A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Italian and Italian-language Films, North American Films
Edward Berger, “Conclave” (2024) Who’d have thought that a film about a group of Roman Catholic cardinals electing a new Pope could turn out to be…
Pedro Almodóvar, “The Room Next Door” (2024) Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film addresses the issue of voluntary euthanasia / suicide and its effects…
Robert Eggers, “Nosferatu” (2024) Incredibly the years 2023 and 2024 saw two remakes of F W Murnau’s famous horror silent film “Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des…
Dear USE readers, I haven’t seen very many films this year but I have endeavoured to watch films that I believed – or was led to…
North American Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Sean Baker, “Anora” (2024) Presenting as a comedy variation on the Cinderella story, “Anora” deftly skewers Western neo-capitalism, the class system and trashy culture that are…
British Films, North American Films
Ellen Kuras, “Lee” (2024) An earnest biopic, “Lee” follows the career of US photographer / photojournalist Lee Miller (played by Kate Winslet) during two periods in…
Vaishnavi Sundar, “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 4: For a Gender Critical Future)” (2020) In the final episode of this four-part documentary…
Vaishnavi Sundar, “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 3: Trans Regret)” (2020) In this episode of her four-part series on the effects of…
Vaishnavi Sundar, “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 2: Medicalisation)” (2020) In Part 2 of her four-part series on gender identity ideology and…
Vaishnavi Sundari, “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 1: Being a Woman in a Woman-Hating World)” (2020) Made during the COVID lockdowns in…