FIlm Review
Film Review: Escape from Mogadishu
Much has been written and filmed about the way the USA and USSR used third countries in order to play out their proxy battles during the Cold War. For decades, almost every single conflict in South America, Africa or Asia had this extra political element. Funded, trained and provisioned by one or both of the …
Film Review: Paris, 13th District
Modern love is difficult. Long gone are the days of boy meets girl and living happily ever after. They fall in love, get married and have a big perfect family. Today, things are much more complicated. Dating is a complex and mysterious dark art, full of perils and pitfalls. A big city offers a lot …
Film Review: Jane by Charlotte
While London might have been swinging during the ‘60s, it was also boomtime in Paris. The French economy was experiencing almost unparalleled growth and with it came a decade of prosperity and hope. Not to mention, political and social turbulence. It was during this time that Serge Gainsbourg came to prominence, his playful and seductive …
Film Review: Three Floors
Nanni Moretti has been one of the most consistently reliable and impressive Italian filmmakers for decades now. He’s probably best known for The Son’s Room, which won him a Palme d’Or back in 2001 at Cannes Film Festival. However, the former professional waterpolo player has made a number of very good films including Mia Madre, …
Film Review: Olga
While the horrific events and war crimes taking place in Ukraine have dominated news channels around the world, this is not a new conflict. Indeed, former President Yanukovych’s botched attempt to force the country towards Putin, sparking the Maidan protests, was the catalyst for the Kremlin starting the war by invading and annexing Crimea in …
Film Review: Europa
The ‘migrant crisis’ has highlighted the privileged position those of us living within the borders of Europe really have. Every person making this dangerous and potentially deadly journey has their own story, but the lasting impacts of colonialism and Western interference (or inaction) usually play some role. People fleeing war, famine, corruption and oppression are …
Film Review: The Last Tourist
We seem to have reached peak tourism. A confluence of standards of living in developed countries reaching an all-time high and travel being more accessible than ever before. With environmental concerns this pressure may ease, but holiday hotspots are reaching breaking point in terms of numbers. At the same time, those communities which rely on …
Film Review: River
Regardless of our reliance on it for survival, as a rule humans take the natural world around them for granted. Little thought is expended on the impact our daily lives have on it and whether one day it simply won’t be there for us in the same way. The air we breathe, the land we …
Film Review: Master Cheng
There is an inherently large amount of humour which can be mined from a clash of cultures. You’ll usually find at least one character in a comedy film or TV series who fits somewhere within the definition of a fish out of water. There have also been a number of successful movies, including Borat, The …
Film Review: The Ledge
It seems to be a particular breed of people who take up serious climbing. There are inherent risks attached to rock climbing, let alone mountaineering, which are too much for a coward like me. The mere thought of taking away the ropes or the ‘safety net’ sets my nerves on edge. Films like Valley Uprising …