Made for Each Other (1939)

John Mason (James Stewart) is a hard-working lawyer who works for Judge Joseph M. Doolittle (Charles Coburn), a prickly veteran of the legal industry who makes sure to put all his employees to work, and rarely, if ever, rewards them with anything other than the bare minimum. He has high expectations for John, who he…

The Marriage Came Tumbling Down (1968)

Jericho (Michel Simon) is quite excited to be receiving visitors. A retired veterinarian and widower, he lives alone in his beautiful countryside mansion, in which he has every luxury (as well as enough of a reputation to be part of the high-society, cavorting with politicians and nobility in the same way ordinary people would with…

Desert Hearts (1985)

Queer cinema has undergone quite a revolutionary leap forward in the last quarter of a century, with many filmmakers being given the platform to make films that don’t relegate the LGBTQIA+ community to the sidelines, but place them front-and-centre as the leads of their own stories. This is a movement that is still very much…

The Salt of Tears (2021)

There’s something inherently fascinating about filmmakers from a very distinct period of time continuing to work into the contemporary era, since it creates a duality – the remnants of that period are still very much present in their distinct style, but the evolution of the art form has meant that they have very little choice…

Wuthering Heights (1939)

The cultural cache of Emily Brontë’s iconic novel Wuthering Heights should not be underestimated by any means – one of the most beloved novels of the romanticism era, and one that spurred numerous adaptations, imitations and even a classic song that has once again become wildly popular with the younger generation this past summer. One…

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

As far as I am concerned, Martin Ritt made one of the greatest films in the history of English-language cinema in the form of his dark social western, Hud, a landmark of filmmaking. This film was so magnificent and powerful in both its themes and the deep exploration of some striking ideas, it made him…

The Song of Songs (1933)

During the early parts of the twentieth century, Lily (Marlene Dietrich), who has only known the life of a farmer’s daughter, undertakes the uncertain journey from her small village to Berlin, where she hopes to grow into a functional woman, surrounded by the sights and sounds of a modern city. She is set to work…

Summer of 85 (2020)

In a prolific career that has touched numerous genres and seen him tackle a wide array of stories, François Ozon has made a name for himself as a filmmaker that can do nearly anything, granted it is something that falls within his capacities as one of the finest portrayers of the human condition currently working…

Love at First Fight (2014)

Somewhere in working-class France lives Arnaud Labrède (Kévin Azaïs), a wayward young man who works as a carpenter, along with his brother (Antoine Laurent), who inherited the company from their late father, with their first solo assignment being to make him a casket after they realize that they may not be able to afford all…

Malcolm & Marie (2021)

Do critics matter? This is a question that has been asked in some form for about as long as art has been produced. The extent to which we have asked whether a work exist entirely objectively, without the interference of supposed experts in artistic analysis giving their opinion and determining whether something is a success…