A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Michael Armstrong, “The Image” (1967) Notable mainly for being singer and sometime actor David Bowie’ first film role, this 14-minute horror short is an eerie surrealist…
Charles Chaplin, “The Gold Rush” (1925, revised 1942) In reality, the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush must have been a harsh, grim and ultimately disappointing experience for…
German and German-language Films
Fritz Lang, “Metropolis (reconstructed + restored)” (1928) I’ve had the opportunity to see “Metropolis” (which I reviewed some years ago) again in its reconstructed and restored…
Kenneth Anger, “Invocation of My Demon Brother” (1969) If like me, you’ve already seen a considerable number of films by Kenneth Anger, this one won’t add…
Ivan Ramadan, “Tolerantia” (2008) An animated 3D short made in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2008, “Tolerantia” is a plea for religious tolerance. Set at the end of the…
Pablo Berger, “Blancanieves” (2012) In the style of old 1920s expressionist silent films, Berger’s “Blancanieves” is a witty, layered and lavish Gothic retelling of the fairy-tale…
Marek Skrobecki, “Ichthys” (2005) For once I didn’t need to look up an English translation for the title of this Polish animation short which uses animated…
Witold Giersz, “The Red and the Black / Czorwane i Czarne” (1963) / “The Horse / Kon” (1967) I was held spellbound by these two very…
Ryszard Czekala, “Son / Syn” (1970) This short silent animation piece is one that Polish animator Ryszard Czekala is best known for and it’s easy to…
French and French-language Films
Eugène Deslaw, “Montparnasse” (1929) Come take a tour of Montparnasse as it was in 1929 with Eugène Deslaw to guide you. At the time, this district in…