Tag Archives: 4.5/5
The Hunt (2012): “The whole town is listening.”
The Hunt (2012), directed by Thomas Vinterberg, approaches some familiar themes with a very unique approach and focus. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) works at a kindergarten, where he has a great rapport with the kids he looks after. He’s also a single dad hoping to gain custody of his only son. When a young girl at […]
The Act of Killing (2012): “My conscience told me they had to be killed.”
Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing (2013) is a surreal documentary about a dark time in Indonesia’s history. In 1965 to ’66, an anti-communist purge occurred all throughout the country, as a new president was elected and the country’s Communist Party was decimated. Death squads were responsible for killing one million communists and ethnic Chinese. […]
Only God Forgives (2013): “Time to meet the devil.”
An intentionally symbolic story about revenge, Only God Forgives (2013, dir. Nicholas Winding Refn) is the story of Julian (Ryan Gosling), who runs a boxing club in Bangkok, Thailand, but also does quite a bit of drug smuggling on the side. When a member of his family is slaughtered, Julian’s mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) convinces him that […]
Anna Karenina (2012): “Romantic love will be the last delusion of the old order.”
Based on one of my favourite books of all time, by the magnificent Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (2012) is a tragic story about love and lust, society, marriage, loyalty, and the conflict between traditional and modern Russian values. It centres on the titular character Anna (Keira Knightley), who is in a stable but monotonous relationship […]
Blackfish (2013): “They’re not your whales.”
Once you see this film, you will never want to visit a marine park or zoo ever again. You will be motivated to stick up for defenseless creatures who can’t speak for themselves. Blackfish (2013) tells the story of Tilikum, the killer whale who is currently performing at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Tilikum has been […]
The Holy Mountain (1973): “Real life awaits us.”
1973 was a pretty good year for films. You’ve got The Exorcist, Soylent Green, my second favourite Bond film Live and Let Die, among many other amazing films. Most importantly, you’ve got The Holy Mountain, directed by the one and only Alejandro Jodorowsky. I’m going to borrow a synopsis from IMDb for this one, since […]
Waltz With Bashir (2008): “Memory takes us where we need to go.”
Waltz With Bashir (2008), directed by Ari Folman, is a Israeli animated film which explores the concept of trauma and its relationship with memory. Years after his service with the Israeli Defense Force during what Israel calls the Lebanon War, Ari Folman (the director, and also main character) meets a friend who explains that he […]
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