A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
“The World Tomorrow (Episode 1: Hassan Nasrallah)” (Russia Today, 18 April 2012) First in a series of 12 interviews conducted by Wikileaks dissident Julian Assange and…
Ivan Maximov, “Provincial School” (1992) Amusing little animated short, running at under five minutes, about a most unusual country school where the kids resemble foetuses of…
Alexander Petrov, “Rusalka” (1996) Often referred to as “The Mermaid” in English, though mermaids and Russian rusalki are quite different creatures, this is a very beautiful…
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…
D I Yashin, “Experiments in the Revival of Organisms” (1940) A curious short documentary from 1940 about a series of experiments on reviving dead or inanimate…
Alix Lambert, “The Mark of Caïn” (2000) Ostensibly a film about the declining custom of tattooing in Russian prisons, its history and how it serves as…
Fyodor Khitruk, “Vinni Pukh” (1969) / “Vinni Pukh idyot v gosti” (1972) / “Vinni Pukh i den’ zabot” (1972) My favourite cartoon featuring Winnie the Pooh as…
Andrei Shushkov, “Invention of Love” (2010) Came across this elegant and melancholy film short by chance while hunting out another film short on Youtube.com and decided…
Alexander Sokurov, “Russian Ark” (2002) At last a film was made with just one take and a well-executed and visually gorgeous film it is too. “Russian Ark” is…
Dziga Vertov, “Man with a Movie Camera” / “Chelovek s Kino-apparatom” / “Liudyna z Kinoaparatom” (1929) No plot, no obvious characters or a point of view…