The Limits of Freedom in Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Your Name’
“While lush animation and detailed backdrops make Shinkai’s films visually stunning, without character depth, it’s a beauty which rings hollow.”
‘Twin Peaks’ and Beyond the Alphabet
“The failure of language permeates ‘Twin Peaks,’
an abundance of verbiage disintegrating under the looming and ageless presence in the woods.”
As American as Apple Pie: The Contemporary Applicability of Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’
“In regards to modern day politics, ‘Cat People’ captures the anti-immigration fervor of the 2016 American presidential campaign and election.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘In the Mouth of Madness’ (John Carpenter, 1994)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Love and Death: The Romantic Sorrow of Fritz Lang’s ‘Destiny’
“Epic in scope and theme, the subject of ‘Destiny’ is most heart-rending in its moments of intimacy.”
The Princess’ New Clothes: Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’
“The central relationship between Belle and the Beast has the unfortunate stench of Stockholm syndrome all over it.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Cat People’ (Paul Schrader, 1982)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
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: 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.”
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘The Tale of the Princess Kaguya’
“As in many Studio Ghibli films before it, the male director is speaking directly to his male audience, pleading with them to treat the women in their lives with the respect and equality they deserve.”