By Ali Moosavi. Somehow I had not seen any of Celine Sciamma’s films until watching Portrait of a Lady on Fire at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it was in the main completion section. The beginning of the film can serve as a lesson for any budding screenwriter in […]
Screening Communities: Negotiating Narratives of Empire, Nation, and the Cold War in Hong Kong Cinema by Jing Jing Chang
Tony Williams
May 24, 2019
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Hong Kong cinema studies has received detailed coverage over the decades in works written about specific periods and studios such as Shaw Bros and Cathay in addition to focus on various directors and stars. Since the beginning of the Hong Kong Film Festival (1976- […]
Where Has the Film Gone?: My Son
May 24, 2019
By Gary M. Kramer. My Son purports to be a taut thriller about a desperate father’s search for his missing seven-year-old son. However, while this efficient French film includes a few tense moments, it also has more than its fair share of frustrating ones. Director Christian Carion, who also co-wrote […]
A Traditional Period Piece: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Cannes 2019)
Ali Moosavi
May 22, 2019
By Ali Moosavi. Twenty-five years ago Pulp Fiction premiered at Cannes, won the Palm D’Or, and had an everlasting impact on the art of film making. Numerous films have been influenced by its structure, and the term “Tarantinoesque” has become commonplace. This year, Tarantino was back in Cannes to unveil […]
A Disquieting Tale: Unarmed Man
May 21, 2019
By Elias Savada. Harold Jackson III is a very focused, and quite talented, individual. He does just about everything in Unarmed Man, his latest feature: executive producer, producer, director, writer, director of photography. He handles all chores well, as he has done for most of his career as a DC-based filmmaker, […]
Almodovar Most Personal: Pain and Glory (Cannes 2019)
Ali Moosavi
May 20, 2019
By Ali Moosavi. Pain and Glory is Pedro Almodovar at his most personal and confessional, in the same vein as Bad Education (2004). Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) is a writer-director who has not worked for a number of years. One of his old films has been restored, and he has […]
Sundance Film Festival – in London!
May 20, 2019
The word Sundance to cinephiles tends to be synonymous with images of Robert Redford against a backdrop of snow-covered Utah. However, now it’s possible to sample the Sundance films in London. Sundance Film Festival: London 2019, is taking place 30 May – 2 June at Picturehouse Central, London. The four- […]
Martial Art: Zhang Yimou’s Shadow
Jeremy Carr
May 17, 2019
By Jeremy Carr. Zhang Yimou has had a remarkable career, one distinguished by its approximate division into two distinct phases. There were first his mostly regional dramas, intimate, relatively moderate titles like his 1987 debut, Red Sorghum, 1990’s Ju Dou, and 1999’s The Road Home, still perhaps his best film. […]
Dystopias in Disguise: Aniara
May 17, 2019
By John Duncan Talbird. In 1956, Swedish author Harry Martinson wrote an epic poem called Aniara. It tells the story of the eponymous transportation ship which, on the way to Mars, loses control of its steering and hurtles off-course through outer space carrying three thousand people. The author went onto win […]
Coming of Age with Care: the 21st Maryland Film Festival (2019)
May 16, 2019
By Gary M. Kramer. Now in its 21st year, the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore is a showcase for eclectic independent features, shorts, and documentaries. This year’s program features films both homegrown and far-flung. Here is a rundown of several films that played at the fest. Mickey and the Bear establishes […]