A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Luis Buñuel, “Simon of the Desert / Simón del Desierto” (1965) Buñuel skewers again institutional religion and sanctimonious belief, this time in a satire based on the…
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Luis Buñuel, “The Exterminating Angel / El ángel exterminador” (1962) So far everything I have seen of Luis Buñuel has been supremely first class and “The Exterminating…
Jindrich Polak, “Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea / Zitra vstanu a oparim se cajem” (1977) One of a number of comic science…
French and French-language Films, Spanish Films
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…
David Wojnarowicz and Tommy Turner, “Where Evil Dwells” (1985) Loosely based on an actual American court case in which 17 year old youth Ricky Kasso killed…
Paul Verhoeven, “Starship Troopers” (1997) Loosely adapted from the Robert Heinlein novel of the same name, this film can be read as a caricature on several…
French and French-language Films
Roman Polanski, “The Tenant” / “Le Locataire” (1976) A very good psychological study of a young man, bullied by others and trying to make his way in a…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Young and Innocent” (1938) A plucky teenage girl aids a young man on the run from bumbling police who suspect him of murder by…
Stephen K Tsuchida, “A Ninja Pays Half my Rent” (2002) Hilarious student short about finding the perfect room-mate (which could be extended to include the perfect…
French and French-language Films, German and German-language Films
Orson Welles, “The Trial” / “Le Procès” (1962) This film is a visually striking adaptation of the famous Franz Kafka novel. Welles’s directorial approach tries to…