We’ve spoken extensively about the Pre-Code era, the period in which Hollywood was allowed to be slightly more libertine, with some more controversial or provocative themes slipping through the cracks that had yet to be domineered by the Hayes Code and its draconian principles. It was a period of only a few years, but some…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Mass Appeal (1984)
Faith is a tricky subject to approach when it comes to the liberal arts – for most, the concept of separating church and state seems to extend to the entertainment industry, with stories that focus on uplifting and celebrating certain religions not being rejected, but instead given their own niche platform, separate from the mainstream,…
Sanctuary (2023)
The concept is extremely simple – two individuals meet in a hotel room, where they are given the guarantee of being alone (aside from the occasional planned visit from room service), where they intend to engage in a routine act of domination, only to find secrets revealed in the process that changes the course of…
It Must Be Heaven (2019)
We have recently spoken about the effortless brilliance of Elia Suleiman, specifically in the context of Divine Intervention, his revolutionary and deeply profound film that consists of a series of interconnected vignettes that aim to show a different side of his native Palestine. A director with a small but meaningful body of work, every time…
Joy Ride (2023)
When it comes to the subject of representation, inclusion doesn’t only mean a place at the table in terms of the more serious, sobering stories, but also those that tend to be a lot more vibrant, with comedy being one of the final frontiers when it comes to mainstream inclusivity, primarily because it is a…
The Conversation (1974)
Few filmmakers defined a decade in the way that Francis Ford Coppola had a stranglehold over the 1970s – he has made exceptional films in subsequent years, but his run between The Godfather and Apocalypse Now is most certainly one of the most extraordinary streaks a director has ever had, and solidified his place in…
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)
It is safe to assume that anyone who grew up attending Anglophone schools would have likely encountered the work of Judy Blume, who has remained the gold standard for children’s fiction for decades and continues to maintain a level of respect that is matched by very few of her peers. Perhaps her most well-known work…
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955)
It seems like something of a rite of passage for every film lover at one point or another to crave the opportunity to enter into the deranged and ingenious mind of Luis Buñuel and wander around for a while, in the hopes of understanding what it was that compelled him to make such strange and…
Fourth of July (2022)
Before he was one of the most celebrated comedians of his generation (before facing controversy, the details of which we will not be discussing here by basis of looking at the art above the artist himself – but kindly don’t equate this positive review with any kind of support or sympathy for his actions), Louis…
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
In the canon of great queer British films, there are two in particular that stand out in terms of earlier works – Prick Up Your Ears and My Beautiful Laundrette are two majorly important works, and not only were they released two years apart, they were both helmed by Stephen Frears, who had only recently…
The Postmodern Pelican 