A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Alexander Petrov, “Rusalka” (1996) Often referred to as “The Mermaid” in English, though mermaids and Russian rusalki are quite different creatures, this is a very beautiful…
Jan Svankmajer, “Dimensions in Dialogue / Moznosti Dialogu” (1982) Hilarious three-part stop-motion animated film that investigates communication breakdown in its various forms, “Dimensions in Dialogue” is…
Sadaf Foroughi, “Sara in 10 Minutes / Sara Dar Dah Daghighe-h” (2007) This is a charming documentary about a young orphan Sara, living in an orphanage…
Larry Jordan, “Our Lady of the Sphere” (1969) An intriguing and colourful film, “Our Lady of the Sphere” is based on the Bardo Thodol, a Tibetan…
Suzan Pitt, “Asparagus” (1979) A stunning and very colourful film short with a distinct animation style reminiscent of old cartoons from the 1930s, “Asparagus” is an…
Stefan Schabenbeck, “Stairs / Schody” (1969) A minimalist claymation 7-minute piece, “Stairs” is one of those teeny-tiny classics about the human search for meaning in life…
French and French-language Films
Walerian Borowczyk, “Les Jeux des Anges” (1964) So far the strangest film I have seen from Borowczyk, “Les Jeux …” at first doesn’t appear to have…
Piotr Dumala, “Crime and Punishment / Zbrodnia i Kara” (2000) The style of animation associated with Piotr Dumala is unusual and often emotionally intense: using plasterboard…
French and French-language Films
Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker, “Les Astronautes” (1959) An entertaining little film short, “Les Astronautes” is a stop-motion animation collage of photographs copied, cut and pasted onto…
French and French-language Films
Alain Resnais, “Hiroshima Mon Amour” (1959) This famous film tells a very deceptively simple story: a French actress whom we’ll call She (Emmanuelle Riva) is in…