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      City of Pirates

      1983 1 hr. 51 min. Drama Fantasy Horror List
      Reviews 75% 100+ Ratings Audience Score A melancholic maidservant crosses paths with a homicidal boy, travels to a tiny island of pirates, and encounters a man with multiple personalities. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Jack P A lurid childhood fantasy tale, but someone let David Lynch help. It's incredible to read what other people take away from this movie. In my opinion, it's not a murder mystery (hey actually I'm almost positive about this one) or a thriller, and it doesn't lack "any visible plot". It is very surreal and dream-logicy, but the story clearly follows Isidore on some sort of journey. Ok, I know that doesn't make me sound like an authority, because I'm not. But there IS a narrative here and interesting characters, and I'm tired of people saying otherwise. Genre wise, it's a bit fantasy, a bit drama, a bit horror, a bit arthouse (is that a genre?). It defies classification. Anyway, this is one of the most incredible movies I have ever seen. I can't recommend it enough. "I have two loves, my country and Paris..." Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/12/17 Full Review Audience Member Stunning piece of surrealist filming--Sheer visual brilliance!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Cinema reaching surreal grandeur. Celluloid history has now left one of its privileged high thrones for an alternate genius of breathtaking storytelling, armed with beautiful techniques: an editing and cinematography of Welles, the surreal brilliance of Buñuel and the artistic poetry of Cocteau. The result is an explosion of perfection in every sense, in every allegory, in every frame, in every orgy of images, in every shot of the sea as the central juggernaut of unavoidable attacks and psychological vibrations. Five minutes after the last shot (the one with the shadow), I started to get red eyes and was on the verge of crying (literally). 99/100 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A compilation of episodes that range from the comedic to the bizarre... without a core storyline. Am sure this will appeal to a niche audience but unfortunately, it's not my type of movie though I must admit, some of the scenes were breathtakingly beautiful. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Much of the pleasure & complexity Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member This was truly beautiful to look at, especially the crazed color schemes. Beyond that, I'd really have to watch it again before I could say much about it or even if I particularly liked it. What's it about? Oh, I don't know: identity shifts, family members who kill each other, gender confusions, Nietzsche's Eternal Return, ghosts, and on and on. I will say, on first impression, I found the film more whimsical than unsettling which isn't the case with the many other films Ruiz made around this time. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (3) Critics Reviews
      Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Ruiz is perhaps the only director to extend the play of fantasy to the level of form: his methods are as wildly imaginative as his subjects, and his films are games we play by trying to discover the rules. Jun 6, 2019 Full Review Donald J. Levit ReelTalk Movie Reviews There is lots of furious energy here and arresting visuals signifying an arguable nothing, but also lots of fun for some. Feb 17, 2014 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Of note, there is no city or pirates. Rated: B+ Mar 11, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A melancholic maidservant crosses paths with a homicidal boy, travels to a tiny island of pirates, and encounters a man with multiple personalities.
      Director
      Raúl Ruiz
      Executive Producer
      Paulo Branco
      Screenwriter
      Raúl Ruiz
      Genre
      Drama, Fantasy, Horror
      Original Language
      French (Canada)