Film
IDFA Review: Innocence
Whenever there’s a spike in youth crime or truancy in the UK, a certain sector of society starts the call to bring back national service. The concept of all young adults, when they reach a certain age, undertaking a period of military service. The theory is that it teaches a number of key skills, including …
IDFA Review: The Adventures of Gigi the Law
The life of the rural policeman or policewoman hasn’t really changed that much over the decades. While colleagues working in big cities have to deal with very modern problems such as cybercrime, terrorism and organised crime gangs, in the countryside life generally passes by at a more lethargic pace. Days often merge into one. Small …
IDFA Review: The March on Rome
At the end of World War II, the Allies had assumed they’d banished the scourge of fascism from Europe forever. However, a hundred years after the March on Rome, seen as the birth of the modern movement, it’s raising its face again. In countries like Hungary, where it holds a sway, but more troubling in …
IDFA Review: Aurora’s Sunrise
Although Turkey still refuses to acknowledge that it happened, the Armenian Genocide was one of the lowest points in European history. In the years running up to World War I, the Ottoman Empire deported well over a million Armenians and forced them on death marches across the Syrian desert. Those who survived were taken to …
Film Review: The Great Basin
It might be stating the obvious, but the United States of America is a vast country, with a huge diversity of landscape and people. With much of the media scrutiny focuses on events taking place in New York City or Washington DC, if not the more vocal Southern states, it can be easy to overlook …
IDFA Review: Things I Could Never Tell My Mother
Religion can be a strange beast. Previously intelligent and open-minded people can suddenly change their entire worldview if they fall under the sway of a new belief. This can cause problems with friends and family, even drive a wedge between them. While there’s often a desire to respect this change of direction, it can be …
IDFA Review: Ice Under His Feet
The Russian invasion and bombardment of Ukraine has brought home just how powerful Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is in his homeland. The former KGB analyst has been in power now, one way or another, for over twenty years. He’s established an iron grip on the country, making a bargain with oligarchs and suppressing any opposition through …
Film Review: The Human Trial
Diabetes kills around five million people every year and is a condition which can often be debilitating for countless more. If you have type 1, your immune system actively attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is where the human body does not produce enough, or react to, insulin. The former …
Film Review: No Bears
Making a film involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It also demands a huge commitment on the part of the filmmakers, both personally and often financially. It can be a labour of love, but all directors are not equal when it comes to bringing their projects to fruition. Especially when they live under …
Film Review: Retrograde
You can’t conquer Afghanistan. Many empires have tried and failed to govern this region. Even if you’re able to gain a foothold, it’s a constant uphill battle which you’re guaranteed to lose in the end. This is due to several factors. Firstly, there’s the inhospitable terrain, which comprises mountainous fortresses and unforgiving deserts; not to …