One of the more unfortunate casualties of the contemporary cinematic landscape is that we have not been given iconic horror characters on the same level as we did in previous decades. Jigsaw in the Saw franchise is perhaps the only one that carries any cultural cache, with all efforts to launch new characters not manifesting…
A Late Quartet (2012)
A single individual creating art is a beautiful process, but there is something even more remarkable about a group of creative collaborators coming together to share their gifts and produce something extraordinary. Music in particular has been an art form that has allowed for some of the most fruitful collaborations between artists, going back to…
Garibaldi’s Lovers (2012)
Defining love is a perilous activity since there is never any clear indication of what it means entirely, or how you can find it without utilizing forcible means. This seemed to be a concept that fascinated Silvio Soldini, whose wonderful Garibaldi’s Lovers (Italian: Il comandante e la cicogna), which is also alternatively known by the…
Evil Does Not Exist (2024)
It isn’t very often that we find a filmmaker whose entire purpose seems to be to redefine the margins of what cinema can be and represent. Ryūsuke Hamaguchi has been working for the better part of a decade (with films like Asako I & II and the arthouse masterpiece Happy Hour drawing a small but…
The Collector (1965)
There is a very narrow boundary between love and obsession, and some may even argue that the lines become increasingly blurred once someone grows too fond of the object of their affection, to the point where it can become quite disturbing. Literature has developed quite an appreciation for this ambiguity since we find stories of…
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
From a distance, we observe a group of people talking and drinking on what appears to be a relatively pleasant evening in one of Vietnam’s central urban hubs. Off-screen, a crash is heard, followed by a cacophony of screens, and the characters begin to retreat out of frame. The camera follows them, but it’s slightly…
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Few novels have had quite a bizarre journey to the screen as Dune, with the first entry into the iconic series by Frank Herbert having quite a troubled history, including failed projects from over half a century ago, an ill-fated adaptation that has resisted becoming a cult classic despite efforts from all sides, and a…
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Crime doesn’t pay, but it does help with the bills – a sentiment that is often the foundation of many works of art that endeavour to look at the trials and tribulations of ordinary citizens who find themselves in a situation where they have to resort to criminal activity, whether it is to make a…
Índia (2023)
“Lisbon is a city of countless revolutions” Anyone who has ever visited the capital of Portugal is struck by several different features – it’s narrow, winding alleyways that weave steep downhills that eventually meet the ocean, with centuries of architecture scattered liberally throughout what was initially only supposed to be a small seaside town, but…
Spaceman (2024)
“Just like you, I fled my planet. Through galaxies, through black holes, through time. And then I found you.” How do you define loneliness? Is it the complete absence of any sense of companionship, or the crippling feeling of being weighed down by the limitations that push those around you away, leaving you in a…
The Postmodern Pelican 