Highlights from Il Cinema Ritrovato XL (Part IV)

Eight Girls in a Boat

Final part of my recommendations from Il Cinema Ritrovato 2026. — EK

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Tol'able David

Dir: Henry King | USA, 1921

We dedicated a retrospective to Henry King’s sound films in 2019, and this is the perfect opportunity to catch up with what both King and his admirers regarded as his first true masterwork. The film bears touches of autobiography in its depiction of the pre-industrial rural milieu from which King himself emerged. It tells the story of a shy country youth who is branded a coward but ultimately proves his courage. To be screened in 35mm.

Khaspush (Hamo Beiknazarian, 1928)

The original poster in Russian

 A Soviet production by the Armenian director Hamo Beiknazarian, Khaspush dramatises the Tobacco Revolt of 1890 in which an influential clergyman issued fatwa and banned the use of Tabaco after a Qajar king offered tobacco concession to the United Kingdom.