Franz Kafka: lack of story and direction drag down an otherwise very fine brooding and melancholy film
Piotr Dumala, “Franz Kafka” (1992) A 15-minute film of various episodes in the life of
A Quiet Week in the House: becoming a voyeur to view, record and pass on news of desperate attempts to be free
Jan Svankmajer, “A Quiet Week in the House / Tichy tyden v dome” (1969) A strange
The Cranes are Flying: expressive and soulful film of hope despite the tragedy of war
Mikhail Kalatozov, “The Cranes are Flying / Letyat zhuravli” (1957) A soulful film of hope
French and French-language Films
The World According to Monsanto: hard-hitting documentary about the infamous agribusiness corporation
Marie-Monique Robin, “The World According to Monsanto / Le Monde selon Monsanto” (2008) At issue in
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired – an examination of celebrity culture and corruption in US justice system
Marina Zenovich, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” (2009) On the surface this film is about
Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea: exuberant science fiction time-travel comedy with a subversive message about lost opportunities and possibilities
Jindrich Polak, “Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea / Zitra vstanu a
Latin American Films (non-Spanish / non-Portuguese)
Modulations, Cinema for the Ear: boring and direction-less survey of electronic dance music genres from 1970s to 1990s
Iara Lee, “Modulations, Cinema for the Ear” (1998) Billed as a history of electronic music
Australian and New Zealand Films
What the Future Sounded Like: modest little documentary on a pioneering electronic music company in Britain
Matthew Bate, “What the Future Sounded Like” (2006) Here be a good little documentary about the
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: potentially great movie struggling under weak sub-text and sketchy plot
Tomas Alfredsson, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (2011) I’m too young to know the 1979 BBC TV
The Fall of the House of Usher / The Pit, the Pendulum and Hope (dir. Jan Svankmajer): two film shorts of fear, terror and oppression
Jan Svankmajer, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1981), “The Pit, the Pendulum and