By William Frasca. It’s no surprise that Marvel’s Avengers would be a success, but after its opening weekend in the US taking in over $200 million, and shattering the top box office record of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the new question is what can these superhero […]
SXSW Film Festival 2012
By Jacob Mertens. Nestled in the heart of the Austin Convention Center, I stand in a line that stretches around the perimeter, coiling in on itself like a writhing boa constrictor. Herein lies the hub of SXSW, hosting event registration, the Vimeo Theater, and several floors of conference rooms and […]
Film International 56: Coming soon!
May 9, 2012
Cinema’s Civil War Sesquicentennial: Top twelve histories filmed with lightning Why so many cinematic/TV works about the War Between the States? Why has this genre attracted vast audiences and enjoyed enduring popularity? From plantations to Harpers Ferry to Fort Sumter to Gettysburg to Appomattox Courthouse to Lincoln’s assassination, Civil War […]
1980-something
By Guilhem Caillard. A look at two striking films presented at this year’s 35th Göteborg International Film Festival (Sweden). Known for its emphasis on Nordic cinema, the Göteborg International Film Festival, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, has once again lived up to its reputation. Among the eight feature-length […]
Private Romeo: A Conversation with Alan Brown
By Tom Ue. Writer and director Alan Brown’s most recent feature – his fourth – Private Romeo, won a Grand Jury Prize at 2011 Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles, and was a Critic’s Pick of The New York Times, which wrote that, “Shakespeare himself would spring for a ticket […]
Keyhole (2011): A SXSW Review
By Jacob Mertens. The muted wail of sirens fills the air and a languid spotlight scrolls over the wall, penetrating the tattered guts of a rundown Victorian house. Men lie on the floor dead or dying, blood pooling over the floor boards as other men pace over their prostrated bodies. […]
The Fourth Dimension (2012) and other Highlights from the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival
By Janine Gericke. This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, which ends on May 3, has offered an array of spectacular films. One of the many films that stood out for me was the anthology film The Fourth Dimension. The Fourth Dimension brings together three short films by U.S. director […]
The Raid: Redemption (2011): A SXSW Review
By Jacob Mertens. A SWAT team skulks up a staircase in a rundown tenement, shrouded in the unnatural glow of dim fluorescents. Their movements are precise and silent, and they strain their ears for the faintest sound. Loud speakers are attached to the stairwell and the hallways, begging for a […]
That Hurtful Mask – in memory of Erland Josephson (1923-2012)
By Jonathan Rozenkrantz. As I watch Fanny and Alexander (1982) for the first time since childhood, I am caught not so much in the grip of Ingmar Bergman’s “cinemagic” filmmaking (which, in my opinion, is at its weakest in this particular film). Rather, I find myself in an uneasy clinch […]
Abel Gance’s Magnificent Napoléon
By Janine Gericke. On March 24, 25, 31 and April 1, 2012, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival proudly presented Abel Gance’s five and a half hour epic Napoléon at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre presented by film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, along with the British Film Institute, American Zoetrope, the Film Preserve, and Photoplay Productions. Brownlow’s love of this film began in the 1950s, when […]