Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Defining any cinematic era is a challenging task since while we tend to categorize them depending on movements or periods, choosing a precise start and end to a particular era is not always possible. In terms of the New Hollywood movement, the general tendency is to look at it as having started in the late…

The Gathering Storm (2002)

By the time The Gathering Storm went into production, it seemed like we had seen every possible story of Winston Churchill told in some way or another, whether in biographical dramas centred on the great British leader who led his country through the challenges of the Second World War, or where he is a supporting…

Passages (2023)

Despite having made several well-received films over a few decades (with only Frankie being a complete misfire), Ira Sachs remains relatively underpraised as a filmmaker. He’s developed enough of a reputation to be seen as someone who makes films of a certain quality but has yet to receive much due outside of those who are…

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)

I am not in the habit of using individual films as an opportunity to lament the loss of a great artist – a work should be viewed on its terms and judged appropriately based on what we see on screen, rather than any outside influences since the passing of a cherished member of the film…

Afire (2023)

While it has received its fair share of acclaim and admiration, German cinema remains quite contentious in terms of a lot of contemporary filmmaking, primarily because it is usually occupied by filmmakers who intend to push boundaries further than ever before, and the storied history of the country, coupled with the fact that its reunification…

Corsage (2022)

“She is like a book to me, a riddle on each page. Her soul is like a chaotic museum, full of treasures that cannot be exploited. She doesn’t know what to do with all that. She lives in a different world, where she is walking a path so narrow, that only one person can walk…

Murder in Harlem (1935)

There are very few directors who have made as much of a cultural impact on cinema as Oscar Micheaux, a filmmaker who embodies the very spirit of the term revolutionary, both in his worldview and artistic expression. Yet, his legacy has only started to be appreciated as more than just a footnote in discussions around…

Downhill (1927)

Long before he was undeniably the proverbial master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock was a journeyman filmmaker working in his native Britain, producing works that were more dramatic than they were suspenseful, and usually being more aligned with the field of melodrama than the genres that he would begin to master once he made his move…

Godland (2023)

While art has become increasingly secular as times have progressed and the importance of the church in day-to-day life has diminished, it remains a perpetual theme for many artists, who may not may works that outwardly celebrate the power of faith, but rather look at it in different ways, whether the history of religion or…

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (2023)

Compassion is a quality that many works of art seem to genuinely believe they convey, but very few actually manage to capture it in a way that is authentic and meaningful, which has meant that it has unfortunately become an increasingly rare commodity. However, one of the more recent examples of this characteristic not only…