FIlm Review
Film Review: The Death of Louis XIV
Over more than half a century, Jean-Pierre Léaud has had a profound influence on French cinema. He’s arguably the most important actor of his generation. He first came to notice as a child as the star of François Truffaut’s masterpiece 400 Blows. He excelled in some of Truffaut’s best films and worked with some of …
Film Review: David Lynch: The Art Life
There are very few cultural icons in modern society quite as distinctive and universally revered as David Lynch. Renowned for his cult films such as Eraserhead, Mulholland Driver and Blue Velvet, and obviously Twin Peaks, he’s not restricted to working behind the camera. He’s also a very highly thought of composer and artist. David Lynch: …
Film Review: The Boy and The Beast
Studio Ghibli has been the powerhouse of Japanese animation for decades now. However, with the on/off departure of Hayao Miyazaki and many of their key players reaching retirement age, the market has opened up to a new wave of talented animators, creatives and directors. Mamoru Hosoda, who was originally helming Howl’s Moving Castle, is one …
Film Review: Liberation Day
Music can be a force for change. It can also bring people together. Political leaders like the kudos, publicity and status support from bands can bring. Most recently, Jeremy Corbyn and Hilary Clinton have courted celebrities to back their campaigns. However, when the Slovenian avant-garde band Laibach were asked to perform in North Korea, where …
Blu-Ray Review: Security
The ‘80s was the decade of the action star. Muscles, mumbling and machine guns dominated a huge market which saw the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone become major movie stars. However, arguably the greatest action film from the decade was Die Hard. Bruce Willis played an average guy who just happens to be …
Blu-Ray Review: Pilgrimage
With the Edict of Milan in 313, which guaranteed the freedom of religion across the Roman Empire, Christianity spread north and west across Europe. Indeed, it tended to mirror the progress of the Romans and meet with the same difficulties. War and strife were endemic across Europe. Ireland, perched on the edge of the empire, …
Film Review: Summer in the Forest
For centuries, society’s response to people with learning difficulties normally varied between outfight ridicule and locking them up. They were routinely abandoned in asylums and treated to a mix of violence and sinister experimental techniques. Unsurprisingly, as most famously illustrated at Bedlam, the only effect this had was counter-productive. In 1964, Jean Vanier became aware …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Almost Heaven
Despite being one of the most populous, powerful and rich countries in the world, there’s a huge problem with youth poverty in China. Indeed, the Communist Party has spent billions building new cities and trying to encourage rural workers into urban areas. This had resulted in millions of young people being voluntarily displaced in order …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Radio Kobanî
Documentaries set in the midst of conflict or in former war zones are almost always concerned with the roles of the victors and the vanquished, the soldiers or the survivors. They often neglect those human stories which aren’t just purely about survival, but predominantly re-building lives from the rubble. Radio Kobanî is one such tale. …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: The Departure
Whilst there’s still a distinct gender imbalance in cinema, particularly behind the camera in big budget movies, things are slightly more balanced in documentary film-making. Indeed, the likes of Laura Poitras, Louise Osmond, Barbara Kopple and Amy Berg are amongst the best in the industry. Lana Wilson is a rapidly rising star. Her (co) directorial …