It seems to be a universal experience to fantasize about a situation where we simply disappear, which normally entails sailing off to some remote island where we can live our days in paradise – and the concept of imagining what those who remain behind may think in such a scenario is also quite fascinating, since…
Tag: film
Bad Taste (1987)
Years before he came to be seen as the very definition of tenacity in the form of his endeavour to adapt the titanic novel The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson was a lesser-known New Zealand filmmaker who simply wanted to direct stories that interested him, paying tribute to existing genres while forging his own…
Daddio (2024)
It may not be a regular occurrence (and has becoming increasingly more rare considering how internally we tend to live our lives in the digital era), but there is something profoundly beautiful about encountering a stranger with whom she share only a few moments, but which you still carry deep within your heart for a…
Earthworm Tractors (1936)
Capitalism can easily be reduced to a straightforward question: Do we live to make money, or do we make money to live? For the protagonist in Earthworm Tractors, based on the syndicated stories and later bestselling novels by William Hazlett Upson, both the stories and the novels somehow manage to be true. Alexander Botts, whose…
Freud’s Last Session (2023)
There are some historical figures that are brought to the screen in a way that feels definitive of their legacy, whereas there are others that have yet to be the subject of a film that perfectly represents their place in the global culture. Sigmund Freud occupies the latter category, and while there have been a…
The Méliès Mystery (2021)
For as long as we have been celebrating the history of cinema, there has been a concerted effort to cite someone as the proverbial “father” of the medium. There is a debate around who we can consider the first true pioneer, so it would seem that the most appropriate solution is not to label an…
Everything’s Going to Be Great (2025)
For some life imitates art, while for others it is the inverse – they find solace in filtering their own perspectives, challenges and existential quandaries into the work they produce. This is something that we find Steven Rogers, a very gifted writer, exploring in the form of Everything’s Going to Be Great, in which he…
Seconds (1966)
There are a few truly universal experiences, but one that I would be surprised if we didn’t all share is the collective desire to lead a different life. We all have regrets and yearn for certain aspects of our existence to be different, even if only slightly, and anyone who has not had the fantasy…
Parthenope (2025)
“Are you aware of the disruption your beauty causes?” These words are one of at least two dozen instances where someone refers to the beauty of a specific young woman, whose reaction usually ranges from humble gratitude to deep appreciation – and in this instance, its John Cheever, the deeply troubled American novelist on one…
Cloud (2024)
As far as revolutionary filmmakers tend to go, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is shockingly absent from the conversations around which contemporary directors are the most original and innovative, despite showing his prowess for both bespoke narratives and incredible technical skills, which have factored into many of his films over the years, and positioned him as arguably amongst…
The Postmodern Pelican 