WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: MISSING HOME

An Indonesian comedy drama involving a family with a big conflict. A father with a huge male dominant ego who tried to stick to traditional values. The conflicts arose within the family, the children and wife who had to live their modern lives following the current social norm went against their father eventually.

The movie is interesting as the audience was exposed to the rich culture of Batak ethnic. And at the same time, a serious theme of family love and value was discussed thoroughly. It reminded me of my trip to Medan many years ago.

The original title of the movie is "Ngeri Ngeri Sedap" by the way.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "FOUND"

Once upon a time in China, there was a policy which allowed parents to have one child. Because of this, people were forced to give away their children, especially girls, for adoption. "Found" is a documentary of three cousins who were adopted by American families and they tried to trace their biological father and mother with the help of an agency.

A very touching real life story and would be emotional to the audience, especially to those who can relate.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "VIZONTELE"

Another Turkish movie which narrates the life of people in a small town back in the early 70's. Everyone seemed to live a simple life until the moment the first television set arrived from Ankara for the villagers. Hence the title "vizontele" which I think means "television" in English. The mayor, with the help with the strange but genius person, tried very hard to install the transmitter and to get the television set working so that people could enjoy the technology. It was successful eventually, people were happy that they could get the latest news live on air but there is a twist in the tale. It all ended in sadness, and the comedic movie turned into somewhat an unexpected tragedy to the mayor's family.

Another surprising brilliant Turkish movie you have to watch. There is a price to pay for the new technology that arrives and perhaps you can relate to what is happening to us now.

I just found out there is another movie which is entitled "Vizontele Tuubaz" which is the sequel to this one. I must now find the continuation of the story after this.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "LORENA LIGHT-FOOTED WOMAN"

The documentary which records the life of Lorena, a Mexican woman of the Tarahumahar clan. She was an extraordinary person as she ran the ultramarathon [extreme long distance cross country race] in her long skirt and sandal - yes, there was no proper running shoes. And yet, she had won many international competitions.

She is a living proof that one just needs a strong body and determination, and nothing else to succeed.

And here is another documentary of Lorena. She is in fact an inspiring individual - the one who still sticks to what she believes is the best for her and there is no need to even change.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE CLIMB"

The story of Samy, who climbed Mount Everest, to win the heart of the girl she loved, Nadia.

This French movie makes mountaineering for the protagonist who had neither training no experience so easy but surprisingly, it was based on a true story.

I just hope I could visit Kathmandu one day.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "NOTES FOR MY SON"

The story of Maria, a mother who was dying because of ovarian cancer. While she was warded in the hospital, many of her friends came visiting - showing their love and compassion. Maria realized that she would soon be gone began writing lines and words of wisdom for her son Tony so he could remember his mother when he grew up. Based on a true story, Maria had to be sedated in the end and put to sleep to end her suffering. Instead of a sad movie, I saw how the story depicted love, friendship and one's determination to fight and stay positive. 

Another Argentinian movie for me in Spanish. I think I could now learn Spanish on my own on Youtube as I found the structure and many words similar to the English language.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE SECRET DIARY OF AN EXCHANGE STUDENT"

The [mis]adventure of two BFFs: Barbara and Taila, who went to the USA from Brazil as exchange students. They had to go through a lot of obstacles and challenges before going back home, becoming more experienced and successful people. Something light and funny that you could watch if you want a stress-free movie. This should be my first Brazilian Portuguese speaking movie.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "MISS INDIA"

This is a Telugu movie telling the story of Manasa Samyukta who was no ordinary Indian girl and had her own dreams in life. Even after the whole family migrated to the USA, they still believed that a girl should just get married and settled down. Manasa however rebelled and worked diligently and persevered to build her Indian tea empire despite all the challenges and obstacles. It was eventually a success story and don't we all love a happy ending.

