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Effects of dancing the danzón
I would advise any cinefile with a human heart and an appreciation of true art to disregard all reviews (including this one), watch the movie, and judge for himself; lest he miss a unique and uniquely profound experience.
The eroticism made dance!
This original work is an arresting feminist tale about a middle aged woman who rejoins with her forgotten sensuality , performing a ballroom dance known at the danzon. Danzon
This movie is worth watching!It has fantastic acting and a great storyline.It about a woman, Julia, and the dance, Danzon.The dance is much like her life, very rigid and controlled.After Julia's partner of many years stopped showing up for their usual dance, she worries and leaves to go find him.Her journey takes her to Veracruz.There she meets many delightful people who try to help her find him.After she has a love affair with a younger man, she leaves to go back home.While she is on her journey, she discovers a lot about herself and who she is.She left not only to find her partner, but to find herself as well.This movie is great for anyone who is willing to take a risk to find themselves! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Mexican    3. Movie   

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A Parable about the Meaning of Freedom in 18th Century Cuba
Some movies have great stories or great writing.This has both.A plantation slaveowner convinces (himself) that he
A sinister metaphor!
From the times I watched Viridiana with all its wholeness expresiveness, I had never watched another striking Latin American movie made with such fierceness and dark poetry. Bitter Truths
This film exemplifies what Christian hypocrites did to decimate the African world-view.My favorite scenes involved storytelling, done in the traditional African manner, by different slaves.Christianity was a great tool of oppression and domination, and this film shows it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. International    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

Marcel Camus's 1959 update of the Greek myth features an all-black cast and a story set in the frenetic energy of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Orpheus, a trolley car conductor and superb samba dancer, is engaged to Mira but in love with Eurydice. For his change of heart, Orpheus and his new doomed lover are pursued by a vengeful Mira and a determined Death through the feverish Carnival night. Camus at once demystifies and remystifies the old story, shifting not only its location but its tone and context, forcing a reevaluation of the legend as a more passionate, pulsing, sensual experience. The film is really one-of-a-kind, an absolute whirl that barely needs words. Read more

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Reviews (55)

Very Original
Greek mythology was something I've never paid much attention to. Having said that, I knew nothing about the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. It wasn't until I got this from the library (after noticing it had won the Palme d'or at The Cannes Film Festival and had won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film) and read the little booklet included in The Criterion release that I found out about the whole story. Needless to say, I found the whole idea intriguing. The filmmakers took this Greek myth and transferred it to Rio de Janeiro in the middle of Carnival and, in doing so, created a colorful and beautiful movie. That's not to say Black Orpheus is a very entertaining film, but the lush scenery and music make it a masterpiece. The story is pretty simple; Eurydice has arrived in Rio to stay with her cousin Serafina. Eurydice is running from a masked man (Death) and is in a frequent state of fear. When she gets onto a streetcar, she meets Orpheus; Orpheus is a streetcar operator and a ladies man who has just become engaged to Mira. When they're getting a license, the man jokes to Mira..."Let me guess. You're Eurydice." Orpheus, is popular around his community for his musical talent. It's said that when he plays his guitar and sings, he makes the sun rise. Anyway, the story is a Greek "tragedy" so you can guess that the love between Orpheus and Eurydice doesn't quite go as planned. The film's tragic ending is quickly lifted by a beautifully photographed scene. This movie is, technically, a love story...But the Orpheus-Eurydice is merely the foundation of the story. It's the music and art direction and cinematography that makes this so good. The music, especially, plays a huge part in the film. The look of the movie gets even better when you realize how long ago it was made. Look at the film "Some Like it Hot" (released the same year, 1959) and then look at this film. This movie will not entertain the masses for years to come, but movie/Greek mythology buffs might want to check it out. Or just people who appreciate beauty in film.
Poetically beautiful
This movie is worth buying and watching over and over, the passion is felt between the characters and the setting. I just love the movie and it takes you to another world, another era.
Five star slop job!
I hated this movie because it had no nudity...and bossa nostra music annoys me. If you wanna see nekkid girls, don't watch this movie. Mind you, I only watched the first 3 minutes before I figured I needed something more substantial...a TRUE masterpiece like "Back To The Beach". Buy THAT movie instead of 'Black Orpheus' because at least you get Frankie Avalon and Annette FunnyChello and PeeWee Herman. I just flicked through "Black O" and watched the first 5 seconds of each chapter but that was enough to tell me that this movie stinks.
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Subjects:  1. Best Picture Winner    2. Foreign Film - Portugese    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. International    5. Movie   

