Local Heroes: Ben Flanagan on Odeon Chelmsford
“Local Heroes” is a Vague Visages column dedicated to movie theater memories and the theatrical experience.
Ben Flanagan
Uneasy Recognition: On Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Yourself and Yours’
“A lager-frothy comedy, ‘Yourself and Yours’ is a perfect balance of Hong’s output, an ideal entry point for new viewers while delivering variations of the filmmaker’s recurrent themes.”
Review: Alex Lee Moyer’s ‘TFW NO GF’
“By the time ‘TFW NO GF’ lets the viewer up for air, faith in the facts will have dissipated. It may feel like time to get offline, and stay there.”
Why Criticism: Brian De Palma and Film as Film Criticism
“If the point of criticism is to bring the reader closer to the artwork, then Schrader’s reviews of other films are as important as his own to understanding his perspective.”
Review: Brandon Christensen’s ‘Z’
“As a genre exercise, ‘Z’ shows promise for what Christensen might do with a higher budget.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Philippe Garrel’s ‘The Salt of Tears’
“The continual resistance to progressivism by French film culture at large is up to them to figure out, from Cannes’ inability to put more than four women in competition in a given year to Cahiers du cinéma being sacrificed in the name of quality French cinema…”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Alexandre Rockwell’s ‘Sweet Thing’
“‘Sweet Thing’ is creatively shot and bursting with energy, but Rockwell’s biggest ambition is seemingly to replicate a bunch of ideas from other films, to put visuals to his favourite songs and to showcase his talented family.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Abel Ferrara’s ‘Siberia’
“Ferrara throws everything at ‘Siberia,’ turning it into a playground for emotive relation. But it is Dafoe, his muse, who so thoroughly brings the audience along with the randomness…”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Christian Petzold’s ‘Undine’
“Petzold’s use of fairytale is rote, but – as a piece of Sirkian high melodrama – ‘Undine’ is eminently satisfying.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Camilo Restrepo’s ‘Los conductos’
“‘Los conductos’ announces Camilo Restrepo as a visceral talent with the substance to back up his sublime imagery.”