I watched the movie because I thought it was about the life of a Miss World/Miss Universe but I was wrong. It was a shift for once watching the business entrepreneurs living in a dog-eats-dog world, and I guess it is just the same everywhere. If I am not mistaken, the movie is based on a true story.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "MIMI"

Mimi, a young Indian lady, decided to become a surrogate mother to the baby of an American couple, John and Summer, as she needed the money. However, during her pregnancy, the doctor speculated that the baby would be mentally challenged and the couple abandoned Mimi, and this left her in a huge and complicated mess. After many years, after the child, Raja, had grown bigger, and John and Summer went back to India and made their appearance, trying to get back Raja from Mimi. After all the trouble Mimi had gone through and the love she and her family members had showered on the child she bore, this was not something easy to do. THE QUESTION IS: will Raja be taken back to America by his biological parents? You have to find the answer yourself.

A movie with a different theme and no scene involving the filthy rich Indians. And there was only one dancing scene in the beginning of the movie - as Mimi was actually a dancer. Something you could watch and some people might shed some tears towards the end of the story.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "A PEREFCT FIT"

Saski was a fashion designer who was supposed to be married to Dino as her parents were indebted to her in-laws' to be. Rio was a shoemaker in Bali who also involved in his family's arranged marriage ritual. Then their fate crossed. They were both attracted to each other when Saski first met him at his shoe shop and the rest was history. If you like a love story with young and handsome/beautiful actors/actresses, then this is one movie you will enjoy.

As for me, I was hoping to see any familiar places in Bali that visited a long time ago but I think most of the scenes were shot somewhere else, and not on the island. 😀

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE ENDLESS TRENCH"

Higinio had to go into hiding in his house as he feared of being killed because of the political conflict he was involved in during the Spanish Civil War. First he had to seek refuge in a small hole dug under the kitchen floor in his house. After that, he managed to find a small room behind the wall of his father's house. With the assistance of his loyal wife, Rosa, he was able to survive even though he was physically cut off from the outside world. At one point, when the political scenario in Spain had already changed, Higinio still refused to go out and meet people because he still believed people were still hunting him down. However, Rosa and his son already got tired of the drama and lies they had to live and finally, after 33 years, Higinio stepped out of the house and realized people didn't even recognize or care who he was after all.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "BIKING BORDERS"

 

The digital documentation of the adventure of two German friends, Max and Nono, who cycled from one continent to the other, from Berlin across to Beijing. The whole journey took months along the 15000 kilometres route - through all the seasons, and how they had to endure the cruel winter in one leg of the expedition.

They were actually cycling for a good cause as they successfully bagged a lot of money from donation to build two schools in a Guatemala so that children could get proper education. The target to achieve was Euro 50K.

Other than that, from their travel experience, they had a lot of new things. One of which, humanity still existed. Along their way to the destination, they met a lot of people who possessed the hearts of gold, offering them food and opening their doors of their houses for two complete strangers to spend the nights in warmth of their houses, Surprisingly Max and Nono found Iran was the safest place for them to stay and people were very friendly - something that was totally different from what had been portrayed by the media. The best part of this documentary is I found that these two young men were the best of friends as there was not a moment where we could see they were at a disagreement or quarrel [unless it was not shown on screen 😀].

I am already watching another cycling adventure on Netflix, even though it reminds me how I miss traveling so much.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE LIGHTHOUSE OF THE ORCAS"

[ARGENTINIAN MOVIE] Beto was a marine park ranger who worked with whales and sea lions, and the character was based on a real human being. In a faraway land in Spain, Lola, the mother of an autistic son, Tristan, saw Beto's video on Youtube. Believing that interaction between sea mammals and humans could "cure" her son, Lola and Tristan traveled all the way to see Beto. Initially things did not seem to work as planned but eventually, Tristan made a lot of progress and managed to establish communication with the whale.

The whole thing was slow-moving and melodramatic so if you are looking for some actions, this would something you would not find here. Still, I wonder how could they tame the huge sea creature for filming, or was it a CGI techniques used throughout. A must watch movie for animal lovers.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "A FORTUNATE MAN"

Peter Sidenius came from an orthodox and conservative Jewish family. He decided to go to Copenhagen to pursue his studies in Engineering in a polytechnic, against his father's will. He was a young and brilliant engineer who came up with ideas and inventions that could transform Denmark into a modern and develop country. However, he had to work hard to get not only financial support but also political influence to turn his dreams into reality and the best thing he could do was to live within the circle of the rich and famous. He then courted the daughter of Salamon, the family of a rich Jewish family but in the end, he married another woman. How would I describe Peter? A cunning man, an opportunist and a womanizer. All these words complement each other well.

