As arguably Japan’s foremost cultural critic, few filmmakers managed to as effectively explore the life and times of ordinary citizens quite as well as Yasujirō Ozu, whose work reflects a keen sense of interest in the human condition, which has fuelled so many of his incredible films. As is often the case with notoriously prolific…

When looking at the long career of Alfred Hitchcock, we can divide it into various distinct eras – there were the experimental 1970s, the provocative 1960s, the absolutely rivetting 1950s (his greatest decade) and the tumultuous 1940s. This decade in particular was notable for being the one that had some of the director’s most significant…

You can essentially divide Spike Lee’s career up into two broad groups – there are the unimpeachable classics, and then there are the films that are excellent, but have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Red Hook Summer certainly fits into the latter group, being the sixth entry into the Chronicles of Brooklyn, the…

While his days of being more intentionally controversial are more contained to the earlier stages of his career, where he was seen as somewhere between an agent provocateur and wunderkind of contemporary European cinema, François Ozon still tends to make films that can cause quite a stir, even if they’re done in a way that…

There are so many layers to American Heart, that one can easily spend nearly the entire film trying to find the right entry-point into the world director Martin Bell presents us with. However, the most logical approach would simply be to drop anchor anywhere in the film, and allow yourself to just be immersed in…

Despite being one of the most celebrated filmmakers of his generation, to the point where he is considered a pioneer of an entire nation’s cinematic culture, Yasujirō Ozu has had a few films produced that are more obscure than others, regardless of the efforts many have put into preserving and distributing his work. For someone…

Like most Eastern European countries, Hungary was one of the many nations that attempted to fight against the encroaching danger of the Soviet Union, and in 1956 staged an uprising against the Communist government in an attempt to break free of the shackles that were gradually being placed on its people. These protests unfortunately failed…

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…