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Reviews (13)

Compelling...As remarkable as Daniel Quinn's, "Ishmael"
This was a profoundly moving film. It conjured images of D.L. Rosenhan's(1973) research, "On Being Sane In Insane Places." The film forces the viewer to question the labels we attach to people, and how powerful they can be to limit them as human beings, to ostracize them from mainstream life, and to irreparably stigmatize them. After viewing this film, you will be struck by the audacity of any system (in this case the mental health system) that forces personality changes on those it views with suspicion and contempt. Although this film is in Spanish, it is subtitled and easy to follow. I would recommend this film for viewing at the high school and collegiate levels.

The Human Condition
One of the great things about contemporary media is that we can collect films that are unusual, beautiful, or particularly meaningful, and we don't have to be stuck with the endless minlessness of most commercial films.I remember this film as powerful, simple but moving in its theme:the "extraterrestial" being observes people on earth and cannot figure out why they make themselves unhappy and why they cannot respond to each other's unhappiness.The psychiatrist assigned to work with this being, who sees more deeply into humans than the psychiatrist himself, has a chance for happiness but rejects it because he can't believe in the simplicity of the solution.He acquiesces in destroying the one person who has tried sincerely to help him.A very strange and ironic film that tries to bring human beings to their senses but suggests that they are beyond help and must destroy any potential saviors.Worth having in your collection for its meaning and overall impact, especially its haunting score.

Fantastic Movie!
This is one of the best movies I've seen, because even with its minor flaws it forces the viewer to consider what is real, andwhat it means to be human.(The movie certainly was the genesis of the later Hollywood disasterization, "K-PAX," but please do not let any negative feelings about that movie stop you from seeing this one if you can.)Although it is nowhere apparent in the credits, this movie clearly seems influenced by the works of science-fiction author Philip K. Dick. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

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Reviews (7)

Joie de vivre encapsulated
I first rented this movie in the 1980s from Blockbuster. It was so different, such a surprising delight, I watched it again about 10 years later. Different from anything I saw before or since.
The Best of Both Worlds!
I really enjoyed this movie. At first I thought that her two husbands were Vadinho the gambler and drunk, and Vadinho the loving husband.He was bascially two different people himself.I would have left him if I was her, though but I understand that in that time women didn't leave their husbands.Also in that time, it was not uncommon for men to have mistresses.After Vadinho's death, I was happy that Do�a Flor decided to remarry, but I thought that she could've found someone more interesting than Teodoro. He's a nice guy and all, but he's just so boring.She was used to the wildlife with Vadinho, and it was a shock to her when she married Teodoro.I think that's why she gave into Vadinho when his soul returned.And since she was the only one who could see him, there was no harm in having realtions with him once again, and in the future. She was happy with both of them. She was getting the best of both worlds.I highly recommend this movie to all movie goers.

What is all the excitement?
I'm only writing this review because a lot of people seem to think this is such a great movie.I wish now that I had bought the Sally Fields version.This is very amatuerishly done in my opinion.It was made nearly 30 years ago, and if you want to watch an out-of-shape soap opera star run out naked, maybe you will like it.He wasn't comical, he was just repulsive.Had he been gorgeous, maybe I would have liked it better.Save your money and buy the American version. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Portugese    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (5)

