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I’m a bit partial to a zombie movie and this Irish take by David Freyne weaves an exploration of power and marginalisation with some satisfying action and horror. Continue reading
The Cured (2017)
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Morocco (1930)
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The chance to see Marlena Dietrich, in a tuxedo, kiss a woman was enough to get me to Morocco. I love punctuating my MIFF experience with the nostalgia of a classic and any of the 30s black-and-white dramas and melodramas are like entering a different universe. Continue reading
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017)
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My film before this one, Ukrainian Donbass, was an unrelenting, grubby onslaught of caricature, corruption and violence. Following it with 100 minutes with Ryuichi Sakamoto was like a balm for the heart and soul. Continue reading
Mug (Twarz) (2018)
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Not as blackly comedic as I was expecting, more bleakly tragic, Malgorzata Szumowska’s Mug doesn’t hide its overt criticism of the hypocrisy of religious complacency, as shown by the narrowmindedness of the people of a rural Polish town. Continue reading
First Reformed (2017)
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Dear Paul Schrader,
I have just finished watching your latest film, First Reformed, which starts Ethan Hawke as the Reverend Ernst Toller, a man facing a personal crisis. I am wondering, did you intend this to be an ode to the ills and delights of patriarchy or did you think you were telling a universal story? Continue reading
Cold War (Zimna Wojna) (2018)
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Pawel Pawlikowski has crafted a bleak and beautiful tribute to the joys and violence of love and ideology. Continue reading
Burning (버닝) (2018)
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My daughter is teaching herself Korean and before I left for MIFF, she taught me how to say, “I’m tired. However, I want to watch a movie” in Korean. I thought of her when I saw Burning in the sumptuous Versailles that is the Regent Theatre. Continue reading
Sorry Angel (Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite) (2018)
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This exquisite and heartbreaking film by Christophe Honoré felt like a more whimsical but no less real partner to last year’s BPM. The Anglicised title doesn’t do it justice, and I prefer the original that loosely translates as “pleasure, love and run fast.” Continue reading
Ága (2018)
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Sparse and visually poetic, Milko Lazarov’s Ága immerses us in the spartan life of elderly Yakut reindeer herders, Nanook (Mikhail Aprosimov) and Sedna (Feodosia Ivanova), living a harsh and contented life in the Siberian tundra. Continue reading
Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989)
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Director Alex Proyas calls this an apocalyptic Western and it’s a good description. Forgotten for 30 years, a restoration (thanks to Umbrella Entertainment and Roar Digital) has prompted its rescreening and a re-release on DVD. Continue reading
