Memory is a fickle concept – these moments that we have consolidated into our subconscious, ready to be extracted whenever they are required, have amazed and bewildered biologists and psychologists alike for about as long as we have been studying human existence. Yet, it’s often those memories that tend to fade that have the most…
Tag: cinema
Separate Lies (2005)
To what extent do we protect those we love? Is it possible to support someone through particularly tricky circumstances while still being able to maintain not only a very particular public image, but also your inner peace? This is a question that we often find being asked in instances where someone discovers a family member…
Matador (1986)
How do you define an artistic revolutionary? Is it by their longevity or the extent to which they were willing to take wild swings, regardless of any potential repercussions from a society that may not have always understood them at the time, but still facilitated their rise to acclaim, even if unintentionally? When it comes…
Once Upon a Time (1944)
We have seemingly lost the art of whimsy when it comes to much of contemporary cinema. We tend to prioritise realism over eccentricity, which may lend modern films a more authentic feeling, but at the expense of the joy of seeing radically strange films that do often tend to be slightly more offbeat, but in…
Disclosure Day (2026)
Once you have been working in the film industry for over half a century, becoming one of the profitable and acclaimed filmmakers to emerge from the New Hollywood movement, you are handed a blank cheque from which many fantastic films can be produced. There are not many filmmakers who are so indelible in the cultural…
Storytelling (2001)
Some filmmakers set out to entertain, others to inform. The group I am often most fascinated by are those who somewhere adhere to both principles, as well as to neither at the same time, with their general impetus being primarily to shock and provoke, which can make for thrilling and genuinely daring viewing that is…
Last Film Show (2022)
By this point, the concept of films about young filmmakers has become a legitimate sub-genre in itself, with many directors telling stories of their early childhood and how they came to appreciate the beauty and magnificence of cinema, intertwining elements of the coming-of-age drama with a more specific look at the process of falling in…
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (2024)
“Reality is as thin as paper and betrays with all its cracks its imitative character” – these evocative words were written by Bruno Schulz in the late 1930s, and while the concept may not have existed in its entirety at the time, many scholars of postmodernism cite this as one of the most notable examples…
Nickelodeon (1976)
While in principle it is not a good practice to speak ill of those who have passed, we often find that certain stories resonate slightly more once someone has died. After his death a few years ago, there were countless stories about the genius of Peter Bogdanovich, perhaps the person many of us would choose…
The Proposition (2005)
There are some offers you simply can’t refuse – not because they are appealing, but rather since they seem to be the only choice when it comes to survival. This is what we find John Hillcoat beautifully negotiating in The Proposition, a film written by Nick Cave, who takes a momentary sojourn from being the…
The Postmodern Pelican 