Perhaps the most enjoyable Oliveira film I've watched so far also proved to be the most frustrating experience (through no fault of the genial Portuguese director, whom I saw at the 2004 Venice Film Festival): unfortunately, the copy shown on late-night Italian TV was of an atrocious quality – with intermittent picture loss, rampant pixellation and considerable stretches where the dialogue was so low and muffled as to be barely audible (thankfully, the movie was presented in its original language accompanied by Italian subtitles), despite the volume of my TV being practically set at its maximum level! The irony is that this was scheduled again on the very same channel just the other week and, had I known of the poor state of my copy, I'd have tried to record it again…though, of course, I would've had no guarantee that they were able get hold of a superior print unless I went through the whole thing over again! 　　Anyway, having seen it, I'm now able to understand how Oliveira felt so completely at home making that Bunuelian tribute BELLE TOUJOURS (2006); in fact, this has much the same aura of elegant surrealism evident in the Spaniard's contemporaneous masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972), while throughout Oliveira displays an admirably Ophulsian propensity for intricately mobile camera-work. The premise is original and quite delightful: a woman has lost a husband and remarried; she used to despise the former but, now, she realizes how much she actually loved him and, consequently, starts to neglect Spouse No. 2. Also, the first husband had an identical twin brother – so the wife feels closer to him than her current husband; the latter, humiliated by this awkward situation, commits suicide! Then, the sibling of the deceased confesses that he's actually the man she married and that it was his twin who had died (he just had the inexplicable urge to exchange identities with him!); so, the ex-bride and groom go to court to make their re-union legal…except that, by this time, it dawns on her that Husband No. 2 is the one she truly loves! 　　Amid all this, their close circle of friends try to make head or tails of the woman's whims and quirks; further complications, however, arise out of the subplot involving a man who makes passes at two of the women (one's married, the other happily cohabiting with her divorced ex!). The latter turns him down flat, while his affair with the former proves no less volatile than the leading lady's roundabout ways; the man, then, deliberately picks a fight with his lover's husband – who had earlier also exchanged harsh words with the heroine's cynical second husband. Though lacking perhaps the cheerful mockery that Bunuel managed to bring to this essentially staid environment (even if the Mendelssohn score still lends it undeniable irony), Oliveira's script is both intelligent and witty – to which his small cast of unknown actors (to me, at least) respond extremely well. These extend to even the minor roles of butler and maid: apart from indulging in their own romantic dalliances from time to time, the butler is visibly annoyed in having to attend to the mansion's gates after every vehicle that calls at the premises (in fact, apart from a brief flashback and the church finale, we're virtually stuck on the grounds of this single location). He also witnesses the second husband's fatal leap from the window as well as the wife's escape from the very same room (in which she's been locked by Spouse No. 1 after her passion for his replacement is re-ignited), while the maid has no qualms about spying on her masters' violent squabbles through a keyhole. 　　The ironic ending sees all concerned attending the wedding ceremony of a young bride and groom – with the central couple entering the church together but then taking separate seats away from one another because of lack of room; the emphasis placed on the newlyweds' promises of lifelong devotion obviously ring hollow at this point while, seemingly on a whim, Oliveira decides to end the film on an amusing shot of the church organist (sporting the somewhat clichéd unkempt appearance of the typical musicologist). It should be said here that PAST AND PRESENT is the first entry in the director's so-called "Tetralogy Of Frustrated Love" along with BENILDE OR THE VIRGIN MOTHER (1975), the five-hour TV serial DOOMED LOVE (1979) – both of which I own and intend to check out presently, as part of my ongoing retrospective honoring Oliveira's 100th birthday next month – and the as-yet unavailable FRANCISCA (1981).

Perhaps the most enjoyable Oliveira film I've watched so far also proved to be the most frustrating experience (through no fault of the genial Portuguese director, whom I saw at the 2004 Venice Film Festival): unfortunately, the copy shown on late-night Italian TV was of an atrocious quality – with intermittent picture loss, rampant pixellation and considerable stretches where the dialogue was so low and muffled as to be barely audible (thankfully, the movie was presented in its original language accompanied by Italian subtitles), despite the volume of my TV being practically set at its maximum level! The irony is that this was scheduled again on the very same channel just the other week and, had I known of the poor state of my copy, I'd have tried to record it again…though, of course, I would've had no guarantee that they were able get hold of a superior print unless I went through the whole thing over again! 　　Anyway, having seen it, I'm now able to understand how Oliveira felt so completely at home making that Bunuelian tribute BELLE TOUJOURS (2006); in fact, this has much the same aura of elegant surrealism evident in the Spaniard's contemporaneous masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972), while throughout Oliveira displays an admirably Ophulsian propensity for intricately mobile camera-work. The premise is original and quite delightful: a woman has lost a husband and remarried; she used to despise the former but, now, she realizes how much she actually loved him and, consequently, starts to neglect Spouse No. 2. Also, the first husband had an identical twin brother – so the wife feels closer to him than her current husband; the latter, humiliated by this awkward situation, commits suicide! Then, the sibling of the deceased confesses that he's actually the man she married and that it was his twin who had died (he just had the inexplicable urge to exchange identities with him!); so, the ex-bride and groom go to court to make their re-union legal…except that, by this time, it dawns on her that Husband No. 2 is the one she truly loves! 　　Amid all this, their close circle of friends try to make head or tails of the woman's whims and quirks; further complications, however, arise out of the subplot involving a man who makes passes at two of the women (one's married, the other happily cohabiting with her divorced ex!). The latter turns him down flat, while his affair with the former proves no less volatile than the leading lady's roundabout ways; the man, then, deliberately picks a fight with his lover's husband – who had earlier also exchanged harsh words with the heroine's cynical second husband. Though lacking perhaps the cheerful mockery that Bunuel managed to bring to this essentially staid environment (even if the Mendelssohn score still lends it undeniable irony), Oliveira's script is both intelligent and witty – to which his small cast of unknown actors (to me, at least) respond extremely well. These extend to even the minor roles of butler and maid: apart from indulging in their own romantic dalliances from time to time, the butler is visibly annoyed in having to attend to the mansion's gates after every vehicle that calls at the premises (in fact, apart from a brief flashback and the church finale, we're virtually stuck on the grounds of this single location). He also witnesses the second husband's fatal leap from the window as well as the wife's escape from the very same room (in which she's been locked by Spouse No. 1 after her passion for his replacement is re-ignited), while the maid has no qualms about spying on her masters' violent squabbles through a keyhole. 　　The ironic ending sees all concerned attending the wedding ceremony of a young bride and groom – with the central couple entering the church together but then taking separate seats away from one another because of lack of room; the emphasis placed on the newlyweds' promises of lifelong devotion obviously ring hollow at this point while, seemingly on a whim, Oliveira decides to end the film on an amusing shot of the church organist (sporting the somewhat clichéd unkempt appearance of the typical musicologist). It should be said here that PAST AND PRESENT is the first entry in the director's so-called "Tetralogy Of Frustrated Love" along with BENILDE OR THE VIRGIN MOTHER (1975), the five-hour TV serial DOOMED LOVE (1979) – both of which I own and intend to check out presently, as part of my ongoing retrospective honoring Oliveira's 100th birthday next month – and the as-yet unavailable FRANCISCA (1981).

