I have nothing but the most sincere admiration for artists who can forego comfort for the sake of telling important stories. We often see many individuals use their creativity in a chosen medium to tackle subject matter that would otherwise not find a place had they not put in the effort, many of them drawing…

In the decades following the end of the Second World War, we saw countless examples of films that tackled the period, looking at different subjects that ultimately all lead back to the central issues that provoked the conflict. Whether it be the harrowing conditions for soldiers, or the more disconcerting situations that came about behind…

We live in a world that is very often mired in tragedy, one in which there is often a concerted effort from certain people to hurt each other, whether it be through war or individual attacks. Since the dawn of time, artists have been using their craft to tell stories of the human condition, which…

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said countless times before when it comes to All About Eve? The film, which is almost unanimously considered not only the personal best work of the brilliant Joseph L. Mankiewicz, but one of the most well-regarded and iconic pieces of cinema to ever be produced, has…

As the adage goes, desperate times breed desperate measures – and a group of filmmakers that implicitly understood this concept were those that worked under the umbrella of Italian neo-realism, the movement that emerged during the Second World War, and sought to describe the challenges faced by ordinary people that fell victim to the social…

When it comes to discussing art, there is a great deal of discourse surrounding the debate between style and substance, with many tending to view it as a binary system, and one that an artist (regardless of medium) can only employ individually. If there was ever someone who could be considered to have mastered both…

Saying goodbye is never easy. Whether or not we find it tragic or cathartic (or both, which is often the case with losing a loved one), there’s something profoundly challenging about uttering those final words, granted one even has the power to say something so absolute. This is the foundation for As They Made Us,…

When an artist has achieved perfection (or something very close to it), it’s difficult to justify their decision to try to replicate that same success. This is the case for Joanna Hogg, whose efforts in bringing The Souvenir Part II to the screen were admirable, if not slightly bewildering, not because the film was bad…

Crime doesn’t pay, but it certainly doesn’t seem to help pay the rent on occasion. This is the fundamental conversation being conducted throughout King of New York, the ambitious crime drama by Abel Ferrara, who has made something of a career out of telling stories of individuals that may engage in activities that are somewhat…

You liked Rashomon “That’s not how I remember it” The Simpsons, “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” (1999) Not only is Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (Japanese: 羅生門) the basis for arguably the most elegant and unexpectedly funny joke in sitcom history, it is quite simply one of the most important films ever made. It wasn’t Kurosawa’s first film…