Love That Moves Sun and Planets
The bereaved father who's lost his seven year old daughter, upon visiting her grave twelve years later, finds his daughter's body perfectly preserved - just as he had left it. His fellow townspeople call the event a miracle but the town bishop wants the child reburied. The father must fight his way through political and religious obstacles to have his daughter declared a first Colombian Saint.
"If only life were so simple."
Elvia Duarte is just seven years old when she dies inexplicably in her father's arms. She is buried, but twelve years later, the cemetery is scheduled for renovation, and survivors of the dead are given a chance to retrieve the remains of their loved ones. Elvia's father Margarito (Frank Ramirez) exhumes Elvia's body, and it's then he discovers a miracle--her body is still perfect, soft and warm, and her hair and nails have continued to grow in the twelve years since her death. With this evidence of a miracle, Margarito cannot bear to re-bury his daughter, and soon local religious officials push him into seeking sainthood for his daughter. Seeking canonization for Elvia proves to be no simple task. Margarito takes his daughter's body from his native Columbia to Rome, and there he struggles withbureaucratic and ecclesiastical red tape.
A father's love, a daughter's eternal sleep...
This is a strangely beautiful yet sensual film about the love of a father for his dead child. When a man's seven-year-old daughter suddenly dies his grief is terrible and he visits her grave regularly, finding comfort in the knowledge that he can be near to her.But after twelve years the tomb she has lain in is to be demolished so he is forced to take her body to be buried elsewhere.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Carlos Diegues directs this internationally popular 1980 film about a traveling tent show and its various players as the unsteady company tours the cities, villages, and jungles of Brazil. Diegues brings a nimble and inventive sensibility, and the film moves well with a fantasy-laced lyricism and wit that predate magic realism in cinema. The transience of the major characters allows Diegues to offer a roaming vision of the changing social culture in Brazil, and he does so with only gentle satiric asides. Read more

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Hidden Wake Of Emotions Surface In This Viewing
Nowadays, it is impossible to experience life as it was in an early developing industrializing country, but watching this film gives a certain individual that special imaginative oppurtunity to float into the spicy, rustic, seemingly beautiful world of latin-American life far south of the equator; into the crux of a land who's certain inhabitants appeal clashingly to the American culture and the norm of American life.
The Original Save the Rainforest
Who can save the rainforest? An environmentalist? A politician? A magician? A saint? It's none other than Gypsy Lord himself (comic genius Jose Wilker of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) a character born of Fellini, Brecht, and, of course, Brazil Beautiful. But, hey, wait a minute! Gypsy Lord doesn't want to save anything. He's wants to strike it rich.
fascinating tour of a quickly disappearing Brazil
This film is a fascinating tour of a quickly disappearing Brazil.It is a wonderful way to explore the fifth largest nation in land area in the world.A group of traveling entertainers just barely making their living(often supplemented by the prostitution of the woman character known as the"Queen of the Rhumba") by traveling from one backwoods town tothe next.The journey starts in the very dry region in northeast Brazilwhere the troupe picks up two young "hicks" and extends into thejungles of the Amazon. The entire troupe, however, is somewhat gulliblebecause they do not realize how their backwoods Brazil is disappearing astelevision and major highways unite almost all the country's diverseregions into a modern Brazil.We witness the troupe's surprise and disgustas they move from one part of Brazil to another. Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Portugese    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (22)

The shipwrecked people of13th street
Shot in 1962 during his exile in Mexic provoked by the dictatorship of general Franco, " El angel exterminador " is a delicious radiography of the middle-class where the genial spanish filmmaker makes a dissection of their superstitions, rites, falses prejudices and fears with sarcastic humour and his surreal and thought-provoking imaginary. The film had originally to be entitled " Los naufragos de la calle nº 13 ", a very graphic commentary of the pathetic situation of their protagonists, but finally Buñuel prefered the most stimulating and sardonically biblic title of " The exterminating angel ". A group of bourgeoises joined around a supper party refuses obstinately to abandone the room hunted by an irrational panic, becoming so prisioners of themselves in a house whose doors are unlocked and where nobody hold them. Completely defenceless like childs without the help of the servants the time passes in their virtual prison and the masks begin to fall down and their most repressed instints come pathetically untied.
I waited two years to buy this on Amazon!
I waited two years to buy this on Amazon. The price has always been $60+ until I recently found it for $16. (You got to love how prices for some of these films fluctuate--Amazon's very own micro-market economy.) Anyway . . .
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner!
Luis Bunuel's "The Exterminating Angel", to put briefly, is about a dinner party in which afterwards, the guest will not leave. They sit and relax, take off their coats, lay down on the sofa, talk among each other. But no one makes an effort to leave. The guest realize what is going on. They are even puzzled by it, but no one walks out the door. This continues for over an hour and 30 minutes.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Movie   

