DAU: A Vade Mecum
“As much as DAU requires certain knowledge of XX-century history and arts, its key element is the subjective, the emotional, even the intrusion. And this can be the game changer the future needs.”
Portraits of Women in Film Noir
“Film noir is all about questioning assumptions, and several of such films that feature portraits of women do nothing less.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Valentine’s Day and a FilmStruck Wedding
Love Is Love: Peter Putzel Marries FilmStruck
The Joy of Creating: On Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Hana-bi’
“‘Hana-bi’ is a deeply personal labour of love made by an artist observing his own enigmatic nature from a variety of angles in an attempt to arrive at some clarifying epiphany.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Agnès Varda and JR’s ‘Visages, villages’
“Between the enlightened creators, the immensely intimate artwork and the fabulous people they meet, there is never a dull moment in this beautiful piece of cinema.”
What I Learned from Martin Scorsese’s ‘Life Lessons’
“Martin Scorsese’s ‘Life Lessons’ benefits more from analysis as a self-standing artistic expression than as a counterpoint to the other installments of ‘New York Stories.'”
Why Criticism: Writing About What You Don’t Know
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith