Dogville: failing to understand complexities and contradictions of American people, culture and history
Lars von Trier, “Dogville” (2003) First in a series of films on American culture from
Tag: Revenge Films
A Tattooed Life: underrated yakuza character study expressing anti-nationalist nihilism
Seijun Suzuki, “A Tattooed Life / Irezumi Ichidai” (1965) A surprisingly touching and quite emotional
The 47 Ronin (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki): a drawn-out epic about maintaining abstract ideals in a changing society
Hiroshi Inagaki, “The 47 Ronin / Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki” (1962) The
Eastern European Films | North American Films
The Forgiveness of Blood: psychological drama of two teenagers caught between rapid modernisation and age-old traditions
Joshua Marston, “The Forgiveness of Blood / Falja e Gjakut” (2010) Hard to believe that
Stoker: psychological thriller let down by stereotyped characters and poor scripting
Park Chanwook, “Stoker” (2013) Appropriately Chanwook Park’s Hollywood directing debut is a psychological thriller featuring
Upstream Color: how love and hope can overcome a cycle of evil and bring about healing
Shane Carruth, “Upstream Color” (2012) Since making “Primer”, Shane Carruth’s career as film director and
Reflections: original and beautiful use of black-and-white animation to illustrate a cosmic joke
Jerzy Kucia, “Reflections / Refleksy” (1979) Black-and-white animation has never been used so well as
The Banquet: a much loved cartoon with wry gallows humour
Zofia Oraczewska, “The Banquet / Bankiet” (1976) Its style seems outdated for a short animation
House of Wax: realism versus art and artifice in horror cult film
Andre de Toth, “House of Wax” (1953) “House of Wax” was the movie that established
The Sweet Hereafter: a fragmented film labouring under too many issues about loss and betrayal of children
Atom Egoyan, “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997) It won quite a few Best Film and Director