Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander’
“‘Fanny and Alexander’ is an easily entertaining primer to the cinema of Ingmar Bergman…”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Steve James’ ‘Hoop Dreams’
“As much as ‘Hoop Dreams’ concerns the sports-centric plight of William and Arthur, it is perhaps even more significantly an illustrative case study of what perpetually imperils men (and women) of a certain social, economic and racial constitution.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘El Topo’
“Jodorowsky’s film is a potpourri of consecrated iconography and symbolism, providing ‘El Topo’ a breadth of sacred resonance and no doubt augmenting its potential for provocation and interpretation.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Strike’
“As it’s applied to ‘Strike,’ Eisenstein’s methodology is generally simplified, with an occasional leaning toward crude hyperbole.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Kate Saccone on Charles Walters’ ‘Summer Stock’
“I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Summer Stock’ — it may not be the most innovative or exciting of Kelly’s films, but it’s an unpretentious movie that delights in the pure pleasure of musical entertainment, from the outright silly to the romantically sincere.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marianna Aloisio-Seale on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘Black Narcissus’
“No matter the fantasy and clash of culture that swirls around ‘Black Narcissus,’ it is probably best that The Archers did not revisit Orientalist ideas, and that they stuck to what they knew best — the human interest and depths of United Kingdom and European issues.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Sara Clements on Agnès Varda’s ‘Cléo from 5 to 7’
“The first word that comes to mind when describing ‘Cléo from 5 to 7’ is escapism. Not only is it an escape for the audience, with Agnès Varda’s documentary style taking viewers on a tour of one of Paris’ many districts, but it explores the title character’s need to break free.”
Vague Visages Is Filmstruck: Evan Amaral on Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin’s ‘Chronicle of a Summer’
“If cinema and the internet age have taught us anything, it’s that an explicit truth does not exist. We all perform for a number of lenses, whether they be a film camera or a Twitter account.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Francesco Rosi’s ‘Salvatore Giuliano’
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ciara Pitts on John Sayles’ ‘Lianna’
“Sayles’ wonderful gem might not receive the attention it deserves — even in the realm of LGBTQ cinema — but it contains a message that undoubtedly resonates today: no one needs to apologize for who they love.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stefen Styrsky on Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Boiling Point’
“Kitano possesses an eye for color and mise-en-scène. Passages often become works of visual art in themselves.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stefen Styrsky on Elia Kazan’s ‘Splendor in the Grass’
“The movie isn’t just about the way it was, the prudish hypocrisy of an earlier time, or outdated sexual mores. For all its provincialism, ‘Splendor in the Grass’ is a story for the ages.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: David Pountain on Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Sonatine’
“From its hypnotic style to its pessimistic plot and languid pacing, ‘Sonatine’ is a mesmerizing manifestation of the troubling logic of Murakawa’s final decision.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’
“‘The Searchers’ has moments of low-brow comedy and moments of penetrating tension, its interconnected themes involve love and guilt, and its visual and spiritual essence falls somewhere in the realm of poetic melancholy.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ciara Pitts on Abdellatif Kechiche’s ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’
“‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ might be most well-known for its lengthy sex scenes, but the gripping romance, elaborate imagery and realistic demonstration of the human experience are what truly keeps the film’s legacy alive.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Alexander Mackendrick’s ‘Sweet Smell of Success’
“‘Sweet Smell of Success’ seems to exist somewhere beyond auteurist canonization or even the traditional Hollywood studio stock.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stefen Styrsky on John Huston’s ‘Reflections in a Golden Eye’
“Lending the story a rarefied patina is the cinematography.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘The Red Shoes’
“‘The Red Shoes’ dynamically crosses from reality to fantasy, befitting a film that is itself a grand fiction, simultaneously reflecting and critiquing a true reality. That’s the power of cinema — that’s the power of ‘The Red Shoes.’”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on FilmStruck’s ‘Black in America’ Collection
The Conclusion of Marshall Shaffer’s #FilmStruckFebruary
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Silence of God’ Trilogy
“I’m convinced that understanding the progression is a crucial bridge in any attempt to understand how the two distinct portions of Bergman’s filmography interact.”