When it comes to Birds, Orphans and Fools (Slovak: Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni), there are only two kinds of people who understand it – those who lived through the Prague Spring and can account for the social and political turmoil demonstrated here, and those who are mentally unstable enough to grasp this fever-dream of a…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
My Night at Maud’s (1969)
Insatiable desire and irreconcilable faith are the basis for My Night at Maud’s (French: Ma nuit chez Maud), the darkly comical social fable from Éric Rohmer, who was at the peak of exploring his interest in the influence of morality (or rather the lack thereof) on the human condition, and how the smallest idiosyncrasies of…
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Nine countries in three weeks, a single bus crowded with over a dozen inexperienced Americans, and a particularly jovial lothario of a tour guide – this is the stage set for If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, Mel Stuart’s hilarious cross-country European odyssey that sees cultures clash in the most irreverent way imaginable. Telling…
Take the Money and Run (1969)
Exploring the filmography of Woody Allen is always a fascinating endeavour, and the further we go back in his career, the more we see how he’s changed as a filmmaker. Whether or not his change in style is indicative of growth or regression depends on how one feels about these different stages of his career….
Birds of Prey (2020)
Comic book adaptations continue to be a divisive issue in contemporary cinema culture – some absolutely adore the direction various studios, particularly Marvel and DC, are taking their properties, building empires around some of their most beloved stories, while others abhor this move towards profiting off big-budget spectacles that may not always be as significant…
Ordinary Love (2020)
Joan (Lesley Manville) and Tom (Liam Neeson) are an older couple who have been married for long enough to be effortlessly comfortable with each other – the epitome of lifelong companions, they truly embody the spirit of true love. However, they have been through a considerable amount over the course of their marriage, most notably…
Horse Girl (2020)
Sarah (Alison Brie) is a young woman who doesn’t quite fit in – she does her best to be sociable, whether it with her co-worker Joan (Molly Shannon), her genial roommate (Debby Ryan), or any of the many people she encounters through her life, all of which see her as a well-meaning, but overly sensitive…
Destroy, She Said (1969)
“We thought it was a normal hotel” Five people find themselves in a mysterious hotel somewhere in the French countryside. Alissa (Nicole Hiss) and her husband Max Thor (Henri Garcin) are a young couple on holiday. They are joined by Stein (Michael Lonsdale), a fiercely passionate academic who strikes up a friendship with Max, who…
The House That Screamed (1969)
Horror is a genre that has produced just as many iconic figures as it has thrust audacious filmmakers into obscurity, regardless of the quality of their work. A figure that grapples the line between these two is Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, a director who may have only made two theatrical films, but did so in such…
Kes (1969)
Billy Casper (David Bradley) is a young man growing up in the rural suburbs of working-class England. Raised by a single mother, and bullied by his older brother, Billy has never quite fit in and has struggled to find the same sense of belonging his peers at his school seem to share. Seemingly experiencing an…
