A solitary man rides the train, watching the surroundings change as he slowly drifts to sleep. He’s awoken by a beguiling young woman who offers her astute observations about someone who she claims is a stranger, but yet one she somehow knows so well. Our protagonist slowly begins to fall deep into a state of…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Saturday Night (2024)
In 1975, on a chilly October evening, just a few minutes before midnight, viewers across the United States encountered an unfamiliar image – a pair of relatively unknown comedians appeared on their screen in a sketch based around an English tutor and his student of indiscernible origins. A couple of minutes of surreal banter was…
Moana 2 (2024)
One of the most unfortunate trends of artistic success in the modern era is that the immediate response to create something extremely acclaimed and adored by the public is to attempt to capitalize on its popularity, under the mistaken assumption that audiences will likely be just as invested in revisiting these properties on future occasions,…
I’m Still Here (2024)
There is a moment towards the end of I’m Still Here (Portuguese: Ainda Estou Aqui) where the older Eunice Paiva sits at a table at what appears to be an informal family celebration – the rest of the room is lively, while she sits in pleasant silence, observing her children and grandchildren. Yet, no one…
The Bellboy (1960)
There has never been someone like Jerry Lewis, someone whose contributions to the world of entertainment are so immense, he is often viewed as one of the pioneers of modern American humour, a figure that helped bring to life a very specific kind of storytelling that was built on the collision of many different styles….
Sebastian (2024)
Nearly half a century ago, Derek Jarman made Sebastiane, an experimental masterpiece that looked at the trials and tribulations of the titular saint as he underwent persecution for his homosexuality and refusal to abide by the social convention in Ancient Rome, which resulted in his martyrdom that many still view as a tragic demise for…
The Other Way Around (2024)
Life is filled with events that we celebrate – births, marriages, birthdays and anniversaries, and there are even cultures where it is tradition to turn a funeral into a festive occasion, paying tribute to the dearly departed. Yet, there are a few moments in life that are rarely celebrated, at least in the conventional sense,…
Wicked (2024)
The world of L. Frank Baum has been a part of our lives for over a century – and whether we were raised with the iconic 1939 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz or any of its other versions or works inspired by his magical writings, it has infiltrated the culture in many ways. One…
An Angel at My Table (1990)
While it is logically implausible (since everyone needs to start somewhere), it has always seemed like Dame Jane Campion has been considered one of our finest filmmakers regardless of what stage of her career we are looking at – so imagining her being a young, rambunctious director that wasn’t the celebrated artist she is today…
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Over the past fifteen years (slightly more if you were one of the forward-thinking viewers who leapt onto his wavelength earlier in his career), Yorgos Lanthimos has steadily risen from the depths of the Greek Weird Wave to the status as one of the most genuinely exciting, talented filmmakers of his generation, and someone who…
The Postmodern Pelican 