The Jungian Shadow Looms over Indigenous Drama ‘We Were Dangerous’
The Jungian shadow looms over We Were Dangerous, a dramatic and rebellious drama about moral panic and juvenile and sexual delinquency in 1950s New Zealand.
Film Review
The Abortion Discord Sewn into Faded ‘Blue Denim’
Today’s discord and desperation over abortion in America has roots in Philip Dunne’s faded Blue Denim, one of the first Hollywood films to address the issue.
Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Refuses Righteousness
Alex Garland’s Civil War refuses righteousness. Instead, it takes a hard, unflinching look at the true costs of war for everybody and everything it touches.
Hell and Limbo Are Reimagined in Sci-Fi Horror ‘Desert Road’
The same lack of control and uncertainty that hounds Kafka’s Josef. K haunts the lost protagonist in Shannon Triplett’s sci-fi horror Desert Road.
‘Robot Dreams’ Quietly Encourages You Not to Be Afraid
Pablo Berger’s animated Robot Dreams is a near-perfect marvel of silent cinema nearly a century after talkies ended the silent era.
Kore-eda Hirokazu’s ‘Monster’ Falls Short of Its Literary Ambitions
Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster has striking moments, but casually skips over details, reducing its characters to incomplete fragments.
‘Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World’ Is a Stinging Comedy of Banal Chaos
Radu Jude’s gonzo satire of post-Soviet Romania, Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, hits a sweet spot between Luis Buñuel and Béla Tarr.
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Drips with Danger and Desire
Rose Glass drenches Love Lies Bleeding in sensation and texture, as if she dragged the film through pools of viscera on the floor of a Foley sound effects studio.
‘Good One’ Challenges Adulthood’s Naïve Appropriation of Wisdom
India Donaldson’s directorial debut Good One leans into gender distinctions, but goes beyond them to offer incisive and observant critique of human nature.
The Settlers’ Blood-Chilling Journey into Humankind’s ‘Heart of Darkness’
Chilean revisionist Western, The Settlers, is a powerful film whose director shows admirable moral integrity that’s often absent in film history.
Lucy Lawless Reimagines the Myth of Icarus in Margaret Moth Film
Lucy Lawless’ debut documentary about combat journalist and trailblazing camerawoman Margaret Moth, Never Look Away, reimagines the Myth of Icarus.
‘Frida’ Documentary Explores Honest Expression Versus the Institutionalization of Art
Frida Kahlo speaks from beyond her grave about the institutionalization of art and culture and the dangers posed by intellectuals warming their precious asses.