A few years ago, we saw one of the most extraordinary examinations of the art of education in Maria Speth’s incredible Mr Bachmann and His Class, in which the titular subject – a hardworking German schoolteacher – is given the chance to showcase his various joys and challenges that come with choosing this vocation. Now,…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
When looking at older films, they usually fall into one of two broad categories: the films that stand the test of time and become beloved classics, and those that may not be particularly bad but lack some quality that keeps them in the conversation, usually having them fall into slight obscurity. This is only a…
Maestro (2023)
Few adages have been more persistent than “behind every successful man there’s a great woman” (along with its multitude of variants), which has essentially become the foundation of entire narratives on the importance of domestic partners in the development of highly successful individuals. In the case of Leonard Bernstein, the woman who stood behind him…
Ball of Fire (1941)
They certainly don’t make romances like they used to – there’s something so compelling about how love was perceived during the Golden Age of Hollywood that has allowed so many terrific works to become cherished classics of the genre. Ball of Fire is a film that has remained admired and beloved for over half a…
Journey to Bethlehem (2023)
Whether it be Cecil B. DeMille or the straight-to-DVD shelf at your local supermarket, the film industry has always found a place for religious films, which is surprisingly a market that is quite profitable. Even those who avoid these stories as much as they can will inevitably find themselves being coerced into experiencing them firsthand,…
All Through the Night (1942)
Many of us enjoy comedies, while others are partial to a good crime story. Then some adore a decently-made gangster picture, and those of us who love the experience of a strongly-constructed thriller. Somehow, there is a film that combines all four of these genres, and even adds in a bit of social satire and…
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Where does one even begin when it comes to the subject of the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki? To call him a groundbreaking filmmaker is a wild understatement since what he has achieved throughout his career is beyond revolutionary. He and his colleague Isao Takahata (as co-founders of Studio Ghibli, which has become synonymous with quality…
Victor/Victoria (1982)
The sign of a truly great film is if its entire premise can be condensed into a single sentence, albeit one that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the story, while still piquing our curiosity to want to explore further than this brief synopsis. In the case of Victor/Victoria, the concept of “a woman pretends to…
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
All it takes is a single moment for your life to change – and for the frumpish but well-meaning Guinevere Pettigrew, it was a glance at her employment agency that allowed her to rise above her paltry working-class life and sample instead from London’s high society after finagling herself into the life of a well-to-do…
The Zone of Interest (2023)
While he may only direct sporadically, each one of Jonathan Glazer’s films is a masterful examination of a specific subject, handcrafted by a filmmaker with a keen vision and an even more intriguing sense of philosophical virtue. His fourth feature film, as well as the first film he has made in nearly a decade, is…
