That Hamilton Woman (1941)

No connection to the subject of Hamilton here. It's another historical figure from around the same era: Emma Hamilton. Even if her name doesn't ring a bell, you may have seen her portraits by George Romney, Joshua Reynolds, and others.

Emma (Vivien Leigh) is heavily implied to have been licentious in youth, until Charles Francis Greville (not portrayed herein) courted her into upper-class society. Alas, he's not the type to follow through on proposals, and Emma marries his uncle, Lord Hamilton (Alan Mowbray), ambassador to Naples, out of sheer convenience. This convenience does become pretty cushy, but it is hardly surprising to anyone that her heart should wander from her husband, especially upon meeting Admiral Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier).

The Distinguished Citizen (2016)

Another Argentine film in the same month? What can I say? The Latin American Film Festival is still going, and I had a Meetup invitation. Might be the last Spanish-language entry I see for the year. (I'm visiting Peru in January, so I'll probably see others then.)

Daniel Montovani is a rich novelist and Nobelist in Spain who does not take popularity well, as he believes that True Art is too shocking to be popular. He turns down all kinds of honors and events -- until he makes an exception for one in his former hometown of Salas, Argentina (not based on a real one). He even goes without his agent or any notice to the press for a change. Salas folk are generally ecstatic to have him put the remote town on the map, but his rude habits catch up with him....

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Well, what do you know: I saw another Andrei Tarkovsky picture after all. Admittedly, I missed his name when I selected it, but there's no missing the bleak imagery on the poster for what has also been marketed as My Name Is Ivan. You can tell right away that Ivan does not have an enviable childhood.

Ivan is 12 but rarely acts that young, being eager to serve the USSR against invading Germans. His motive: revenge for his family, as we see in flashbacks. His advantage: small stature for spy stealth. His disadvantage: age-based lack of respect as an equal by adult allies, who'd rather send him to a military academy than to the front. He spends a lot of time waiting impatiently for a task, seemingly forgetful that there are much worse things in war than boredom or a sense of futility.

State of the Union (1948)

I didn't think I'd care to see a political comedy-drama on screen after getting so much of it in reality lately. But when Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and 22-year-old Angela Lansbury are being directed by Frank Capra, the subject hardly matters to me.

There appears to be a double meaning to the title. The marriage of airplane industrialist Grant (Tracy) and Mary (Hepburn) Matthews is on the rocks, with Grant having a paramour in newspaper magnate heiress Kay Thorndyke (Lansbury). But Kay is willing to sacrifice her extramarital relationship for political sway as she taps Grant to run for president, which pretty much requires the apparent support of his wife. He warms up to the idea in light of his strong convictions, and so does Mary, despite his continual business-related proximity to Kay. The real trouble arises when his backers talk him into compromises to maximize his chance at election.

The Big Country (1958)

I said before that I couldn't really characterize William Wyler's directorial style. Now I must be getting the hang of it, because as I watched TBC, I thought of two others: Friendly Persuasion and The Westerner. They're all set in the 19th century and have protagonists who are big on peace.

Rather unusually for a western, the hero in this one, James McKay (Gregory Peck), is a ship captain -- and a fish out of water. He comes to the frontier because it's home to Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), his intended. Apparently, no one warned him that her wealthy father, Henry (Charles Bickford), is leading one side of a feud with the rugged Hannassey clan, led by Rufus (Burl Ives), over access to a waterhole on land owned by Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who's on good terms with Jim and Pat but unwilling to sell to either patriarch. Like Julie, Jim doesn't let social closeness color his judgment of the situation. But to call him neutral would be misleading; he simply seeks a third option....

Such Is Life in the Tropics (2016)

I briefly visited Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 2012. It was a mostly pleasant visit, but I recall, in a seemingly quiet and pretty neighborhood, two cops talking in serious tones near a young woman lying on a bench. Was she drugged? Dead? I never found out. But it came to mind during this Guayaquil-set film, whose native title, Sin muertos no hay carnaval, more accurately translates to "Without dead bodies, there's no carnival."

