A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
German and German-language Films
Werner Herzog, “Aguirre, Wrath of God” (1972) A dramatic fictional rendition of the 1560 expedition of the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Ursua down the Maranon and…
Alejandro Amenabar, “Agora” (2010) This Spanish production presents a fictional account of the final years and death of the Greek female scientist / mathematician / philosopher…
German and German-language Films
Werner Herzog, “Heart of Glass” (1976) An 18th-century tale of a town dependent on its glass factory becomes a metaphor for the downfall of German and…
German and German-language Films
Wim Wenders, “Wings of Desire” (1987) A romantic fantasy about an angel who yearns to be human becomes a meditation on the nature of physical being…
Nigel Cole, “Made in Dagenham”, BBC Films / UK Film Council (2010) Much in the vein of other British comedy-dramas that revolve around social and…
Debra Granik, “Winter’s Bone” (2010) Source: www.mirror.co.uk Meet Ree Dolly: she’s a 17-year-old girl caring for her severely depressed mom and two younger siblings, Sonny and Ashlee, on…
Akira Kurosawa, “Ran” (1985) “Ran” (“Chaos” or “Revolt”) was Kurosawa’s last attempt at creating and filming an epic historical drama set in Japan’s Kamakura period when feudal…
Robert Bolano, “Nazi Literature in the Americas” (translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews), Picador, ISBN 978-0-330-51388-3 (2010) You might have feared that an alarmingly titled…
French and French-language Films
Andre Techine, “La fille du RER (The Girl on the Train)”, Strand Releasing (2009) Not a bad drama but I couldn’t quite see the point of…
French and French-language Films
Jacques Tati, “Playtime”, Madman Cinema / The AV Channel, DVD (1967) Source: www.lauradors.com Said to have been the most expensive movie made in…