A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Ingmar Bergman, “Persona” (1966) A visually stunning film, shot in black and white film and using contrasts of lighting and landscape to illustrate its themes of…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, French and French-language Films
Olivier Assayas, “Clean” (2004) Rare are the movies in which two main characters happen to be father and his daughter-in-law yet just this month I’ve already…
Shane Carruth, “Upstream Color” (2012) Since making “Primer”, Shane Carruth’s career as film director and producer has definitely leapt ahead. There is still a rough-edged quality…
Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, “The Adventure of a Good Citizen / Przygoda czlowieka poczciwego” (1937) Experimental film-making got off to an early start in Poland in…
J Searle Dawley, “Frankenstein” (1910) Made by Edison Studios in 1910, this is the first adaptation of the famous Gothic horror novel by Mary Shelley onto…
Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, “The Eye and the Ear / Oko i Ucho” (1944 / 1945) Abstract and experimental animation has a long and illustrious history…
Zbigniew Rybczinski, “Tango” (1981) Winner of the 1981 Oscar for Best Animated Short, this 8-minute film is a collection of live-action film clips, all of which…
Jerzy Kucia, “Reflections / Refleksy” (1979) Black-and-white animation has never been used so well as in this little film about the slings and arrows of outrageous…
Zofia Oraczewska, “The Banquet / Bankiet” (1976) Its style seems outdated for a short animation of its vintage but I believe this is still a much…
Marek Skrobecki, “Ichthys” (2005) For once I didn’t need to look up an English translation for the title of this Polish animation short which uses animated…