“As a primer on Laing, ‘Mad to be Normal’ offers nothing substantive; there is little attempt to explicate Laing’s ideas, or to pursue how he formulated those ideas while working in Glasgow’s mental hospitals…”
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
“In between Ford’s wide shots and Scorsese’s close-ups, there is an effort by each filmmaker to make faith real.”
“I contend that not only has Nolan grown as an auteur, but that he has perfectly captured a universal truth to which all may relate and celebrate.”
“‘Z’ is thoughtful, provocative, impassioned entertainment, stylish and teeming with conviction.”
“For all its attempts at dissecting human cruelty, there’s no human core to this story, which makes its 135-minute runtime feel twice as long.”
“As a portrait of differing wartime experiences, ‘Dunkirk’ is too plot-oriented to be successful.”
“What is the cost to oneself of living by a system of belief?”
“Scorsese’s latest film channels the same intellectual curiosity and spiritual fervor of his directorial debut, with the addition of nearly 50 years of experience in technical skill and storytelling precision.”
“For all its violence and grandiosity, it stands as an impressively filmed indictment against religious persecution.”
“Portman’s vivid portrayal is the film’s greatest strength, coasting through woebegone New England accents and the script’s on-the-nose airing of themes in the final act.”
“Much of Luchino Visconti’s ‘The Leopard’ has a labored energy of theoretical dramaturgy.”
A Justine A. Smith Series on Montreal’s Cinémathèque Québécoise
A Column by Q.V. Hough (Vaguebande #2)