A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Klaus Toft, “Killers in Eden” (2004) Made for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, this television documentary explores an intriguing partnership forged between humans and wild animals that…
Hiroshi Inagaki, “The 47 Ronin / Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki” (1962) The tale of the 47 masterless samurai who avenged their lord’s forced…
Pablo Berger, “Blancanieves” (2012) In the style of old 1920s expressionist silent films, Berger’s “Blancanieves” is a witty, layered and lavish Gothic retelling of the fairy-tale…
WHAT’S TO BE DONE WITH CHECHNYA? Chechnya: a Troubled Region After the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013, and the arrest of suspect bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev…
Eastern European Films, North American Films
Joshua Marston, “The Forgiveness of Blood / Falja e Gjakut” (2010) Hard to believe that even in Europe there are societies where the very new and…
Northern European Films, Southeast Asian Films
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Act of Killing” (2012) A chilling film, made all the more so by moments of black humour, kitsch and banality, “The Act of…
Makoto Shinkai, “She and Her Cat” (1999) The debut animé film by Makoto Shinkai as director / animator / script-writer is a charming 5-minute morsel exploring…
Kazuchika Kise, “Ghost in the Shell: Arise – 1: Ghost Pain” (2013) First of a new four-part series in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, this…
Makoto Shinkai, “Garden of Words / Koto no ha no niwa” (2013) Makoto Shinkai is a new name to me and he has been billed as…
Brazilian Films, North American Films
Hector Babenco, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985) I had read the Manuel Puig novel of the same name many years ago and found it an…