A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Robert Connolly, “Underground: the Julian Assange Story” (2012) Fictionalised dramatisation of an episode in the early life of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as a teenage computer…
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012) Can’t be very many films where the main characters are played by a very young girl and a…
Sara Nason, “Abandon the Knife” (2011) This documentary on female genital mutilation will always be topical as long as the practice and the social and economic conditions that…
Kihachiro Kawamoto “Tabi (The Trip)” (1973) Very striking little animation piece, reminiscent of an extended Monty Python cartoon piece, “The Trip” looks quite simple and has…
Sadaf Foroughi, “Sara in 10 Minutes / Sara Dar Dah Daghighe-h” (2007) This is a charming documentary about a young orphan Sara, living in an orphanage…
Suzan Pitt, “Asparagus” (1979) A stunning and very colourful film short with a distinct animation style reminiscent of old cartoons from the 1930s, “Asparagus” is an…
Mikhail Kalatozov, “The Cranes are Flying / Letyat zhuravli” (1957) A soulful film of hope and optimism amid the cruelties of war, this story of a…
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, “Arrietty / Karu-gurashi no Arrietti” (2010) A charming offering from Studio Ghibli, based loosely on Mary Norton’s novel “The Borrowers”, this film is beautiful…
Kenneth Anger, “Fireworks” (1947) Quite a remarkable debut film this is from a 17-year-old Kenneth Anger which is a coming-of-age piece recreating a dream he had:…
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…