Recap: Game of Thrones ‘The Wars to Come’
“The beginning of ‘The Wars to Come’ sets the tone for an episode that interlocks present and past while discarding hopeful ideals of a peaceful future.”
Justine Peres Smith
Justine Smith (@redroomrantings) lives and writes in Montreal, Quebec. She has a bachelor’s degree in Film Studies and a passionate hunger for all kinds of cinema. Along with writing for Vague Visages, she has written for Vice Canada, Cleo: A Feminist Journal and Little White Lies Magazine.
Chasing Chabrol: ‘La cérémonie’
“If you have an ounce of capitalist discomfort, ‘La cérémonie’ will surely begin to boil your blood, and that’s where things get interesting.”
Chasing Chabrol: ‘Les biches’
“‘Les biches’ remains one of the more elusive and symbolic films of Chabrol’s career, as the narrative adopts a dreamlike structure that often obscures reality and truth.”
Chasing Chabrol: ‘Les bonnes femmes’
“‘Les bonnes femmes’ pushes the boundaries of expectations, leaving the audience in a place of vulnerability.”
Chasing Chabrol: ‘Violette’
“Youth is central to ‘Violette,’ and Isabelle Huppert’s petite frame and almost childlike features lend the film a skewed point of view that is colored neither by experience or shame.”
Review: Rafaël Ouellet’s ‘Gurov and Anna’
“‘Gurov and Anna’ toys with perceptions and ultimately gives into both cynicism and brutality. While not for the faint of heart, Ouellet’s film offers a pointed portrait of obsession and ego…”
The Moreau Files: ‘The Bride Wore Black’
“‘The Bride Wore Black’ has a rather deft sense of humor that raises it above many of the other brightly-lit neo-noirs of the 1960s.”
The Moreau Files: ‘The Lovers’
“It is incredible to think that Malle was only 25 years old when he made ‘The Lovers,’ as it seems to hold the wisdom and erotic impulses of a much older man.”
The Moreau Files: ‘Elevator to the Gallows’
“A feeling of powerlessness is no doubt at the heart of Moreau’s possessed performance in ‘Elevator to the Gallows.'”
The Moreau Files: ‘Diary of a Chambermaid’
“A sex comedy rooted in inequality, ‘Diary of a Chambermaid’ trades in traditional ideas about power dynamics for a twisted take on the absurdity of desire.”
The Moreau Files: ‘La Notte’
“‘La Notte’ is a film very much about resignation — resigning to the fate of the monogamy and perhaps the inevitability of death.”
The Moreau Files: ‘Jules and Jim’
“In the male dominated world of the French New Wave, Catherine in François Truffaut’s ‘Jules and Jim’ stands out as a mysterious and particularly beguiling female presence.”
Review: François Delisle’s ‘Chorus’
“Almost violently textured, ‘Chorus’ evokes the works of Ingmar Bergman as it contrasts the spiritual qualities of the mind and the body.”