Some 250 people are squatting on land that theoretically belongs to one mobster, but his father had neglected it. A liaison has been collecting "rent" (read: protection money) from the squatters while assuring them that he's working to get their residency legalized, but they're getting impatient. Alas, so is he, and it doesn't take much of a challenge from them to get him to threaten someone's life -- or have someone carry out that threat. An impudent teen boy, out to protect his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend, learns this the hard way.

In This Our Life (1942)

This film is notable in part for inspiring the name of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley. Many viewers, as well as readers of the original book, wonder why Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) and her sister Roy (Olivia de Havilland) have masculine names; none of my sources provide a definite answer. My guess is that at least one of their parents or grandparents really wanted a son.

Regardless, at least one of these Virginian aristocrats has something wrong with her: Stanley, engaged to Fleming (George Brent), instead runs off with her brother-in-law, Peter (Dennis Morgan). Once the divorce is finalized, Peter and Stanley marry, and Roy tries taking up with Fleming. That could've been the end of it, but things don't work out so well with Peter, and spoiled Stanley, quite used to taking whatever she wants, makes another play for Fleming....

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

I saw this screening at AFI almost on a whim -- and almost talked myself out of it, because I've been apprehensive about it since it was new. It remains rather popular, but some viewers make it sound too weird and/or depressing. I had walked in on a private viewing in college for half a minute and found it simultaneously funny and irritating, if only for the frantic camera shifts. But 16 years is plenty of time to get used to the trend, as with some films I mostly enjoy, so I bit the bullet.

The title refers to a Parisian cabaret led by a Mr. Zidler (Jim Broadbent), where, through a series of unlikely events I won't spoil, starving but aspiring writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) develops innocently loving feelings for showgirl/prostitute Satine (Nicole Kidman), who's expected to entertain a duke (Richard Roxburgh) instead. When the duke finds them in a somewhat compromising position, they and their associates quickly make a big lie about rehearsing a new musical for the duke to finance -- one with a plot awfully similar to the actual semi-menage a trois they're in, so it seems only a matter of time before the duke catches on. But he and the nature of Satine's profession may not be the biggest threats to Christian's romance, as Satine has developed symptoms of TB.

Wild Tales (2014)

I must be a junkie for popular flicks. All I knew when I rented this one was its placement on IMDb's top 250. The opening credits in Spanish took me by surprise; I actually paused to make sure Netflix didn't send the wrong disc. Sure enough, WT is from Argentina.

It's also six short stories, not alternating but one after another, with only the running theme of stress to tie them together. Before the title screen, strangers on a plane discover that they have a former acquaintance in common -- and it might not be coincidence. In story 2, a waitress at a nearly empty restaurant recognizes a mobster who wronged her family, and the chef favors a poisoning. Story 3 consists of road rage way out on a country road, still cranked up to 11. Story 4 sees a man contesting a towing charge when the no-parking zone wasn't marked. In story 5, wealthy parents try to ensure that their young adult son doesn't go to prison for a deadly, probably drunken hit-and-run. In story 6, a bride finds compelling evidence at the wedding that the groom cheated on her.

Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report (1955)

Mr. Arkadin (ar KAH din) is notorious for having an especially problematic production, even for one featuring and directed by Orson Welles. You see, he had missed one deadline too many and gotten dismissed from the creative process by producer Louis Dolivet (better known for politics than film). At least five edits saw theatrical release, none with Welles' approval. The cut retitled Confidential Report, running 98 minutes, is neither the most widely seen version overall nor the one thought to be closest to what Welles ultimately had in mind; more likely it stems from an earlier draft.

Like in Citizen Kane, the plot involves examination of the past life of a rich man played by Welles. This time, the man in question actually calls for the examination -- confiding to narrator-protagonist Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) that he himself can't remember who he was before 1927. Guy travels to multiple countries to find answers, and the picture he pieces together is a good deal uglier than Kane's. Gregory Arkadin (sporting a strange yet aptly hybrid accent for Welles) wants this information forgotten from the world -- at all costs.