Australian and New Zealand Films
Storm Boy: a film of unusual friendships and the cycle of life
Henri Safran, “Storm Boy” (1976) A moody and melancholy film, ostensibly about a lonely boy who raises three pelican chicks and remains close to one of…
nausika
Bram Stoker’s Dracula: a lavish and surreal film skirting over social issues in Western society now and in the 1890s
Francis Ford Coppola, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) A visually lavish and often surreal presentation, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the famous vampire novel still holds up…
The Miseducation of Cameron Post: a sketchy work on psychological abuse and repression in a gay conversion centre
Desiree Akhavan, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (2018) Set in 1993, this coming-of-age drama follows a teenaged girl’s sudden entry into a cruel world of psychological…
French and French-language Films
Un Beau Matin: a realist meditation on mortality, memory, loss and the love and beauty that endure
Mia Hansen-Løve, “Un Beau Matin” / “One Fine Morning” (2022) One fine morning in Paris … a woman’s life unexpectedly changes when, while visiting a park…
British Films, North American Films
SPECTRE: behind a gritty and stylish front, old Bondian stereotypes return
Sam Mendes, “SPECTRE” (2015) As James Bond films go, “Spectre” looks gritty and stylishly in a minimal way all at once, but that’s as much as…
French and French-language Films
Saint Omer: dry legal drama on dysfunctional parent-child relationships and the struggles of migrants in an alien culture
Alice Diop, “Saint Omer” (2022) At first presenting as a dry courtroom drama cum psychological character study, “Saint Omer” turns out to be a compassionate work…
Renfield: camp horror comedy suffers from co-dependency on too much CGI splatter violence
Chris McKay, “Renfield” (2023) A cheerfully cheesy vehicle for Nicolas Cage to finally fulfil his life’s ambition to play Count Dracula, “Renfield” shifts the focus away…
Infinity Pool: character study satire on the decline of Western culture and values
Brandon Cronenberg, “Infinity Pool” (2023) Take away the extreme violence, the scenes of sleazy sex and the over-acting and what we end up with is a…
Blacula: cheap and campy cult classic given backbone by its monster
William Crain, “Blacula” (1972) In 1780, a noble African Prince (William Marshall), known as Mamuwalde, visits Transylvania with his wife Luva to solicit the help of…
Eastern European Films, French and French-language Films
EO: a donkey’s odyssey through the kindness (or not) of strangers
Jerzy Skolimowski, “EO” (2022) Inspired by Robert Bresson’s 1966 film “Au hasard Balthazar”, this Polish film follows the adventures of circus donkey EO after the circus…