French and French-language Films
The Mascot: a puppet dog’s mission of self-sacrifice results in an amazing masterpiece of stop-motion animation
Wladyslaw Starewicz, “The Mascot / Fétiche Mascotte ” (1933) An amazing and brilliant short work
Tag: Horror
Feline Follies: the folly of falling hard in love with no regard for consequences in a dark suicidal cartoon
Otto Messmer, “Feline Follies” (1919) By no means a great cartoon or even a mildly
The Little Pest: beaten up, walloped, drowned – what’s a pesky baby brother to do?
Dick Huemer, “The Little Pest” (1931) Chiefly remarkable for its depiction of sibling-on-sibling violence, this
Balloon Land: a fantasy fairy land where life is fragile, death is close by and a serial killer is on the rampage
Ub Iwerks, “Balloon Land” (1935) For sure this cartoon with the Hansel-and-Gretel morality fairy-tale plot
Swing You Sinners! – horror morality story goes to extremes in imaginative animation
Dave Fleischer, “Swing You Sinners!” (1930) A bizarre little cartoon short, filled with the most
The Curse of La Llorona: cursed by cheap thrills and Hollywood horror film cliches
Michael Chaves , “The Curse of La Llorona” (2019) As his full-length movie directorial debut,
French and French-language Films
Last Year at Marienbad: a comic and often repetitive satire on the empty lives of the wealthy
Alain Resnais, “Last Year at Marienbad / L’Année dernière à Marienbad” (1961) At times hilarious,
French and French-language Films
Climax: French society in microcosm with all its stresses, anxieties, hidden secrets and a dark puppet-master
Gaspar Noe, “Climax” (2018) In the hands of Argentine-French director Gaspar Noe, a story about
The Invisible Man’s Revenge: a messy plot and flat uninteresting characters underline this cheap film
Ford Beebe, “The Invisible Man’s Revenge” (1944) It could have been an interesting character study
Italian and Italian-language Films
Don’t Torture a Duckling: behind the sensationalism, a surprisingly thoughtful and critical film
Lucio Fulci, “Don’t Torture a Duckling / Non si sevizia un paperino” (1973) Fret not,