A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Northern European Films, Southeast Asian Films
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Act of Killing” (2012) A chilling film, made all the more so by moments of black humour, kitsch and banality, “The Act of…
Makoto Shinkai, “She and Her Cat” (1999) The debut animé film by Makoto Shinkai as director / animator / script-writer is a charming 5-minute morsel exploring…
Kazuchika Kise, “Ghost in the Shell: Arise – 1: Ghost Pain” (2013) First of a new four-part series in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, this…
Makoto Shinkai, “Garden of Words / Koto no ha no niwa” (2013) Makoto Shinkai is a new name to me and he has been billed as…
Brazilian Films, North American Films
Hector Babenco, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985) I had read the Manuel Puig novel of the same name many years ago and found it an…
Italian and Italian-language Films
Giuliano Carnimeo, “The Case of the Bloody Iris” (1971) Known also as “What are those Strange Drops of Blood on Jennifer’s Body?”, this flick is representative…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Shadow of a Doubt” (1942) A dark film that explores the potential for violence beneath the patina of an apparently happy family, “Shadow of…
Wlodzimierz Haupe and Halina Bielinska, “The Changing of the Guard / Zmiana warty” (1958) A simply made stop-motion animation piece, this little film is a tragic…
Ingmar Bergman, “The Seventh Seal / Det Sjunde Inseglet” (1957) Set in Sweden during the Black Death (1347 – 1350), this famous film examines a man’s…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Daniel Nettheim, “The Hunter” (2011) Based on the novel by Julia Leigh, “The Hunter” is both a mystery thriller and a journey of self-discovery and redemption…