“9/11 was a psychic wound that fostered a new relation to the world, and those who grew up in its aftermath struggled to digest its lessons; some fell back onto intransigence, while others internalized the damage.”
“While it might be easy to assume that films like ‘Natural Born Killers’ and ‘Funny Games’ simply demonise their audiences as wanting the thrill of violence without thinking about the consequence of it, the films instead ask questions, instead of only providing answers.”
“What saves ‘Pity,’ and the ‘Greek Weird Wave’ as a whole, from tipping into nihilism is the humanism at its core; it is the pessimism of thwarted hopes rather than the negative drive of cynicism.”
“By being so lazy and aggressive with his judgment of pop culture, Corbet ends up making a film that is bland in its anger, annoying in its attacks and ridiculous in its contempt for its characters and audience.”
“For a film about an eternal conflict, ‘Non-Fiction’ is a strangely calming film. It quietly assures you that while a fight for permanence is natural, the need to change is also equally natural.”
“‘Benny’s Video’ implicates us, the audience, for watching. Haneke chides the spectators, removed from the action by a screen, for their inability — or perhaps their unwillingness — to stop the violence.”
“‘Madame Hyde’ crystallizes its views about the absurd limitations in trying to communicate the abstract gift of knowledge.”
“In ‘Happy End,’ writer/director Michael Haneke coalesces several of his recurring fixations.”
“It’s the demons within that Kôji Fukada astutely brings to life in ‘Harmonium.'”
“‘The Childhood of a Leader’ may not behold a traditional narrative, yet Corbet’s auterist style creates a memorable visceral effect.”
“The film is nothing if not an audacious directorial debut; a grand, horrifying cinematic mission statement that might particularly appeal to the likes of Michael Haneke and, especially, Gaspar Noé.”