A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
French and French-language Films
Julie Bousquet, Estelle Hocquet, Catherine Manesse, “Caldeira” (2018) A short animated study of sibling rivalry and long-standing jealousy that can have dire consequences, this little film…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, North American Films
Lulu Wang, “The Farewell” (2019) As a character study of an individual torn between her parents’ Chinese culture and the Western culture she has grown up…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Jiaozi, “Ne Zha” (2019) A loud, noisy and overblown blockbuster animation fantasy made to please most people, this film is loosely based on a legend about…
Kim Heeyae, “Shadow Thief” (2018) Done entirely in black and white and shades of grey with no dialogue, this animated short is a brilliant critique of…
Victor Alonso-Berbel, “Perfectly Natural” (2018) No aliens, monsters, paranormal events or denizens of Hell or the 25th dimension abound here but this 12-minute short is as…
French and French-language Films
Simon Duong Van Huyen, Joel Durand, Thibault Leclercq, Valentin Lucas, Andrei Sitari, “Hors de l’eau” (2018) A very well-made short film combining animation with some live…
French and French-language Films
Nicholas Olivieri, Shen Yi, Juliana De Lucca, Varun Nair, David Feliu, “Best Friend” (2019) In the not-so-distant future, a lonely unnamed man find solace in a…
British Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Leo Mattei, Johnny Miller, “The Tragedy of Russia’s Reforms” (PressTV, 2017) Made for the Iranian news channel PressTV, this measured documentary turns out to be a…
French and French-language Films
Ines Scheiber, Jules Durand, Julien Becquer, Elena Dupressoir, Viviane Guimaraes, “Memo” (2017) A very touching film on Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on sufferers’ daily lives,…
Bill Tytla, “Little Audrey – Tarts and Flowers” (1950) Part of a series of cartoons about a cute kindergarten-aged girl called … well, what else? ……