It was a cold, rainy evening while I was working my way through the various television channels, when I suddenly came across a film by the title Citizen Kane. What a revelation to have discovered this obscure gem of a film, clearly produced for the B-movie market, and embedded deeply in the heart of late-night…

Deep End is a strange concoction of a film. On one hand, it is a delightfully irreverent coming-of-age drama with broad overtures of comedy that help its message come across without much difficulty. On the other, it’s a challenging, provocative and incredibly psychological film that subverts many conventions in its path to go its own…

At the intersection between class and sanity resides La Ciénaga, the ambitious directorial debut of Lucrecia Martel, one of the most important South American directors of the last few decades. She weaves together a story of a bourgeois family that spend their leisure time luxuriating at their secluded summer home somewhere in pastoral Argentina, which…

What is most fascinating – or perhaps even bewildering – about Bigger Than Life is the fundamental duality at its centre that creates something of a contradiction, since it is simultaneously a poignant product of a particular era, while still be truly ahead of its time. This kind of paradox is often found in the…

By this point, we’ve covered essentially everything that has to do with Yasujirō Ozu’s status as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time – someone whose work reflected a keen understanding of the human condition, and could resonate with audiences in a way that spoke to each one of us on a very personal…

In 1983, Bill Forsyth quietly made history when he wrote and directed Local Hero, his quaint and charming comedy about an outsider being stranded on a remote Scottish island, and forced to cavort with the eccentric local residents who may not have had ill-intentions, but certainly didn’t always mean as well as they seemed to…

Charles Burnett is one of the most important artists to ever work in the medium of film, yet so many people struggle to recognize the name. Without his groundbreaking work, we’d not have developed the strong independent film industry that has allowed so many exciting young filmmakers to have their voices heard. As both a…

Somewhere in working-class Belgium, in the middle of a barren harbour, an unknown man stumbles through the evening – no one knows who he is, or where he is from. All they do know is that he carries many secrets, so over the course of the evening, a variety of characters try and penetrate the…

The teenage years are a challenge for many of us – it’s tough enough to try and fit in during a period of such physical and mental change. We start to see the world differently, and we learn that the follies of childhood are certainly not something that we can hold onto forever. What makes…

When he isn’t making groundbreaking, subversive cinematic masterpieces, Spike Lee can usually be found sitting court-side at any of the seasonal games of his beloved New York Knicks. One of the most visible fans of the basketball team, the esteemed director has made his love of the sport known throughout his career, being an evergreen…