Claude Sautet Forged an Admirable Path in Character-Study Drama
Many of Claude Sautet’s films were pointed comments on how even the most assured families can be the victims of upheaval when cultural codes are challenged.
Film Review
Food Movie ‘Mistura’ Seasons Peruvian Identity Too Lightly
Ricardo de Montreuil’s historical melodrama, Mistura, celebrates Peru’s culinary plurality while sidelining those who sustain it.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains’ Remains Punk Cinema’s Most Recognizable Signpost
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains built the scaffold on which more successful films about women in punk rock would scale grander heights.
‘Hunger’ Summons the Ghosts of Cinema’s Past
Imanol Ortiz López’s 2D animated short film, Hunger is a captivating tale of horror about two parents who decide what to do about their crying baby.
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head’s Quasi-Horror, Proto-Noir, Anti-War Message
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head belongs to its early 1930s era, when the last war and the next one were on everyone’s minds, and public rhetoric often jousted between talk of warmongers, preparedness, and pacifism.
‘I Love Boosters’ Is Not the Critique of Capitalism It Claims to Be
Director Boots Riley and critics interpret I Love Boosters as an anti-capitalist, if not revolutionary, tale. Quite the opposite, in fact.
‘Unearthly Stranger’ Warns: Beware Whom You Marry
Sci-fi movie Unearthly Stranger is wonky, but viewers will enjoy the crackerjack paranoia, terror, and chilling “something is not right” about this marriage moments.
‘House of Dreams’ and the No-Budget Hell of No-Budget Horror
House of Dreams explores the nightmare of creativity one must endure to make a no-budget horror movie.
Coming-of-Age Drama ‘I’ll Be Gone in June’ Subverts the Narrative Tradition
In her 9/11-era drama, I’ll Be Gone in June, Rivilis hits perfect tension between how life moves so fast, and yet, so slow.
‘Renoir’ Faces the Uglier Parts of Grieving
Chie Hayakawa’s deeply personal Renoir is a harsh and intimate portrait of childhood, examining a grief that arrives without clear form or catharsis.
‘Backrooms’ Is Horror Cinema’s ‘Lost’
Kane Parsons’ uncanny creeper Backrooms is a Borgesian labyrinth of thrilling yet ultimately disappointing potential. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Silent Film Star Corinne Griffith Brightens the Garden
One of silent film’s most beautiful stars, Corinne Griffith glitters across Lewis Mileston’s deceptive The Garden of Eden.