The Repression of Truth in Michel Franco’s ‘Memory’
Michel Franco’s Memory explores the premise of entrapment in the context of trauma and dementia and, in its repression of truth, builds to a chilling moment.
drama
Chewing the Scenery and Chewing on Actors in ‘Man-Eater of Kumaon’
Sabu and a tiger foreshadow Byron Haskin’s special effects and science fiction adventures of humans vs. the elements in Man-Eater of Kumaon.
‘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.
‘Small Things Like These’ Is a Haunting Meditation on Collective Sin
Which is the greater horror, Small Things Like These asks; the women who suffered under Ireland’s abusive Magdalene Laundries or the citizens’ complicity?
Film Producer David Puttnam on the Making of ‘The Killing Fields’
The Killing Fields, the harrowing film set in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, could not be made until after Chariots of Fire, Producer David Puttnam recalls.
‘The Zone of Interest’ and Our Modern Day Comforts
Can The Zone of Interest, a film about a Nazi commandant and his family, have something to say about the modern day comforts so many enjoy?
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.
Why Hollywood Filmmakers Turn to Poetry When Dialogue Fails
From comedies to horror, biographies to romance, there’s a reason why Hollywood filmmakers turn to poetry when dialogue fails.
‘True Detective: Night Country’ Finds Comfort in Darkness
At the edge of civilization where True Detective: Night Country is set there is no promise of salvation, only carnal vengeance and some comfort in the darkness.
Men Are So Lovely and Dry: Saltburn’s Queer Narrative Failures
Saltburn sparked discussion for its shocking sex scenes, but for all its stylized images and clever gendered trope inversions, its queer promises are empty.
The Troubled History of Silent Film ‘Pandora’s Box’
Its lesbian love interest was once modified and a saccharine ending tacked on, but a new controversy arises with G.W. Pabst’s silent film classic Pandora’s Box.
‘The Iron Claw’: In the Company of Men
Ostensibly a biography about wrestler Kerry Von Erich, The Iron Claw grips viewers with its dark tale about the company of men.