Whatever the appeal of true crime stories may be, Hollywood has certainly made it clear that they see this as a viable form of business, considering how many works based on various criminals have been produced in the past. Audiences tend to respond very favourably to these stories, since there is a sense that many…
Category: Drama
Daughters (2014)
I recently spoke (or rather, endlessly praised), Maria Speth’s ambitious education-based documentary, Mr Bachmann and His Class, which is destined to represent a seismic shift in how such simple stories are told. However, this piqued my curiosity enough to venture deeper into the director’s career, as she has steadily been producing films that are not…
Tow (2026)
We all love an underdog story – unless one occupies the rarefied air of never having encountered any kind of difficulty or personal challenges, we’ve all encountered various obstacles, leading us to be predisposed to stories of people who overcome enormous hardships in some way or another, and its always heartening to find examples of…
Storm Center (1956)
Some artworks are so revolutionary or ahead of their time that they fade into obscurity as a result of being suppressed or through efforts to distract the public from taking note of these works, for fear that they could be radicalised into believing what is being shown on screen – or worse, realising that they…
The Choral (2025)
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” We all know that music is more than just melodies and the words that accompany them on many occasions – it is a form of expression that transcends all social and cultural boundaries, being a truly universal language and…
Safe Place (2022)
We all grieve in different ways, but it is almost universally agreed that the most difficult time in the mourning period is the immediate aftermath, usually the 24 hours following a loved one’s demise. In the case of an accident or suicide, where their fate hangs in limbo and they linger between life and death,…
Memory Box (2021)
Memory is a fickle concept – these moments that we have consolidated into our subconscious, ready to be extracted whenever they are required, have amazed and bewildered biologists and psychologists alike for about as long as we have been studying human existence. Yet, it’s often those memories that tend to fade that have the most…
Midnight Express (1978)
There are those who say everyone should be forced to pay the consequences for their actions. Others believe that everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. In between these two extremes, we have the story of William Hayes, a young man who was caught smuggling hashish from Turkey while on his way back to…
Solo (2023)
There comes a point in many people’s lives when they look in the mirror and realise they don’t quite recognise who they see on the other side, whether for better or worse. In terms of the protagonist of Solo, the ambitious drama written and directed by Sophie Depuis, it is a combination of both. Best…
Jimpa (2026)
Family can be a challenging topic to address artistically, since it is a near-universal subject that most of us can relate to in some way, but it often tends to be quite specific, and what is motivating for one viewer can be entirely dull for another. However, these stories must be told, since there is…
The Postmodern Pelican 