Somewhere in rural China in the early 1980s, we’re presented with two working-class families residing near a factory, which served as their main source of income for breadwinners Yaojun (Wang Jingchun) and Yingming (Xu Chen), who are raising their children with their respective wives, Liyun (Yong Mei) and Haiyan (Ai Liya). Their sons share the…
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
In a cinematic landscape that thrived on the constant repetition of the same set of tired ideas, David O. Russell stood firm in his belief that cinema could be original without resorting to successful, but derivative, conventions. In fact, he managed to demonstrate that filmmaking didn’t even need to make much sense overall, as evident…
Fire Will Come (2020)
The Spanish countryside is on fire – no one knows what, or who, caused it. All the residents of the small region of Galicia know is that one of their most infamous sons, Amador (Amador Arias Mon), a notorious arsonist, has been released from prison and is heading home, where he will be staying with…
Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
There’s a great film hiding somewhere in Richard Linklater’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette – the problem is, much like the titular protagonist, it’s extremely difficult to find, but unlike Bernadette, it never materializes after disappearing, remaining elusive for the entire duration of this unfortunate chore of a film. While I’ll readily admit that I am…
Sibyl (2020)
Sibyl (Virginie Efira) takes her job as one of Paris’ most sought-after psychologists very seriously – so seriously, in fact, she has decided to quit the profession, and return to the career she has always envisioned herself as thriving in – writing, an endeavour she quit years ago to pursue a real career. Now, with…
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
When it comes to being both warm and intelligent, endearing but very meaningful, there are few films that seem to be able to come close to The Peanut Butter Falcon, a film so hilariously irreverent, but still so deeply compelling, you can’t help but feel entirely overwhelmed by the beauty of it, as well as…
Marriage Story (2019)
Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) have been married for quite a while, being initially brought together by their shared interest in the arts. He’s a theatre director right on the precipice of his breakthrough, already being well-regarded in the avant-garde circles he is a part of, and being set for the Broadway stage….
I Lost My Body (2019)
Time and space, the past and the present, all blend together into one gorgeous entity in Jérémy Clapin’s powerfully human odyssey, I Lost My Body (French: J’ai perdu mon corps), the rare kind of animated film that feels more lively and intricate than anything those working in live-action could have possibly created. An intimate, poignant…
Pain and Glory (2019)
At this point, how do we talk about Pedro Almodóvar without saying something that has already been said numerous times? The past two decades has confirmed that he’s not only one of the most significant film directors to have come out of his native Spain, but one of the world’s most extraordinary artists, whose work…
Husbands (1970)
There is something so distinct about a John Cassavetes films, a quality that is so difficult to pin down but is there throughout his work. Whether one of his most universally-adored masterpieces or one of his more experimental works that were met with the expected jeers and cheers, his films always seemed to follow the…
The Postmodern Pelican 