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Mexican culture, for real
AMORES PERROS is one of the most ouststanding achievents for mexican cinema since it captivates a realistic portrait on personal relationships and life itself in our frequently misunderstood country.
So what?
This may be "how Mexico really is," but its not a good movie. After reading all the great reviews I was expecting much more. But like 21 Grams, it is just a movie about people you don't really care about because you don't get to know them well enough. You feel like a voyeur on other people's miserable lives and you never get inside their heads enough to really care. Its like watching a sit com, just splashed all over a big screen. There is too much violence without a point. The acting is good but the stories are blah, especially the middle one, and the themes are not developed very well. Its too much "film-making" without anough story. The style doesn't hook into the story and there is very little emotion generated. I simply didn't care, and I would never want to see it again.
Excellent, gritty film
To some of the reviewers who thought the film makers actually harmed the dogs in the fight sequences: if the legal disclaimer and press are to be believed, no animals were actually harmed in the making of this film (hence PETA wasn't that up in arms over it). Kudos to the film's special effects crew for offending so many viewer sensibilities. In fact, there's an anti animal cruelty undertone here to complement the anti human cruelty one.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This charming Cuban film details the unusual relationship between the flamboyant, educated Diego (Jorge Perugorría) and the young, homophobic, pro-Revolution David (Vladimir Cruz). Miserable at being dumped by his girlfriend, David at first spurns the attentions of Diego; however, at the prompting of his Communist roommate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), he cultivates an acquaintanceship with Diego in order to investigate his liberal leanings. Of course, Diego's cultured ways prove fascinating to the younger man and a true friendship grows. Add the slightly crazy neighbor Nancy (Mirta Ibarra), who frequently attempts suicide, as romantic fodder for David, and this playful drama becomes a heartwarming film. Disputed in its own country, this film was the first Cuban picture to be nominated for best foreign picture at the Academy Awards.Read more

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Dull
This is a foreign film from Cuba. It's a story of a developing friendship between a gay man Diego who enjoys the finer things in life and a young Communist student. A first the student David is repelled by Diego and had to be manipulated to go to Diego's apartment. Slowly, David becomes Diego's buddy and he explores new ways at looking at life. Diego neighbor Nancy gets romantically involved with David.
A Different Kind of Buddy Movie
In this unique type of buddy movie we see how easily friendship and tolerance flourish amid the paranoia of the day.
Excelente historia de amor
Esta es una historia del amor m�s all� de las preferencias sexuales. Habla de la tolerancia y de la posibilidad de comunicarnos con cualquier otro ser humano, aunque no piense como nosotros. La recomiendo totalmente. ... Read more

