As one of the formative voices in the New Hollywood movement, Paul Mazursky had quite a distinct style, which he carefully constructed through a series of melancholy comedies throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Some of them, such as Next Stop, Greenwich Village and Enemies: A Love Story, are very personal to the director, while others…
Charlatan (2021)
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…
The Sign of Venus (1955)
There’s something so charming about Italian comedy, even those films that are not necessarily all that original. They’re often made with such wonderful sensitivity, we can’t help but be beguiled by the endearing nature of these stories. It helps a lot that many of the greatest ones were made by directors who were fully-fledged artists…
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen) is a relatively successful sportswriter who specializes in boxing. He leads quite a happy life – he is married to the intelligent and beautiful Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter), who has her own thriving career as an art curator, but has two very bold dreams. The first is that she wants to…
Ciske the Rat (1955)
One should never underestimate the impact a good teacher can have on the prospects of his or her students. As many of us undoubtedly know, the educators put in charge of helping us navigate our way to our respective futures are vital, and do so much to prepare us for the world. However, many of…
The Last Duel (2021)
The existence of The Last Duel is both fascinating and bewildering, since it takes some time to actually realize this film was made by perhaps the most unexpected group of collaborators imaginable. This is an adaptation of the non-fiction book by Eric Jager, which tells the story of the last legal duel fought in France…
Stalag 17 (1953)
There are many ways to describe the legendary Billy Wilder, but perhaps the most simple explanation of why he is such a hero to many artists, is that he was the definition of a reliable filmmaker, the gold-standard in both writing and directing, and someone whose prolific career saw him produce many absolute masterpieces, some…
Begin Again (2013)
John Carney has had quite a fascinating career, having made two absolute masterpieces in the form of Once and Sing Street, intimate musical dramas set in his native Ireland, focusing on characters using the power of music to express themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. Sandwiched between these two fantastic films is a…
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
At first glance, The Quatermass Xperiment may not appear to be anything particularly special. It seems like yet another low-budget science fiction film from the 1950s, which told bizarre tales of the unknown, interlaced with metacommentary surrounding the Cold War. However, a slightly deeper look will reveal how absolutely essential this film is, a vital…
Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
There’s something so compelling about Australian cinema – many fantastic discussions have been had about how their unique perspective and willingness to venture further than many others have resulted in some absolutely fantastic, and often quite provocative, works of filmmaking. Regardless of the specific genre, there is often a spark of genius that underpin these…
The Postmodern Pelican 