Memory is a powerful tool when telling a story. Joanna Hogg knew this, even though she has admitted that she didn’t trust her own memories, hence why her autobiographical feature film, The Souvenir, was gestating for over thirty years, and only came into palpable existence this year. What specific impetus lead her to portray her…

“Mabel’s not crazy. She’s just…unusual” These words come on behalf of Nick Longhetti (Peter Falk) after one of his co-workers provokes him on a very sensitive subject. Mabel, of course, refers to Nick’s wife (Gena Rowlands), a housewife who does her very best to provide for her hard-working husband and three children, despite the fact…

Lenny Bruce was an influential individual. Without him, there would not have been the likes of George Carlin, Richard Pryor or Bill Hicks, which in turn would mean comedy would have been very different, and probably far less important a force than it is now. Don’t let the preoccupation with jokes mislead you – comedy,…

Hong Kong is a city of a million and one stories. We encounter two of them. A mysterious killer (Leon Lai) stalks the city at night, engaging in his job as an effective hitman, eliminating various people who unfortunately fallen on the wrong side of the influential underground figures that run the city, and dictate…

Benilde (Maria Amélia Matta) is an innocent young Portuguese woman who discovers something that sends everyone she knows into shock – somehow, she managed to become pregnant. Her explanation doesn’t make this news any less difficult to comprehend, as she believes that the baby was the product of divine intervention, with the young woman, who…

Rainer Werner Fassbinder knew how to make three different kinds of films better than anything else – the comedic (Beware of a Holy Whore, Chinese Roulette), the melancholic (I Only Want You To Love Me) and the tragic (Fox and His Friends, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) – and in his extremely prolific career, nearly…

Hollywood in the late 1930s. We are introduced to the various residents of the San Bernadino Arms, a complex that serves as the home of a variety of people related to showbusiness, or at least those who claim to be. Tod Hackett (William Atherton) is a talented visual artist who has been relegated to drawing…

Júlio Madiaga (Bembol Roco) has just arrived in the Filipino metropolis of Manila after living most of his life in a rural area. His appearance is presumably that of finding a job, just like the countless other young men driven to the big city, looking to make a living and provide for their families, most…

In the history of cinema, there has never been someone like Lina Wertmüller. Not only did she make history numerous times, but she has also left an indelible impression on the industry, not only paving a path for several female filmmakers to have their voices heard but also becoming one of the greatest directors of…

Jade (Vicky Knight) is a young woman who has just been released from hospital after a vicious attack, whereby a disgruntled ex-lover thought it would be perfectly acceptable to throw acid in her face, leaving her permanently scarred. Now reentering society, Jade finds it even more difficult to assimilate back into her normal life, because…