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Wonderful!A celebration of being different!
This is a delightful film by Argentine director Maria Luisa Bemberg (who directed her first film at age 56! - an inspiration to us all).The movie takes place in a small Argentine town by the name of San Jose de los Altares, some time in the 1930s.Like most small towns, it is a place filled with hypocrisy and gossip.When the movie opens, the camera catches the town priest without his pants (literally) in bed with his mistress, and we soon discover that the brothel is the place to go if you're looking for the mayor or other important town figures.Despite their peccadilloes, the town folk strive to keep up appearances.It is in this environment that Leonor attempts to "hide" the undeniable reality that her daughter is a dwarf.Leonor insists that it never be mentioned and attempts to compensate for Carlota's "defect" by giving her a superior education and upbringing.In order to repay her mother, Carlota does what she wants, including marrying the most sought after man in town (the now aging Marcello Mastrioanni - the legendary Italian actor best known for his roles in the films of Federico Fellini).However, the irony is that Carlota, unlike the others in San Andres de los Altares, is comfortable with who she "really" is, and is not interested in pretending to be someone she is not.In the end Carlota finally has to admit to herself that she would be happier in an environment where she can celebrate and show off her difference.
"Happiness is an undeniable condition."
In Marie Luisa Bemberg's film, "I Don't Want to Talk About It," by the time Carlotta is two years old, it's obvious that she's different. Her mother, well-to-do widow, Dona Leonor, refuses to discuss Carlotta's dwarfism with anyone, and she even goes as far as destroying any dwarf figurines and burning any copies of "Snow White" she can find. Dona Leonor's fierce protectiveness is only a form of denial, for in reality, Dona Leonor is ashamed of her daughter.Dona Leonor's attempts to cover Carlotta's dwarfism are especially transparent in social situations. Carlotta is raised with love and privilege in the small Argentinean town of San Jose de Los Altares during the 1930s. It's a town full of gossips and organized social events. No one mentions Carlotta's dwarfism, and she matures into an educated, accomplished young woman.
I do
Dwarf romances are rare in the cinema. Even the 1938 Terror of Tiny Town was a midget musical western. Argentine director Maria Luisa Bemberg (Camila, Miss Mary) bases her tale on a short story by Julio Llinas. Marcello Mastroianni falls in love with and marries Charlotte, the piano-playing dwarf daughter of Luisina Brando, but the dwarf leaves him and runs away with a visiting circus. The title refers to Brando's refusal to highlight her daughter's condition. It is obvious but also never identified. Her revenge is to burn books - Tom Thumb, Snow White, and Gulliver's Travels. Bemberg's film is slow to start and lags after the wedding and before the circus arrives, but for the most part manages to sustain a mood of mythic wonder. The smashing costumes by Graciela Galan and the delicate photography, which employs a glowing haze white, contribute to the effect. Bemberg is not afraid to play on the weirdness of the concept and even gives Mastroianni a tiny pet monkey to complete the menage a trois. It's a relief when Charlotte's mother is brave enough to laugh at the sight of her daughter and Mastroianni walking down the aisle. What is disappointing is that when someone does an accurate and very funny impersonation of Charlotte, they get slapped down. As the androgynous Charlotte, Alejandra Podesta has the unfortunate bad luck of looking like the possessed Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Mastroianni manages to never look silly which is quite an accomplishment considering what he is called upon to do. Brando's performance is as masterly as her namesake. She displays a wonderful physicality in the opening scene when she destroys dwarf statues, and her resemblance to British comedienne Tracey Ullmann is both visual and in her sensibility. Her laugh, and her reaction to Marcello's request to marry Charlotte are pure Ullmann. Bemberg gives us a lyrical shot of Charlotte riding a white horse and uses this moment to reveal Mastroianni's lust. She cleverly films Charlotte's discovery of the circus at dawn with a subjective camera so that the lion and the elephant look straight at us. Those jumbo eyes speak volumes. Charlotte in circus clothes is pure Fellini and Bemberg also uses low humour with a running gag about the mumbling Mayor. At times her tone is wobbly and the tale becomes unnecessarily complicated but she ends it hauntingly and leaves the audience satisfied. ... Read more

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I have seen better
This is a silly movie! Satirically depicting the sexually manipulative abilities of a historical figure, the movie alternates with every scene from silly to stupid. Although the movie is mildly entertaining, it lacks substance and I would not recommend it to anyone who is interested in experiencing Brazilian Cinema. It is a far cry from The City of God.

I didnt get it
This was supposed to be a story about a slave who used her wits to rise out of slavery.Not too much attention was given to her wits, unless you equate promiscuity with wits.I am sure Xica displayed other attributes than what this film displayed

what brazilians think of afro-brazilian women
A racist film that uses exotica and the most rabid stereotypes of black sexuality to sell a flawed product. Hopefully a proud, educated Afro-Brazilian will come along some day and tell the true story of Xica. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign    2. Foreign Film - Portugese    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. International    5. Movie   

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A Liberated Woman Of Independent Means
*warning: certain scenes analyzed which may reveal plot*
La mujer en Cuba
El retrato de Teresa (Pastor Vega, Cuba, 1979)Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. International    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

Hector Babenco, who went on to direct the acclaimed Read more

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Reviews (26)

There But For the Grace of God.......
This is a part of the world we live in. We have all played a part in not only creating this world, but allowing it to continue. Each and every day, with the choices we make, we either tear each other down or we build each other up. I happen to believe that we are responsible for each other. If we see a film like this and we take it to heart, then how can we be so self-indulgent and uncaring toward our fellow human beings? How can I buy an expensive car or TV or suit of clothes when there are people like this in the world? Can't I do something better with my money? When you witness these powerful and horrifying images, you get a chilling sense of what hell must be like.
A Hope for other "Pixotes"
The film Pixote depicts the real life crisis that is life for millions of street children in the world. This includes murder, corruption, rape, and countless other tragedies. This movie is a window into the world that exists for millions of real children. If you are interested in helping people who are in these situations, check out YWAM Brazil or World Vision, 2 organizations that work to bring God's hope and love to the most outcast and ignored. It is a shame for a movie like this to be watched but not followed up with action.

