Good Boy: a film of love, death, grief and deep devotion capable of self-sacrifice
Ben Leonberg, “Good Boy” (2025) For his first film as a director, Ben Leonberg chose an unusual lead actor: his own pet dog, a Nova Scotia…
Experimental Films
British Films, German and German-language Films
The Zone of Interest: a disturbing film of ordinary people involved in, and denying evil
Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest” (2023) As films about the Nazi Holocaust go, “The Zone of Interest” is one of the most disturbing I have…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Tusalava: a unique animated classic inviting many interpretations
Len Lye, “Tusalava” (1929) It must have been astonishing enough when it was first released with its original piano music score by woefully under-rated Australian experimental…
Exploring destiny, reincarnation and transformation in “Uncle Boonmee who can recall his past lives”
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, “Uncle Boonmee who can recall his past lives” (2010) The last days of a farmer dying from kidney disease on his farm in a…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, North American Films
Chan is Missing: a missing-person mystery dives into exploring a community and the immigrant experience
Wayne Wang, “Chan is Missing” (1982) Would-be taxicab owner / driver Jo (Wood Moy) needs to purchase a licence enabling him to drive a taxi so…
Steppenwolf: a stodgy and soporific adaptation of a cult counter-culture novel
Fred Haines, “Steppenwolf” (1974) There was a period in the 1960s when this 1927 novel was the darling of the psychedelic counter-culture in the United States,…
5 Centimetres per Second: an insubstantial trilogy on the fleeting nature of youthful love, hope and desire
Makoto Shinkai, “5 Centimetres per Second” (2007) As with his “Your Name”, Makoto Shinkai’s earlier “5 Centimetres per Second” is a teenage romance based around desire,…
German and German-language Films
Faust: a visually stunning film with many magnificent scenes – but a thin story weakens it
F W Murnau, “Faust” (1926) Visually powerful and stunning, with an incredible opening scene of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding high in the sky,…
British Films, Eastern European Films
Loving Vincent: an arresting visual animation style papers over a repetitive and insubstantial formulaic plot
Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, “Loving Vincent” (2017) Most viewers will probably be bowled over by the use of oil paintings on canvas as animation cels…
French and French-language Films, Northern European Films
The Passion of Joan of Arc: an experimental film let down by its narrow focus, story-line and characterisation
Carl Theodor Dreyer, “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) In itself, this silent film is remarkable for its lead actor Maria Falconetti’s acting from the…