Kapsapea: an entertaining parody of action adventure / romance films
Riho Unt, “Kapsapea / A Cabbage” (1993) A stop-animation parody of action adventure films like the Indiana Jones movie series, “Kapsapea” revolves around the travails of…
nausika
Why the Rise of Fascism is Again the Issue: clarion call for everyone to know and resist resurgent global fascism
John Pilger, “Why the Rise of Fascism is Again the Issue”, JohnPilger.com (26 February 2015) Australia’s conscience comes with a real name: this is John Pilger…
Yuck! A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary about School Lunch: young investigator’s sleuthing into public school lunch program is queasy to stomach
Zachary Maxwell, “Yuck! A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary about School Lunch” (2012) Here comes wisdom from the mouths of babes … in this case, 9-year-old Zachary…
Northern European Films, Southeast Asian Films
The Look of Silence: a grim and monotonous film about a personal quest but no context to make sense of it
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Look of Silence” (2014) A companion piece to Oppenheimer’s earlier documentary “The Act of Killing”, this film considers the effects of Indonesia’s purges…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Under Skin, In Blood / You Turn / Karroyul / Man Real / Nulla Nulla / On Stage / Maap Mordak: seven shorts showcasing Aboriginal Australian film-making talent
Larissa Behrendt, “Under Skin, In Blood” (2015) Ryan Griffen, “You Turn” (2015) Kelrick Martin, “Karroyul” (2015) Tracey Rigney, “Man Real” (2015) Dylan River, “Nulla Nulla” (2015)…
A biased narrative that splits hairs in “Michael Mosley: The Truth About Meat”
Andrew Lachman, “Michael Mosley: The Truth About Meat” (2014) Second in a series of documentaries hosted and narrated by BBC science presenter Michael Mosley, this episode…
The Virgin Spring: a profound and moving work on vengeance, justice and the remoteness of religion
Ingmar Bergman, “The Virgin Spring / Jungfrukällan” (1960) Perhaps not so celebrated as “The Seventh Seal”, this morality tale on the nature of humanity, the remoteness…
Ex_Machina: style is part of the substance in a low-budget SF film that tackles complex issues
Alex Garland, “Ex_Machina” (2015) At first glance, Alex Garland’s directorial debut flim “Ex Machina” looks like the total triumph of style over substance but like its…
German and German-language Films
Metropolis (dir. by Fritz Lang, reconstructed + restored): near-full restoration carries a populist message of fear and conservative belief
Fritz Lang, “Metropolis (reconstructed + restored)” (1928) I’ve had the opportunity to see “Metropolis” (which I reviewed some years ago) again in its reconstructed and restored…
Multi-media Presentations, Russian and Soviet Films
Direct Line with Vladimir Putin (April 2015): concentrating on domestic issues, Crimea and the Ukrainian crisis
Kirill Kleymenov and Maria Sittel, “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” (RT.com, 16 April 2015) Every year since he has been President of Russia, and also when…