An Interview with ‘Through the Writer’s Mirror’ Director Alexandre Westphal
‘Through the Writer’s Mirror’ Interview: George Kowalik and Anne-Laure Tissut discuss the 2022 Percival Everett documentary with director Alexandre Westphal.
George Kowalik
Questioning and Subverting Artistic Authority in ‘Through the Writer’s Mirror’
“Being multiple things at once is what makes Everett’s novels, but also his other art, so intriguing. ‘Through the Writer’s Mirror’ is its own process of plate spinning. It is its own juggling act.”
London Film Festival Review: Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’
“A distinctly Ghibli feel pervades ‘The Boy and the Heron,’ which more comprehensively and ambitiously connects the studio’s interests than ever before — in whimsy and poignancy, struggle and adventure, the serious and the magical.”
London Film Festival Review: Hirokazu Koreeda’s ‘Monster’
“Children and adults are complex; they behave differently depending on who they are with, performing various roles to survive. ‘Monster’ underlines this lesson by masterfully harmonizing writing, performance, cinematography, sound and more.”
London Film Festival Review: Kitty Green’s ‘The Royal Hotel’
“The differences between the equally impressive ‘The Assistant’ and ‘The Royal Hotel’ prove that there is more room for subversive thrillers directed by Green.”
A Refurbishment Project: ‘The Bear’ Season 2
“At its core, ‘The Bear’ season 2 is about different modes of refurbishment, for which the central effort to revamp the restaurant acts as a framing metaphor.”
Films About Films
“The awareness of complicity in an institutional problem brings ‘The Fabelmans,’ ‘Babylon’ and ‘Empire of Light’ together.”
‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’: Time, Loneliness and the Internet
“‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ prefers the space between categories. This position facilitates a unique experience of time, much like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Weird Worlds: The Short Films of Ari Aster
“Aster’s short films are at present the best representation of his eclectic taste and elastic interests.”
The Pervasive Injustices of ‘I May Destroy You’
“Problems do not vanish forever, so ‘I May Destroy You’ is about the constant fight. Repetition becomes revision. Paralysis becomes progress.”
On Mimi Parker, ‘HEY WHAT’ and the Elevations of Low
“The lasting effect of Low’s music has never been more present than on ‘HEY WHAT.'”
London Film Festival Review: Noah Baumbach’s ‘White Noise’
“At its best, Noah Baumbach’s impressive and thoroughly decent adaptation of ‘White Noise’ interestingly discusses people’s relatable ownership of secrets yet complete inability to internalize them.”
London Film Festival Review: Mia Hansen-Løve’s ‘One Fine Morning’
“‘One Fine Morning’ is an exercise in comparatively calm, delicate cinema. It balances serenity with pathos and never strays from realism, in contradistinction to Hansen-Løve’s previous film — the highly metafictional, altogether more playful ‘Bergman Island.'”
The Enduring Legacy of LCD Soundsystem
“LCD Soundsystem’s enduring legacy has always perhaps been inevitable, not least because of the way that they make music ABOUT legacy, thematically and lyrically.”
‘Better Call Saul’ and Mechanisms of Obsessional Neurosis
“‘Better Call Saul’ is ultimately an interesting case study of adjacency that points to a more sustainable prequel model that television in general might wish to use in future.”
Finding Clarity in Claustrophobia: ‘Mass’ and ‘The Humans’
“In ‘Mass’ and ‘The Humans,’ the single location is used as a platform for ideas that seek universal understanding and collective empathy.”
Both the Sum and the Parts: Black Country, New Road’s ‘Ants from Up There’
“Black Country, New Road’s ‘Ants from Up There’ feels like a landmark moment in contemporary British alternative rock music.”
The Kendall-Shiv Opposition in ‘Succession’ Season 3
“The tension between spectator empathy and necessary critical distance are at the heart of Succession’s mixing pot of antiheroism and amorality, which is all that’s left when its humanism is squandered and its morally redemptive potential falls short.”
Julia Ducournau’s ‘Titane’: Influence, (Sur)Realism and the Avant-Garde
“Ducournau’s approach to cinematic lineage and influence in ‘Titane’ is a complicated one, as she develops her singular filmmaking style into something even more evasive and intricate than in ‘Raw.'”
The Great Unknown: Reading ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Alongside Homer’s ‘Odyssey’
“If Ferris Bueller and his day off resemble something else universal, it is liberation. In the context of the journey, this is best understood as the ability to be in transit.”