The Unfashionable: Thomas Bezucha’s ‘Let Him Go’
“Unlike many neo-westerns, which bandy hollow notions of ‘civilization’ that play out on the film’s surface, ‘Let Him Go’ runs a classical plot through a refined image of modern society.”
Trash, Trauma and Revenge in Matthew Bright’s ‘Freeway’
“In ‘Freeway,’ Vanessa isn’t a girl who has won a battle, but one who has lost a war.”
‘State Funeral’: Joseph Stalin’s Grand and Ominous Farewell Procession Revisited
“Loznitsa’s ‘State Funeral’ is an important reflection on the moving image.”
Prano Bailey-Bond Visits Britain’s Video Nasty Era in ‘Censor’
“Had ‘Censor’ managed both Enid’s personal nightmare and wrestled more deliberately with some of the moral questions posed by the title, more viewers might have been inclined to initiate conversations about the horror genre’s traditions of transgression.”
Mannhunting: Exploring Masculinity in the Films of Michael Mann – Part Three
Mannhunting #3 by Bill Bria (‘Ali,’ ‘The Insider’ and ‘Collateral’)
The Art of the Score: David Mamet’s ‘Heist’
The Art of the Score #1: Blake Howard on David Mamet’s ‘Heist’
The Metaphorical and Elusive Camera of ‘The Disciple’
“‘The Disciple’ can be highly rewarding if one notices and appreciates its technical brilliance. Criticizing the film for its slow pace and aloof camerawork is akin to labeling classical music as boring and tedious.”
Why There Is Value and Not Excess in the Extreme Misery of Ulrich Seidl’s ‘Dog Days’
“Seidl has produced many scenes of lengthy sexual humiliation or nasty perversion, but they are stories of the world that are drawn from the horrible truth of human behaviour.”
Rose Glass Makes a Memorable Feature Debut with ‘Saint Maud’
“Sure, ‘Saint Maud’ can be called a horror film, but it is equally a psychological drama that gets a lot of mileage from a tried and true trope: the shifting power dynamics in a superior/subordinate relationship.”
Trapped in the Bed Frame: On Marco Bellocchio’s ‘Devil in the Flesh’
“Bellocchio’s 1986 film ‘Devil in the Flesh’ is perfectly representative of the great Italian director’s outlook.”
‘Gauguin’ and ‘Guernica’: Alain Resnais Comes Unstuck
“If ‘Gauguin’ and ‘Guernica’ shine a light on their respective subjects, they also present a key part of Resnais’ own development as an artist.”
Monte Hellman: A Master of the Language of Cinema
Author Joseph B. Atkins on Filmmaker Monte Hellman’s Life and Career
Mannhunting: Exploring Masculinity in the Films of Michael Mann – Part Two
Mannhunting #2 by Bill Bria: “In Mann’s duality of man, cop and robber are, in Stevenson’s words, ‘radically both’ one and the same.”
Intentionally Disposable Art: The Teen Agers Films
“What do we do with the Teen Agers movies, which were no more intended to be seen 75 years later than a dinner cooked in 1947 was intended to be eaten in 2021?”
Fantasy and Reality in Ben Hozie’s ‘PVT Chat’
“Hozie nails the greener-grass metaphor in ‘PVT Chat’ with a clarity that reminded me of the last lines of James Joyce’s ‘Araby.'”
‘Valentina’: Cássio Pereira dos Santos’ Refreshing Debut Feature on Brazil’s Trans Youth
“Though somewhat imperfect, Pereira dos Santos’ first feature shows promise and is a testament to his ability to portray queer characters with granular subtlety and political meaning.”
Embracing Imperfection: ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ Turns 20
“‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ is heartbreaking and life-affirming in equal measure, which is a difficult balance to pull off, particularly in a movie that frequently treats its protagonist quite harshly.”
The Master’s Voice: Gregory Monro’s ‘Kubrick by Kubrick’
“‘Kubrick by Kubrick’ has the effect of placing the notoriously particular and media-shy subject in the room with the eager listener/viewer.”
Why Criticism: The Difficulties of Depicting Genocide in ‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ and ‘La Llorona’
“Roger Ebert once wrote ‘it’s not what a film is about, it’s how it is about it,’ and it’s this phrase that I usually return to when thinking about cinema that deals with humanity’s worst impulses.”
Caught in a Bad Romance: On Psychological Horror and Visual Design in ‘Nina Wu’
“‘Nina Wu’ isn’t just a ‘#MeToo thriller’ or ‘slow burn cinema,’ it’s a progressive spin on psychological horror and a master class in visceral visual design.”