This is war, goddammit, so if you can’t pick a side then at least take a stand!
«Movies on war may tell us much about war, but especially the exit plan, the path to a genuine peace.»
Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?: The weakness of strangers
This heartbreaking, immersive film about the lead-up to the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia is a story of self-preservation and humiliation, with an epilogue that is a great work of art in itself.
‘Escape for the fun of it’: atypical vision of war in Jean Renoirs La Grande Illusion
Few films in world cinema history owe their existence to as many unlikely coincidences as Jean Renoir’s celebrated La Grande Illusion (1938). In fact, its story and survival may be said to be nothing short of a miracle.
‘It’s a pity – they take your entire life’: Jan Šikl recalls the bitter pill of oppression in Reconstruction of Occupation
KVIFF 2021: Jan Šikl’s Reconstruction of Occupation may represent a timely reminder of the caprices of power and their human costs and, perhaps above all, the costs of capitulation.
M. Night Shyamalan’s Old: Twelve against time
Although the framing story and twist are surprisingly prosaic, for long stretches of the main body Old conjures up a combination of tension, absurdity and chaos that few other films have achieved.
At last! Movies are back: Starting – naturally – with the silent variety
Tromsø International Film Festival’s Silent Film Days: It’s a postmodern pandemic and silent film, a century after its heyday, has never been more relevant. This is the perfect time to revisit the dawn of the cinematic age.
Small worlds, big worlds – coping with the present at the Berlinale 2021
Berlinale 2021: While largely successful both in the quality of the films and in their technical delivery to press and industry members, this year’s Berlinale made it clear that streaming at this level still poses some issues.
Crucifixes, Glitter and Guns – revisiting Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet
The reckless energy of Romeo + Juliet is like that of the teens – any teens! – in love. Having grown up with this adaptation, I thought there was no need to revisit it again; I was wrong.
‘People are strange’ but it takes a hell of a film to capture their strangeness: Ninjababy, Han and Gritt succeed
TIFF 2021: The virtual Tromsø International Film Festival premiered some extraordinary virtual masterpieces this last month. They belied the claustrophobic limitations of tiff.no, and we can only hope they make it soon to a theatre near you.
Foundations of a home – on Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come
«If Portrait of a Lady on Fire found desire in the immediacy of the act of seeing, Mona Fastvold’s film locates it deep into the retroactive power of the written word, which turns every diary into a map to salvation.»
Mark Jenkin’s Bait (2019) rouses the sleeping giant of class-consciousness – in a quaint Cornish cove
«Mark Jenkin’s Bait (2019) pulls back the commercial façade to provide another sort of experience, one you won’t find in any tourist brochure or its cousin, the feel-good movie.»
Join the Film Lover’s Alternative Cannes Festival (At a Distance): Here’s Our Complete Watch-from-Home Cannes Programme
Cannes 2020: Limitations creates opportunity. From 12 to 23 May we were supposed to be in Cannes and do our usual coverage on new film art, but if we can’t go to Cannes – what if Cannes comes to us? Here’s this year’s alternative Cannes official selection.