The Wicker Man: a satire on religious bigotry and fanaticism
Robin Hardy “The Wicker Man” (1973) In spite of a small budget and the set-backs it suffered during filming and the post-production process, this short movie…
British Films
British Films, North American Films
Equus: a psychodrama of outstanding performances and troubling philosophical questions about individuality and creativity
Sidney Lumet, “Equus” (1977) He never won an individual Academy Award for Best Movie or Best Director but surely Sidney Lumet is one of the greatest…
Evil under the Sun: a minor crime caper classic portraying a self-contained, self-absorbed world of the rich at play
Guy Hamilton, “Evil under the Sun” (1981) Even when he’s holidaying in an apparently perfect little Mediterranean paradise where the sky is always celestial blue and…
Salisbury! A Day in Skripal City: a snapshot of a city in shock and uncertainty
Graham Phillips, “Salisbury! A Day in Skripal City” (July 2018) In late July, British journalist / film-maker Graham Phillips spent time in Salisbury in southern England…
A devious history of chemical and biological weapons on “Secret Science: Chemical and Biological Weapons” that stops short of serious criticism
Tim Usborne, “Secret Science: Chemical and Biological Weapons” (2016) In 2016, the year of its centenary, Britain’s major defence science and technology park, popularly known as…
The Bookshop: one-dimensional characters and a pedestrian plot in a kitsch provincial English setting
Isabel Coixet, “The Bookshop” (2017) Directed by a Catalan-Spanish director, this film exudes provincial English kitsch in its setting, its stereotyped and sometimes frosty characters, and…
A narrow, personal focus in “The Tsar and Empress: Secret Letters” does little justice to two ill-fated personalities of Russian history
“The Tsar and Empress: Secret Letters” (2017) A lavish two-part series revolving around the letters that Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, and his…
British Films, French and French-language Films
The Death of Stalin: an unfunny and insulting comedy satire lacking in imagination and original ideas
Armando Iannucci, “The Death of Stalin” (2017) A British-made comedy satire about the death of Joseph Stalin and the struggle among his senior officials in the…
Why is China Investing in the Balkans? – VisualPolitik’s guess is no better than yours or mine
“Why is China Investing in the Balkans?” (VisualPolitik EN, 26 March 2018) VisualPolitik EN is a Youtube channel that posts short video clips on geopolitical and…
Lady Macbeth: a disturbing character study told in a minimalist, understated style
William Oldroyd, “Lady Macbeth” (2016) Adapted from Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novel “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”, this character study investigates how an apparently demure young…