Film Review: Leonor Will Never Die
The twenty-first century has seen a renewed fascination with the art of filmmaking and the very essence of cinema. This has led to a number of films which have been both a celebration of the process and enjoyed breaking the fourth wall. To exit one narrative and enter a completely new one. This form of …
Blu-ray Review: The Trial
There are probably no other American directors who can hold a candle to Orson Welles when it comes to being an enigma. The larger-than-life figure left a huge mark on cinema. He was a genius who had a habit of starting a project and then getting distracted. Or running out of money. Then again, when …
Blu-Ray Review: The Teckman Mystery
Today, while women still struggle to experience a level playing with men when it comes to filmmaking, it was rare to see anyone but a white man behind the camera in post-war Britain. Indeed, along with Muriel Box, Wendy Toye was one of the only pioneering female directors during the 1950s and 1960s. She started …
Blu-Ray Review: The Draughtsman’s Contract
Of all the British directors of the last 50 years, Peter Greenaway is arguably the most interesting. A painter by training, he brought this art into every inch of his filmmaking. Every shot feels meticulously composed. Celluloid is his canvas. Using landscape and portrait to ensure that each scene is impeccably constructed. Using nature as …
IDFA Review: Racist Trees
While America will claim that it’s a multicultural country which treats all its citizens the same, it has a really troubling history with race. While slavery was officially abolished in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act a hundred years later that segregation and discrimination on the grounds of race became illegal. …
Blu-Ray Review: Reservoir Dogs
When Quentin Tarantino released Reservoir Dogs in 1992, it had a huge impact on Hollywood. The early 1990s were a time of change. A scrappy, almost risqué, period, when a DIY ethos and ‘pulp fiction’ were enjoying a renaissance. He would go on to have a profound influence on a generation of filmmakers. A voracious …
IDFA Review: Much Ado About Dying
As a society, we are both living longer than ever before and also much more likely to have chosen to live somewhere far away from home. This creates a number of problems in itself. Traditional family support structures are less likely to still be in place. At the same time, the social care sector is …
Film Review: My Neighbour Adolf
Today, the internet is overrun by a myriad of peculiar and ridiculous conspiracy theories. Most of which are dangerous and harmful in one way of another. This is not a new phenomenon though. Far from it. The moon landing, Roswell and JFK are examples of three which have remained popular decades later. The idea that …
IDFA Review: Look What You Made Me Do
One in three women has experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner, such as pushing, shoving and slapping. A quarter have suffered this in a more extreme form, including sexual violence, stalking and actual bodily harm. The vast majority of the perpetrators in these cases are men. The levels of protection afforded …
IDFA Review: The Lost Souls of Syria
One of the biggest issues in holding despots and authoritarian regimes to account is how to prosecute offenders for their crimes. There is the International Criminal Court, but not all countries, including the United States, Russia and China, have signed up to it. You can try the UN, but it’s likely that someone will veto …