The Iron Lady: biopic ignores dark and unsavoury aspects of Margaret Thatcher’s life and career
Phyllida Lloyd, “The Iron Lady” (2011) I steeled myself to watch this film; I had seen the trailer and it had filled me with fear. Donning…
The Skin I Live In: tricked-up film about identity change misses some deep lessons about obsession, control and revenge
Pedro Almodóvar, “The Skin I Live In / La Piel Que Habito” (2011) Georges Franju’s sci-fi horror classic “Eyes without a Face” was overdue for a remake…
Howl’s Moving Castle: cut-and-paste job of previous Studio Ghibli films masks a conservative message for women and girls
Hayao Miyazaki, “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2005) Up to and including “Spirited Away”, the animated films by Studio Ghibli are of a high standard both technically and…
Melancholia: meditation on depression and cosmic indifference to humanity waylaid by emphasis on shallow characters
Lars von Trier, “Melancholia” (2011) Fed up with the deadbeat rate of intellectual and cultural evolution that the human species was demonstrating on planet Earth, the…
French and French-language Films
Blood Coltan: fact-finding documentary on coltan mining in DRC tells the horror like it is
Patrick Forestier, “Blood Coltan” (2007) Saw mention of this documentary in Arena magazine (December 2011 / January 2012 issue) so I was curious as to what…
Antichrist: inquiry into misogyny and battle between rationality and Nature
Lars von Trier, “Antichrist” (2009) Highly controversial for its depiction of sexual violence and mutilation, “Antichrist” was made when von Trier was suffering depression and the…
French and French-language Films, Spanish Films
L’Age d’Or: cheeky and hilarious attack on religious, social and political repression and corruption
Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, “L’Âge d’Or” (1930) On the heels of “Un Chien Andalou”, a short film, comes this proper full-length surrealist feature by Buñuel…
Un Chien Andalou: a special once-in-a-lifetime visual experience
Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, “Un Chien Andalou” (1929) Famous surrealist film that never fails to shock and surprise despite having been made over 80 years,…
French and French-language Films
Blood of the Beasts: horror, death, poetry and beauty co-exist in slaughterhouse
Georges Franju, “Le sang des bêtes” / “Blood of the Beasts” (1949) An amazing if very graphic realist film documentary of the work done in abbatoirs…
Human Resources: documentary on mind control is mind-exploding
Scott Noble, “Human Resources” (2010) What can I say? This two-hour documentary on the history of government and elite attempts to control human behaviour and direct…