Fantastic Fest 2016: Cannibalism and Competition – On ‘Toni Erdmann’ and ‘Raw’
“At Fantastic Fest, that hard truth can be funny or frightening depending on which auditorium you enter.”
Love and Death: The Romantic Sorrow of Fritz Lang’s ‘Destiny’
“‘Destiny’ arrives at its final satisfying destination as a poetic and deeply affecting film, an ethereal meditation from a now legendary filmmaker…”
At the Cinémathèque: ‘The Leopard’ (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
“Much of Luchino Visconti’s ‘The Leopard’ has a labored energy of theoretical dramaturgy.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Patty Hearst’ (Paul Schrader, 1988)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
At the Cinémathèque: Is ‘Kamouraska’ Better Than ‘Mon oncle Antoine’?
A Justine A. Smith Series on Montreal’s Cinémathèque Québécoise
Review: Joshua Marston’s ‘Complete Unknown’
“‘Complete Unknown’ seems to have its finger on the pulse of something characteristic of our FOMO culture.”
At the Cinémathèque: Jean-Luc Godard Finds Pleasure In Estrangement with ‘Passion’
“Centered on a made-for-television film, ‘Passion’ blends the far reaches of Western art with the birth of new mediums.”
SANFIC 12 Review: Paul Schrader’s ‘Dog Eat Dog’
“I think that Schrader is just reaching out, trying to stretch his directorial arms, trying to show everything that he’s got.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘American Gigolo’ (Paul Schrader, 1980)
“‘American Gigolo’ doesn’t necessarily work as a neo-noir, but it still has enough romance and intrigue to be well worth watching.”
SANFIC 12 Review: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘Poesía sin fin’
“Maybe it’s his own nostalgia or the naturalistic approach, but I haven’t felt someone film my city with that much love in a long time.”
At the Cinémathèque: ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ (Nagisa Ôshima, 1976)
“In the forbidden, Oshima reveals the fear of our own meaninglessness and our inability to face death as a certainty.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Hardcore’ (Paul Schrader, 1979)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
The Style, Sins and Sympathies of Robert Bresson’s ‘Au hasard Balthazar’
“Much of Au hasard Balthazar’s transcendental value derives from its explicit openness to theological interpretation, particularly given Bresson’s oft-commented upon Catholicism and some of the film’s more overt symbolism.”
More Serious Than Love: Éric Rohmer’s ‘A Summer’s Tale’
“The film identifies the dark heart of summer, the humid stagnation and sense of dread that is the season’s essence.”
Mood and Character in Brady Corbet’s ‘The Childhood of a Leader’
“‘The Childhood of a Leader’ may not behold a traditional narrative, yet Corbet’s auterist style creates a memorable visceral effect.”
At the Cinémathèque: L’ange et la femme (Gilles Carle, 1977)
“A deeply affecting and personal vision, it’s an essential entry in the history of eroticism in Canadian cinema.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘The Devil Is a Woman’ (Josef von Sternberg, 1935)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: Ira Sachs’ ‘Little Men’
“At its best, ‘Little Men’ swings the viewer from the small, important signs of young friendship to the uncomfortable and conflicting economic interests of adults.”
At the Cinémathèque: ‘The Pillow Book’ (Peter Greenaway, 1996)
“As formally challenging as ‘The Pillow Book’ may be, it romantically creates a love affair unbound by its physical limits, connecting it to past and present through art and literature.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Underworld’ (Josef von Sternberg, 1927)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith