Reality is often much stranger than fiction, which is an adage that no one seems to know better than Mia Hansen-Løve, who has steadily ascended to the status of being one of the most fascinating and essential voices in contemporary European cinema. Her English-language debut is Bergman Island, which (as the title suggests) takes place…

There are two ways to look at The Mule – the first is as one of the many forgettable dramas Clint Eastwood churns out every year, taking advantage of his ability to pull together a film in only a matter of months. The second is as one of the most unintentionally fascinating comedies of the…

We often see in the world of art, the most difficult periods in terms of social or cultural obstacles often serve to be the foundation for some of the most incredible works. The Harlem Renaissance was one such period, where many African-American artists used their experiences to push the boundaries of every conceivable medium, telling…

When it comes to romance, the only concept art seems to be invested in more than people falling in love is that of people falling out of it – and while After Love may not necessarily focus entirely on a woman ceasing to have feelings for her deceased husband, it does question her motivations to…

In terms of filmmaking, the 1970s was a revolutionary period for a number of reasons. The era, which has often been referred to under the general term of the New Hollywood movement, brought about an entirely new generation of filmmakers, whose youthful voices and unique perspectives contributed to a seismic shift in how stories were…

While it may take a while to fully understand what is being said in Never Gonna Snow Again (Polish: Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie), we can tell from the first mysterious moments that this film is going to be quite an adventure. The story of an enigmatic masseur who travels from rural Ukraine to the…

As arguably the greatest African filmmaker to ever work in the medium (or at least one of them), Youseff Chahine left behind an enormously intimidating legacy, albeit one that is always a pleasure to explore. His canonical masterpiece is almost universally considered to be his homage to film noir in Cairo Station, which remains his…

Religious-based films tend to have quite a bad reputation, especially in the last few decades, where they have come to be associated with not only cheap production value and poor filmmaking, but also overly conservative values that go against the more progressive nature of the mainstream film industry (or rather, the kind of armchair liberalism…

While it doesn’t necessarily have a bad reputation, Marty is often dismissed as being a minor work, a simple and ineffective romantic drama produced during an era where many notable teleplays were being quickly and cheaply turned into films, in order to profit off the charms of the wildly popular actors that often signed up…

Jan Mikolášek was a fascinating figure in the history of the Czech Republic during the 20th century – a self-proclaimed healer that used his deep knowledge of herbs to create alternative medicines that he claimed saved the lives of countless people, his estimation being well over a million, which caused him to become quite a…