One of the great mysteries of cinema has always been how Ingmar Bergman was capable of being so prolific, often producing at least one film a year during his peak, but yet managed to make nearly every one of them a profound and insightful work that looks deep into one aspect of the human condition….
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Heartbeats (2010)
It’s difficult to imagine a time in which Xavier Dolan wasn’t an omnipotent presence in the contemporary arthouse. A filmmaker who has shown the ability to be both prolific and an exceptional craftsman, Dolan as become a staple of many conversations as to the current generation of filmmakers. However, there was a time in which…
Down to Earth (1947)
There is a major new sensation that is about to take Broadway by storm – a brand new musical review entitled Swinging the Muses is about to open. The production is the brainchild of Danny Miller (Larry Parks), a young and promising playwright and actor, who is about to make his debut on stage with…
The Song of Songs (1933)
During the early parts of the twentieth century, Lily (Marlene Dietrich), who has only known the life of a farmer’s daughter, undertakes the uncertain journey from her small village to Berlin, where she hopes to grow into a functional woman, surrounded by the sights and sounds of a modern city. She is set to work…
Friends with Money (2006)
Nicole Holofcener is such an enigma of a director, or rather the films she makes are. Throughout her career, she’s remained steadfast in her conviction to explore the trials and tribulations of a small group of characters who represent both her own neuroses as an artist ingrained in the alternative school of filmmaking, and the…
The World of Apu (1959)
The World of Apu (অপুর সংসার)is less of a film, and more of the end of a journey – and as we can all undeniably attest, sometimes the destination isn’t the part we look forward to, but the methods of getting there. The concluding chapter in Satyajit Ray’s masterful The Apu Trilogy is quite simply…
Saint Maud (2020)
One of the more unfortunate cases of marketing getting a film entirely wrong comes in the form of the promotion for Saint Maud, the long-anticipated directorial debut from Rose Glass, which has been gestating in various forms since late 2019, and constantly delayed from being released due to unforeseen worldwide circumstances that kept it from…
Aparajito (1956)
The second film in a trilogy is in a strange position, particularly when we’re considering a series of films that has been intentionally designed to be told over multiple entries (rather than the tendency for the industry to try and capitalize on major successes by commissioning sequels after the fact). In many ways, the film…
The Bacchus Lady (2016)
In the tranquil parks and plazas of Seoul reside a small group of elderly women who spend their days patiently waiting to sell bottles of Bacchus-F, a popular energy drink, to a variety of men who come their way. In reality, these beverages serve to be a signal that these women are actually prostitutes who…
Pather Panchali (1955)
Satyajit Ray changed cinema, an undeniable fact that has its basis in his ability to represent life in a way that very few other artists were ever able to. A creative soul that never avoided taking on a few challenges with his work, he was perpetually venturing into the realm of the unknown, pioneering an…
The Postmodern Pelican 