There are two major schools of literature that explore the post-war experience – the first are those that look at the literal destruction caused by conflict, whether it be physical in the form of cities ravaged by warfare, or the more long-lasting kind, which focuses on the social and economic changes. The second category contains…

As far as unconventional cultural icons go, there are few more legendary than the woman who carried the surnames Bakker and Messner at different points in her life, but is most lovingly known by the name Tammy Faye. Starting out as the obedient, god-fearing wife of a hedonistic televangelist, and eventually turning into something of…

If there is something literature has taught us, it’s not to cross a man and his beloved pet – and in the instance of Pig, doing so can have long-lasting consequences on anyone daring enough to get in the way of a beloved companion. The directorial debut of Michael Sarnoski is one of the year’s…

Motherhood is difficult, especially when you’re taking care of other people’s children. This strange assertion is the most simple way to describe Ilo Ilo (Chinese: 爸媽不在家), the ambitious directorial debut of Anthony Chen, who handcrafts a delicate and meaningful ode to the human condition, specifically the many countless women who have taken it upon themselves…

Reality is often much stranger than fiction, which is an adage that no one seems to know better than Mia Hansen-Løve, who has steadily ascended to the status of being one of the most fascinating and essential voices in contemporary European cinema. Her English-language debut is Bergman Island, which (as the title suggests) takes place…