A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Andrei Tarkovsky, “Stalker” (1979) For Western audiences used to fast action science fiction movies, “Stalker” is a very slow-paced post-apocalyptic mover with a barebones plot that…
Sergei Parajanov and David Abashidze, “Ashik Kerib” (1988) The last completed film by Georgian / Armenian director Sergei Parajanov before his death in 1990, “Ashik Kerib”…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Wan Guchan and Wan Laiming, “Princess Iron Fan” / “Tian Shan Gong Zhu” (1941) This retelling of a Chinese folk tale “Journey to the West” featuring…
John Schlesinger, “Midnight Cowboy” (1969) Over forty years ago when this movie was released, it was seen as gritty and ground-breaking but these days “Midnight Cowboy”…
David Cronenberg, “Crash” (1996) Based on the eponymous 1973 novel by J G Ballard, this film can be viewed as a companion to it rather than…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Rich and Strange” aka “East of Shanghai” (1931) One of a group of films Hitchcock made in his lean early-1930’s period – the others include…
French and French-language Films
Henri-Georges Clouzot, “Wages of Fear” (1953) On paper, this movie’s plot looks so simple, even kindergartners would yawn at it: an American oil company offers to…
Josh Fox, “Gasland” (2010) Written, filmed, narrated and directed by Josh Fox, this documentary is a personal journey investigating the nature and environmental impact of the…
Larry Charles, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (2006) Using the narrative form of a naif travelling in a foreign…
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Walter Salles, “The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004) A film about two guys in their 20s riding on a motorcycle through South America in the 1950s should have been…