A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
French and French-language Films
René Clair, “Paris qui dort” (1925) An amusing and light-hearted moral fable about what would happen if individuals suddenly had unfettered freedom to do what they…
French and French-language Films
Chris Marker, “La Jetée” aka “The Jetty’ (1962) Unusual in its use of still black-and-white photography to tell its story of time travel, this short movie…
Pavel Klushantsev, “Planeta Bur’ ” aka “The Planet of Storms” (1962) In the early 1960’s Soviet space exploration was focussed on sending probes and eventually manned…
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…
Wanuri Kahiu, “Pumzi” (“Breath”) (2009) Just over 20 minutes long, this movie short from Kenya is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a global war has rendered the…
German and German-language Films
Ivan Engler, “Cargo” (2009) Debut full-length directorial feature for Ivan Engler, “Cargo” is a bloodless effort set in the distant future when the Earth has become…
David Lynch, “Eraserhead” (1977) Five years in the making from 1971 to 1976, “Eraserhead” was David Lynch’s full-length directing debut feature. Based on his experiences in…
Hatoshi Matsumoto, “Symbol” (2009) A slapstick comedy about interrelationships and the impact one person can have on events around the world, “Symbol” is the second full-length…
Yakov Protazanov, “Aelita, Queen of Mars” (1924) This silent Soviet film from the mid-1920’s can be seen in nine parts on Youtube.com thanks to contributor Ishexan. Most…
Katsuhiro Otomo, “Akira” (1988) In an alternative but parallel universe in 1988, a scientific experiment using young children as test subjects for research into superhuman mental…