Suicide Club: gory horror flick intended as interrogation of the state of modern Japanese society
Sion Sono, “Suicide Club / Jisatsu Sakuru” (2002) Famous for its controversial premise, full-on gory
German and German-language Films | Middle Eastern Films
Wild Iran: interesting film on a photographer’s journey across Iran
Herbert Ostwald, “Wild Iran” (2011) This documentary follows the Iranian-German wildlife photographer and environmentalist Benny
Branded to Kill: existentialist yakuza thriller parody of the corporate rat-race and its values
Seijun Suzuki, “Branded to Kill / Koroshi no Rakuin” (1967) After his previous gangster flick
Tokyo Drifter: surreal pop-art gangster flick riffing on corporate loyalty and surviving in a corrupt world
Seijun Suzuki, “Tokyo Drifter / Tokyo nagaremono” (1966) A tale of larger-than-life characters grappling with
Australian and New Zealand Films
Change My Race: documentary on deracialisation reveals an Australia unsure of its place in a world changing for the worse
Julia Redmond and Rhian Skirving, “Change My Race” (2013) This SBS production is a disturbing
2001: A Space Odyssey – a film that explores universal human desires and the relationship between people and technology
Stanley Kubrick “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) One of the great crowning glories of 20th
Blackfish: a direct demonstration of corporate exploitation of humans and animals alike
Gabriela Cowperthwaite, “Blackfish” (2013) It’s as much advocacy journalism as documentary and makes no apologies
British Films | French and French-language Films | German and German-language Films
The Ghost Writer: a straightforward story that deals fleetingly with the nature of US-UK relations
Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer” (2009) Circumstances surrounding this film were peculiar enough in themselves:
Laputa, Castle in the Sky: a joyful adventure film with an earnest social responsibility message
Hayao Miyazaki, “Laputa, Castle in the Sky / Tenko no shiro Ryaputa” (1986) One of
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: visually beautiful film with a strong but naive and woolly-brained ecological message
Hayao Miyazaki, “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind / Kaze no tani no Naushika”