate the visiting Japanese chief in command. In the process of plotting such scheme, he had a chance encounter with a local Mafia, lead by its charismatic leader Fang. Fang had a bandit of followers, of which one is Fang's sister. Fang in the past have rescued many of these followers using his own blood and as a result all the members in the bandit formed a life long bond and friendship. When Gao realizes he could use the firearms and man power of Fang's bandit, he sets up a scheme to get captured by Fang on purpose. When Fang found out - he was extremely angry and upset and almost killed Gao, but Gao is saved by Fang's sister because she clearly developed feelings for Gao after seeing how he fared during the interrogation phases when he was in Fang's capture.
For the first time, the true story of the mastermind behind World War II's Great Escape is told by his niece, Lindy Wilson. Squadron Leader Roger Bushell was a young London barrister, an auxiliary pilot and a champion skier when he was shot down and captured early in the war. He escaped three times and, in spite of the Gestapo's threat to shoot him if he ever escaped again, Bushell accepted the role of 'Big X' on his return to the top-security PoW camp, Stalag Luft 111. After 18 months of preparation, one of the greatest escapes of the war took place. Their aim to distract the enemy succeeded, as it was estimated that five million Germans were deployed to recapture the 76 escapees. However, Hitler's rage was uncontainable and he personally ordered a terrible reckoning. (Storyville)
New husband Adam reluctantly takes a job with state security in a totalitarian country, thus becoming a secret police agent. This "contract with the devil" helps secure a flat for the happy couple, as well as a prosperous future. However, he soon finds out that he too is under surveillance.
Argentina, 1976. With the beginning of the military dictatorship, a young police officer is accused of belonging to the ERP guerrilla group. He is tortured by his former colleagues and held as a political prisoner for two years. He survives the brutal prison conditions and is released on parole, but a few months later decides to escape the country. Denmark grants him asylum, and he lives in Copenhagen for fifteen years. When he returns, now a democratic country, he discovers that some of those who tortured him were not only still police officers but high-ranking officials.