Throughout her life, Mother Theresa made many profound statements, but one of the most striking was “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty”, which is a stark reminder of how money is so actively pursued by the vast majority of us, often at the favour of the more important things…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
California Suite (1978)
A divorced couple (Alan Alda and Jane Fonda) reunited briefly to determine who will have custody of their teenage daughter. A pair of doctors (Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby) who travel from Chicago with their wives (Gloria Gifford and Sheila Frazier) to spend a vacation together. A middle-aged everyman (Walter Matthau) flying in for his…
Lucky Grandma (2020)
Mrs Wong (Tsai Chin), more commonly known as Nai-Nai (“grandmother”) is an ordinary elderly, chain-smoking immigrant woman residing in the Chinatown neighbourhood of New York City. She has been widowed for some years, and as a result has passed the time engaging in a variety of activities, such as weekly consultations with a fortune-teller and…
In the Name of Christ (1993)
In a small village somewhere in the middle of Côte d’Ivoire resides Gnamien Ato (Pierre Gondo), a humble pig-farmer who tries to go about his life without getting in the way of anyone around him, but constantly becomes the subject of much derision, based on his status as the local laughingstock. However, after being assaulted…
Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
“Ugliness is a kind of death. As long as I’m beautiful, I’m even more alive than the others” The importance of Cléo from 5 to 7 (French: Cléo de 5 à 7 ) should not be underestimated in any way. Agnès Varda was a filmmaker whose work has always meant the world to me as…
Hatari! (1962)
There are a few qualities I love about Hatari! – the upbeat sense of humour that correlates to the idea of sitting around a campfire on a warm African night, the lovely score composed by maestro Henry Mancini, the beautiful animals that trot throughout the film, the fact that that Red Buttons plays a character…
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
There are a few artists whose entire reputation is essentially built from their penchant for the strange and absurd – David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Cronenberg usually sit atop this pedestal, with their very different styles making them profoundly unique filmmakers, differing in style, but united in their general ambivalence to traditional logic. However,…
Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) is a young drifter who may or may not dabble as an escort. His most consistent client is Alexandra del Lago (Geraldine Page), an ageing actress who yearns for her glory days as a young, desirable starlet. She spends her days engaged in various vices, whether feeding her alcoholism or satiating…
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) and Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick) are two very lonely people. He is a public-relations executive heading towards middle-age without having settled down with a family, while she is the daughter of the moderately wealthy owner of a local landscaping business. They meet by chance one evening while at a party, and…
Being Two Isn’t Easy (1962)
Childhood is a challenging time, and no one seems to understand this better than Kon Ichikawa, whose exceptional comedy Being Two Isn’t Easy (Japanese: 私は二歳) is one of the most heartfelt and hilarious glimpses into the trials and tribulations of parenthood ever committed to screen. A charming and irreverent piece of filmmaking that demonstrates a…
The Postmodern Pelican 