Round-up of Films seen in 2024
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…
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North American Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Anora: Cinderella tale skewers class system and trash culture in neocapitalist society
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
Lee: a tired and flat biopic that does its heroine no justice
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…
The harm caused to women and girls by queer theory and gender identity politics in “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 4: For a Gender Critical Future)”
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…
Hostility to detransitioning and what it says about the desire to control nature in “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 3: Trans Regret)”
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…
The medical profession and its practices under fire in “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 2: Medicalisation)”
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…
Misogyny, female adolescence and gender identity ideology collide in “Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood like a House on Fire (Part 1: Being a Woman in a Woman-Hating World)”
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…
Apartment 7A: regurgitating a classic psychological horror film as a boring profit-making exercise
Natalie Erika James, “Apartment 7A” (2024) Essentially a remake of Roman Polanski’s famous psychological horror flick “Rosemary’s Baby”, this film is set just before the events…
British Films, French and French-language Films
The Substance: devastating satirical critique of Western culture’s obsession with surface appearances and material worth
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” (2024) It may be called “The Substance” but this film’s style – in its boldly colourful (and confrontational) visual style, its minimal…
French and French-language Films, Northern European Films
Complètement cramé! – feel-good comedy on the importance of hope and helping others as a way of helping oneself
Gilles Legardinnier, “Complètement cramé! / Mr Blake at your service!” (2023) It’s twee and artificial in style, but nevertheless this light French comedy-drama film highlights the…