‘Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands’ Is a Spicy Brazilian Cinema Classic
Bruno Barreto’s romantic charmer Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is rich with sensuous detail that fills every scene with dizzying amounts of culture, music, and atmosphere.
Film
The 10 Best English Language Propaganda Films of World War II
“All art is propaganda,” George Orwell observed. Indeed, these 10 Best English Language Propaganda Films from WWII are quite artful with their propaganda.
Sebastián Lelio’s ‘The Wonder’ Trashes History
What we have with The Wonder is a film that begins by discussing a historical crime and ends up committing one – or at least the narrative equivalent.
Freedom Is an Endless Meeting: The Utopian Vision in ‘Women Talking’
In Women Talking, director Sarah Polley masterfully illustrates how new futures can be possible by reckoning and wrestling with the past and present.
Differing Depictions of Poverty in Brazilian Films ‘Barren Lives’ and ‘Central Station’
Brazil’s recent presidential inauguration provides the background for excavating Brazilian Cinema’s depictions of poverty in Barren Lives and Central Station.
The High Before the Fall: Terry Gilliam’s ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’
Stranger than Terry Gilliam’s 1990s hits and less aggressive than his later work, the glorious fantasy The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was the last film where his talents fully flowered.
‘It Came from the Closet’ Eyeballs Horror and the Terrible Queer Truth
The essay anthology It Came from the Closet demonstrates the breadth and depth of queer identity that lurks within the horror genre.
Shirley MacLaine Gives Michael Caine a Lesson in Comedy Thriller ‘Gambit’
Themes of masquerades and flim-flam in the comedy thriller Gambit see Shirley MacLaine’s Nichole Chang giving Michael Caine’s Sir Harry Dean a much-needed lesson.
The Alchemy of the Velvet Underground’s Art
In The Velvet Underground documentary, Todd Haynes shows the music catapulting across time and space to Andy Warhol’s Factory, where the alchemy worked its magic.
Don DeLillo’s ‘White Noise’ Remains Unfilmable
Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise shows what a movie can do, but mainly what fiction still does better.
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Looks Upon the Poe You Didn’t Know
Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye has Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) making an unconventional partner to Christian Bale’s 1830s sleuth.
‘Living’ Rages Ever So Properly Against the Dying of the Light
Oliver Hermanus’ Living, a faithful remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, stars Bill Nighy as a terminally ill repressed bureaucrat who realizes it’s time to rage against the dying of the light.