One heavy drama, with a complicated plot, and if you are expecting a happy ending to this movie, that is not going to happen. I seriously need to watch a comedy after this.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "L'ULTIMO PARADISO"

It was Italian this time, "The Last Paradise" tells the story of the oppression of the rich against the poor, the conflict between the employer and the olive pickers in the farm/plantation. The only person who was brave to stand up and fight was Ciccio who openly criticize and condemned Cuppa Schettino, the evil landlord. The problem was Ciccio was a married man and at the same time, he was having an affair with his enemy's daughter. When Cuppa found out about this, he mercilessly killed Ciccio and then there was Ciccio's twin brother, Antonio, who came back [from Paris?] to attend the funeral and to take revenge on his brother's death. Things got messier and more complicated after that, and I actually had to do some research on the Internet to find out what was really going on, or else I would not be able to write this piece of review.

The whole story was dark and solemn, even the happy moments were celebrated in secrecy. Enough of stressful drama, I really have to watch a comedy after this.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE DIG''

When Edith Pretty wanted to find out what was hidden under the small on her land, she hired an experienced excavator Basil Brown to do the job. People were quite pessimist about the whole idea but when Basil Brown started to discover a ship buried underneath the soil, people of higher authority started to show deep interest, including the British Museum. As usual, there are other interesting subplots and dramas intertwined but everything was beautifully done. The movie is based on a true story [READ HERE] and I know if I have the chance to go to the UK again, I must make sure I will visit the British Museum.

Another great movie not to be missed but I need to watch a comedy after this. Too much serious drama is not good for me.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ROCK MY HEART"

Jana, a 19-year old girl, who was tired of life as she had a congenital heart defect and she was like waiting for the time to die. She, however, had this gift of taming a wild race horse which anyone else could not do. She embarked on a new adventure, training and taking part in a race with the horse she bonded with: Rock My Heart, with the support of his boyfriend, Samy - who sadly died before the race because of similar health problem. To her, the horse carried the strong and healthy heart that she did not have and kept her alive. A few parts of the movie might make you shed some tears.

Highly recommended if you are looking for some dramas - happiness and sorrow, love and the beautiful relationship between a human and a horse. I didn't expect the German movie would be a wonderful watch and it was worth every single minute of the 2 hours [almost] sitting in front of my PC.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ALI'S WEDDING"

 Ali, was born in Iraq but living in Melbourne, had to live up to the society's and family's expectation. His father who was the respected cleric and imam of the Muslim community, set a high hope that Ali would study medicine in university and become a doctor. It had forced Ali to tell the biggest lie ever in order to make everyone happy to know that he had achieved the goal just like what people wanted. At the same time, he fell in love with an intelligent Lebanese girl but was forced to marry a girl of the family's choice. There are just too many conflicts in this drama, especially when the immigrants' effort to still preserve and practice their traditional culture and religious beliefs in Australia. However, the whole story was not heavy though and you could still enjoy watching as there were quite a number of funny scenes throughout, not to forget the romance between Ali and Dianne.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ALI & RATU RATU QUEENS"

 Ali's mother left him and his father when Ali was still 5 years old, to chase after her dream in New York. She never returned until her son had become a teenager and her husband died. Ali then decided to search for his long lost mom in New York and with the help of a group of Indonesian ladies, they managed to track her down. THE QUESTION IS: will Ali's mother accept the son she had once abandoned many years ago?

An Indonesian movie about love, family relationship and friendship. Something you could easily enjoy without any inner conflicts or complicated story line. And you get to see New York from the eyes of other South East Asians. 😀

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "SILVER SKATES"

This is a classic love story between two people of different social hierarchies. Matvey, the pickpocket-expert on the streets of St. Petersburg who then met Alisa, the intelligent and beautiful daughter of a Russian minister. As love conquered all, these two young lovers fled to Paris so Alisa could get into university, something that women could not do in Russia back in 1900's. If you are looking for a light, romantic drama with the beautiful scenes of St. Petersburg in winter in the background AND a happy ending, then this is one movie you could opt for. This should be my first Russian film but would definitely not be the last.