陆景明赴战场前，曾嘱咐妻子，若他战死，可改嫁村中那位以凶狠闻名的猎户。那猎户虽腿有残疾，却力大无穷，传闻甚至打死了前妻。三年后，陆景明战死的消息传来，陆家奶奶却收了猎户的二十两彩礼，强行将儿媳送嫁。在严寒腊月，娘在冰冷的河水中洗衣，被刻薄的奶奶视为“贱蹄子”，连生火的柴火都被抢走。在绝望之际，她唯一的念想就是带着年幼的女儿一同离开，然而，奶奶的冷酷回应，让母女俩的未来笼罩在更深的阴影之中。

电影以新中国第一代雕塑家萧传玖为故事原型。讲述了在抗日战争和解放战争的苦难岁月里，艺术家不同的命运造就了他们不同的追求和信仰，并影响其一生的创…

We pick up the story on our main character's bus ride home. He sits alone, looking content, trying to pass the time. Then, something seems to get in his eye, because he rubs it and then closes the buses window. Something changes about him. He looks around and feels a strange disgust in the bus filled with quiet strangers also trying to get home and minding their own business. Pavel-Ivanovich is so disgusted that he gets off the bus several stops before his home and walks, arriving at dark. From here his story begins, and we go along for his sad ride. From that evening on he sees only sadness and wrong in everything. He can't respond to kindness, and scolds those closest to him. He offends everyone. At his work he tries to go against as many people as possible, and hurt ordinary citizens too. He also feels that everyone is against him. His condition seems to worsen. How will all this end. Sure this can't be the end for Pavel-Ivanovich, a good man somewhere deep inside. 　　The brilliance of this film lies in the main character's deep state of mind. His suffering. The fact that he hurts everyone around him, feels horrible about it but still does it until he almost loses everything. If you like film's where you feel that you can relate or feel the character's emotions, you might like this film. An incredible pressure is built up throughout the film, and the last scene, for me at least, magically lifts it, if only for a couple of seconds. 　　This is a strange film, and I don't say that a lot. It is very hard to describe, but the main elements that drive the feel of this film are the main character's state of mind and the music (more than half of the film has incredible original music playing in the background). Daneliya's films have incredible music like in Autumn Marathon, Kin-Dza-Dza, and Thirty-Three. Daneliyaa was into jazz and played drums in a band way back before he started making film so his films are very rich in music. Also this film is sad, but is also a comedy. All these elements mix to make an incredible movie

歴史を守るために名刀から姿を変えた刀剣男士たち。ある日、彼らの本丸に、謎の男士が現れる。特命調査の出陣要請を求める彼は、放棄された世界、歴史改変された文久土佐藩への道を開いたと告げる。そして、調査のため刀剣男士たちは播磨屋橋へ向かうが……

歴史を守るために名刀から姿を変えた刀剣男士たち。ある日、彼らの本丸に、謎の男士が現れる。特命調査の出陣要請を求める彼は、放棄された世界、歴史改変された文久土佐藩への道を開いたと告げる。そして、調査のため刀剣男士たちは播磨屋橋へ向かうが……

Ⅰ. "Sleepy" On the way home from work, the fierce anger of the road rage transformed into a huge monster, devouring the roads and buildings. Hurry home. Ⅱ. "Forgotten" Forget. Here. There. Everything. People, like ants, circulate endlessly.

现代厨神姜落落在拿到厨王争霸赛冠军时被人杀害，因为戒指穿越到古代，成了江南醉仙楼的店小二，主角姜落落为回到现代，进京参加厨神大会，在各方高手挑战中，以厨艺征服众人，智斗反派，历经千辛万苦，最终成为厨神大会榜首。

现代厨神姜落落在拿到厨王争霸赛冠军时被人杀害，因为戒指穿越到古代，成了江南醉仙楼的店小二，主角姜落落为回到现代，进京参加厨神大会，在各方高手挑战中，以厨艺征服众人，智斗反派，历经千辛万苦，最终成为厨神大会榜首。