A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
British Films, French and French-language Films
Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness” (2022) Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip … er, sorry, this won’t…
Ivan Radovic, “Eldritch Code” (2017) Partly told in a world-weary voice-over narration by the main character, this sci-fi horror short brings the Lovecraft universe into a…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Northern European Films
“The Swedish Model” (Foreign Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 June 2020) In March 2020, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus had been circulating in Europe for at least…
Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja, “Aniara” (2018) An ambitious project to bring a poem by the Swedish poet / author / former sailor Harry Martinson (who co-won…
North American Films, Northern European Films
Bjorn Runge, “The Wife” (2017) As films go, “The Wife” is enjoyable mainly for Glenn Close’s understated performance as the title character: for the most part,…
Ingmar Bergman, “The Virgin Spring / Jungfrukällan” (1960) Perhaps not so celebrated as “The Seventh Seal”, this morality tale on the nature of humanity, the remoteness…
Ingmar Bergman, “Fanny and Alexander” (1982) In part an autobiographical film based on his own childhood experiences of growing up with a severe Lutheran pastor father,…
Ingmar Bergman, “The Seventh Seal / Det Sjunde Inseglet” (1957) Set in Sweden during the Black Death (1347 – 1350), this famous film examines a man’s…
Ingmar Bergman, “Persona” (1966) A visually stunning film, shot in black and white film and using contrasts of lighting and landscape to illustrate its themes of…
Ingmar Bergman, “Smultronstället / Wild Strawberries” (1957) Few movies feature 80 or 70-something actors as lead characters so to see Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries” with Viktor Sjöström in…