The vast majority of countries have a small handful of directors that are known to have helped define the national cinema, taking on a folkloric level of acclaim and being seen as artistic legends, ingrained into the cultural iconography, as well as usually being viewed as the entry-point for newcomers looking to explore a particular…
They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Ambition is an increasingly rare commodity to find in contemporary cinema – the vast majority of young filmmakers believe themselves to possess it, but very few of them allow it to be shown in a way that actually reflects on screen. However, we do often find those rambunctious directors that seem to be capable of…
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
The 1990s were not the strongest time to be a devotee of the work of Mel Brooks, at least in terms of his directorial output (he spent a good portion of this decade working on the musical adaptation of The Producers, which is arguably his greatest achievement as an artist), since none of the three…
Shortcomings (2023)
“I’m sorry you had to meet me at this point in my life – although I’m pretty sure you would have hated me anyway” These words appear at the start of the climactic moments of Shortcomings, the ambitious directorial debut of Randall Park, who adapts the graphic novel of the same title by Adrian Tomine,…
Indiscreet (1931)
We’ve spoken extensively about the Pre-Code era, the period in which Hollywood was allowed to be slightly more libertine, with some more controversial or provocative themes slipping through the cracks that had yet to be domineered by the Hayes Code and its draconian principles. It was a period of only a few years, but some…
Mass Appeal (1984)
Faith is a tricky subject to approach when it comes to the liberal arts – for most, the concept of separating church and state seems to extend to the entertainment industry, with stories that focus on uplifting and celebrating certain religions not being rejected, but instead given their own niche platform, separate from the mainstream,…
Sanctuary (2023)
The concept is extremely simple – two individuals meet in a hotel room, where they are given the guarantee of being alone (aside from the occasional planned visit from room service), where they intend to engage in a routine act of domination, only to find secrets revealed in the process that changes the course of…
It Must Be Heaven (2019)
We have recently spoken about the effortless brilliance of Elia Suleiman, specifically in the context of Divine Intervention, his revolutionary and deeply profound film that consists of a series of interconnected vignettes that aim to show a different side of his native Palestine. A director with a small but meaningful body of work, every time…
Joy Ride (2023)
When it comes to the subject of representation, inclusion doesn’t only mean a place at the table in terms of the more serious, sobering stories, but also those that tend to be a lot more vibrant, with comedy being one of the final frontiers when it comes to mainstream inclusivity, primarily because it is a…
The Conversation (1974)
Few filmmakers defined a decade in the way that Francis Ford Coppola had a stranglehold over the 1970s – he has made exceptional films in subsequent years, but his run between The Godfather and Apocalypse Now is most certainly one of the most extraordinary streaks a director has ever had, and solidified his place in…
The Postmodern Pelican 