Ran: stock characters make this film merely good, not truly great
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…
nausika
Nazi Literature in the Americas: Bolano novel could have been shorter and better
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
La Fille du Rer: film of connections that doesn’t quite connect
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
Playtime: Tati celebrates human values but needed machine values to make it
Jacques Tati, “Playtime”, Madman Cinema / The AV Channel, DVD (1967) Source: www.lauradors.com Said to have been the most expensive movie made in…
French and French-language Films
Belle de Jour: Bunuel turns a trashy soap opera plot into rich satire
Luis Buñuel, “Belle de Jour” (1967) It’s got a trashy premise – a rich doctor’s wife “plays” at being a prostitute for a few hours each…
Let Me In: Reeves “lets the right one in” to smother his version’s potential
Matt Reeves, “Let Me In”, Hammer Films / Overture Films (2010) Once upon a time about 25 years ago in a small town somewhere in Reagan-era America, there was…
Buried: film just manages to avoid burying itself with gimmicks and diversions
Rodrigo Cortes, “Buried” (2010) For a one-trick pony in which the trick is one man stuck in a wooden box buried 2 metres underground, this is…
The Life of Oharu: unsentimental historical drama of one woman’s downfall
Kenzo Mizoguchi, “The Life of Oharu”, Shintoho (1952) This is an excellent film about a depressing subject: I only wish colour film had been available to…
Mother (by Bong Joonho): force of nature that can’t be pigeon-holed
Bong Joonho, “Mother” (2008) There aren’t many good movies these days where the central character is a middle-aged woman. Of course she’s a mother – most…
The Housemaid (dir. Im Sang-soo) delivers high-gloss soap opera entertainment
Im Sang-soo “The Housemaid” (2010) How do you remake an old film regarded as a classic and made by a director who’s not only influenced you…