Please note that this review contains references to self-harm and mental illness. We first encounter Kolya wiping his own graffiti from the doors of a halfway house. He cuts a rebellious figure, using the same marker pen with which he … Continue reading MIFF REVIEW: A House Made of Splinters (2022)
A new documentary offers an insight into Jean Rollin, a cult-like figure whose odd, surrealistic films were met with every negative response from disinterest to theatre-destroying outrage before finding an appreciate cult audience. For pre-existing fans of the director, this … Continue reading FANTASIA REVIEW: Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin (2022)
Pretty much anybody that grew up in the English speaking world will have fond memories of Sesame Street, the American children’s television series beloved not only by toddlers and pre-schoolers but by their parents too. Launched in 1969, this educational program … Continue reading REVIEW: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2020)
That’s Entertainment! is a rather strange movie franchise: one that prefigured audience demand slightly ahead of time, and then prefigured newer demands all over again almost two decades later. The original 1974 film comprised a series of MGM musical numbers, all … Continue reading REVIEW: That’s Entertainment! III (1994)
A train slowly pulls away from a station. It begins its journey down the track, surrounded by forestry. It goes through a tunnel. It passes a field. Inside people sit around. Some of them sleep. Some eat food. Some share … Continue reading REVIEW: Railway Sleepers (2017)
There is a relatively standard model to most sports documentaries: introduce the players, showcase their training process and get to know what achievement is at stake, and then play out the tournament to reveal whether or not they succeed. It … Continue reading JFF REVIEW: Sumodo: The Successors of Samurai (2020)
September 22 1995 saw the release of one of the most iconic American features of the decade. Seven, a serial killer thriller, was directed by David Fincher from an outstanding screenplay and played by a top-notch lead cast. The mainstream audience … Continue reading REVIEW: You Don’t Nomi (2019)
Or, to give its full title (that would play havoc with this website’s layout), Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). In 1969, New York’s Harlem played host to a series of six weekly concerts presented free … Continue reading REVIEW: Summer of Soul (2021)
The history and origins of electronic music receive a badly needed correction in Sisters with Transistors (2020), a new documentary feature directed by Lisa Rovner. Of course the mainstream history of electronic music’s pioneers is dominated by men. All mainstream histories seem dominated … Continue reading MIFF REVIEW: Sisters with Transistors (2020)
It is difficult to resist a documentary about food. Such films tend to make the mouth water with visual presentations of the most delightful restaurants and distinctive meals. This feels particularly the case in Japan, a country that has inspired … Continue reading MIFF Review: Come Back Anytime (2021)
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