Graphic, truth, brilliant
Marvelously written, this film holds nothing back in looking at the dimensions and complexity of the lives of the homeless youth which make up Brazil.
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Editorial Review

Like cinematic dynamite, Read more

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Moving Brutality.
Life is hard and difficult.Unfortunately, for many people in the world life is also unbearably brutal.Living in the United States we often forget that, even if we grew up in impoverished small towns or in the slums of the inner city.CITY OF GOD is a film that examines the brutality of humanity in a housing project that is part of Rio de Janeiro.
Not just a movie, but also a Social Project
The movie was shot in one of the "favelas" in Rio de Janeiro, my home town... I used to drive by it all the time when going to the beach.
Life doesn't come with any guarentees
Intertwining the stories of various youths growing up in the slummy Rio de Janeiro suburb called the City of God.
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This Film is a "must see"
I have to agree with the positive reviews on this movie.I saw it several years ago, I think on PBS.It was so long ago I can't be sure but what I am sure is this movie continues to haunt me to this day.With the problems about the rendering to DVD, I hesitate to spend $86 and wait only for a better price or a better rendering.The producers and directors of this movie had enormous vision and created a world so alien to us that it pays respect to those characters in history, both Spanish and Native.It should not be missed or forgotten.

See the New World through the eyes of ancient explorers
This movie is so surreal! It places you inside the eyes of early Spaniards landing in the Americas- how they see the land and People, having only their life in a European context to relate. The viewer is drawn in by their fears and superstitions, the mystery of these unexplored places, and the clashes of cultures and difficulties of understanding. I saw a subtle message comparing the indigenous societies and shamans who were in sync with their surroundings, to the Catholicism of the time which seemed to be about fear, demons, and not part of the natural world(and did not save their lives either). Some scenes reminded me of Hieronymous Bosch paintings-as though the Spaniards thought they had decended into a Hell.
Fascinating and Entertaining
Complaints about how this film departs from the original memoir are unfair for two reasons:
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Sharper and deeper than Robin Williams's previous road material, Read more

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hilarious
one of the most hilarious comidic acts i have ever seen. i love it. watched it four times in the first week and a half.

Always great
Always have loved Robin Williams and this is just the latest in a long line of things to love.It's good to see his stand up routines again

Funny as Hell
For the last 5 or so years, movies based on the lives of serial killers are released straight-to-video. Other titles include Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gacy, Speck, and Nightstalker. I've seen the first three and they were crap. They didn't stick to the facts, they were laughable, and they were just plain horrible. "Evilenko" is based on the novel "The Communist Who Ate Children" by David Grieco; Who writes and directs this film. Evilenko is not a real person, but merely inspired by one; Andrie Chikatilo. Chikatilo was a serial killer of young children during the Soviet Union, but to tell you the truth I don't know much about him. I know that he took the eyes of most of the people he killed and that he was kept in a cage during his trial, to keep the families of his victims from harming him. Even though this film is obviously inspired by Chikatilo, it's just like the other serial killer films...Completely different from his life. It's also an incredibly dull movie, but I'm giving it a C because I do give props to Grieco for changing the name. First off, I only rented this because the only thing I've seen Malcolm McDowell in was "A Clockwork Orange," a film that left a great actor typecast. I've never seen another film with McDowell and the only movies I've heard of with him in it are "The Company" and "The Barber." He's a pretty good actor and he's the highlight of this movie. As Evilenko he hits the right notes; He's capable of getting that crazy look in his eye, while still being vulnerable. He did the same thing in Clockwork. Anyway, basically the plot is...Former schoolteacher Andrej Evilenko is fired, at which point he begins raping and killing woman...But never onscreen. The blood and gore factor in this movie is actually surprisingly minimal. Borderline nonexistent. Eventually, a detective and psychiatric profiler get involved to bring Evilenko to justice...But not until after he's killed more than 50 people. The movie drags on, something a little gore could have helped to speed along; It's not disturbing, although it tries to be and the scene where he attempts to rape a student is probably the most disturbing scene in the film. Problem is, you still have over 100 minutes to endure after that. If you didn't like the serial-killer movies I mentioned above