Film
Blu-Ray Review: Viy
Delving deep into Ukrainian folklore, Nikolai Gogol’s Viy remains a perennial favourite across Russia. Since it’s first publication as part of a novella in the 19th century, it has captured the imagination of countless generations. Whilst there have been many adaptations, Konstantin Ershov and Georgiy Kropachyov’s 1967 film still remains the most notable. Indeed, it …
Film Review: The Winter Lake
There’s nothing as queer as folk, and the smaller the community, the stranger its denizens. Small isolated villages and towns are often a law unto themselves, with unwritten rules and taboos silently governing the strangest things. If you’ve ever lived in one of these places you will know just how quickly gossip spreads and how …
Film Review: Verdict
On the face of it, The Philippines is a surprisingly progressive country when it comes to women’s rights. Indeed, in the Global Gender Gap Index for the World Economic Forum the county currently places impressively at sixteenth in the world. In reality though, whilst there has been significant progress, there are worryingly high levels of …
Film Review: Come True
Anyone who has ever suffered from sleep-related problems, such as insomnia, sleep apnoea or night terrors, knows just how precious sleep is. However, we have all, at one time or another, experienced dreams which are all too vivid. These can take a darker turn when they become nightmares. We’re often haunted by recurring images, themes …
Film Review: The Final Stand
As 1941 rolled on, it looked almost inevitable that Hitler’s seemingly inexorable march eastwards would ensure victory over the Western part of the Soviet Union. By October, the Wehrmacht had its sights trained squarely on Moscow. This battle would eventually change the course of World War II and the Red Army’s defence was desperate. With …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: The Man Standing Next
After the end of Korean War, it took a while for the South to get back on its feet. While the country made great steps forward both economically and technologically in the subsequent decades, it has repeatedly flirted with oppressive and authoritarian regimes. During the presidency of Park Chung-hee, who first came to power in …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Surge
Ben Whishaw is one of those actors who has quietly gone about his business, amassing an impressive filmography in a relatively short space of time. Whilst the British actor has starred in big budget films like Spectre, The Lobster, Mary Poppins Returns, and of course providing the voice for Paddington, it’s in smaller releases where …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Rosa’s Wedding
Families come in many shapes and sizes. Each unit is unique, with a complex mix of inter-dependent relationships and hard-won power dynamics. It’s natural in larger broods for people to slip into certain roles over time. There’s normally a dominant force. A patriarch or matriarch and then a range from submissive to controlling and everything …
Glasgow Film Festival: Gagarine
The Cité Gagarine housing project was built on the outskirts of Paris by the Communist Party of France. Named in honour of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who attended its inauguration in 1963, the complex was constructed in the spirit of hope. However, like the political movement itself, by the late twentieth century its fortunes have …
Film Review: Keep an Eye Out
When Quentin Dupieux made Rubber, he created one of the most unusual, unlikely and offbeat horror films the world has ever seen. It seemed incomprehensible that he could out-strange a film about a serial-killing tyre, but he continues to make uniquely off-the-wall cinema. Whether it’s a man obsessed by a jacket, men trying to domesticate …