January 1953 and the Korean War has been dragging on for two and a half years. Negotiations for a peace treaty have broken down again over a minor quibble about where borders between the north and the south should be drawn yet again. Kang Eun-pyo, an intelligence officer in the South Korean army, in his frustration, lets off too much steam in public and finds himself in … [Read more...]
Review: The Secret in Their Eyes (2009, Argentina)
Benjamin Esposito sits at his desk and tries to make the words come. We see two scenes he's striving to describe “ lovers breakfasting together for the final time; a train pulling away from a station and separating a couple; the brutal murder of a young woman. Esposito is a retired legal counsellor and he's decided to write a novel based on a case twenty five years old, but … [Read more...]
Review: A Better Life (2011)
As any University student studying film will tell you, The Bicycle Thief is the most famous of the Italian neo-realist movement after World War II. The movement remained relevant for a decade between 1943 and 1953, but its influence continues to this very day, notably Chris Weitz's (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) A Better Life, which is a modern-day homage to The Bicycle Thief. … [Read more...]
Review: Yamada: The Samurai of Ayutthaya (2010, Thai)
Yamada: The Samurai of Ayutthaya is a historical martial arts movie, based (rather loosely perhaps) on the life real life figure of Yamada Nagamasa. Yamada was a Japanese Samurai who ended up in Siam (modern day Thailand) after his lord was defeated in battle and he was forced to leave his homeland. In the period in which the film is set, the early 17th century, there was a … [Read more...]
Review: Trollhunter (2010, Norwegian)
When film-maker Andre Ovredal wrote the screenplay for The Troll Hunter he based it on a single comment from Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg about the true existence of Trolls and how pylons were actually fences to keep them in trapped. It's a wonderful little moment that none of the gathered press at the conference picked up on and when taken out of context creates … [Read more...]
Review: The Artist (2011, France)
The Artist arrives on our screens amidst a blizzard of Oscar hype. It's is a rare thing “ a genuinely silent movie. Since the advent of ˜talkies' in 1929, these have been few and far between, and there certainly hasn't been a silent mainstream cinematic release in the 21st century. Its silence is perhaps appropriate, as its story centres on silent movie star George Valentin … [Read more...]
Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec (2010, France)
The character Adèle Blanc-Sec first appeared in a series of comic books in the 1970s, written and illustrated by the French artist Jacques Tardi. In 2010, she was brought to the screen in The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, written and directed by Luc Besson, the man responsible for Nikita, Leon and The Fifth Element. … [Read more...]
Review: The Illusionist (2010, France)
The Illusionist is an animated movie released in 2010. It is based on a script by legendary entertainer and director Jacques Tati, in which he drew on his experience as a music hall performer. Tati wrote the script for the film in 1956, but never put it into production. The script was then given to director Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rendevous) in the early years of the 21st … [Read more...]
Review: Mesrine: Killer Instinct (France, 2008)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that films with a colon their title are usually rubbish. From the made for TV films with names like Tough Love: The Jackie Donovan story, to blockbusters like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Mission: Impossible, exceptions are few and far between. Fortunately, Mesrine: Killer Instinct is one of them. Killer Instinct is the … [Read more...]
Review: Romantics Anonymous (France, 2011)
Romantics Anonymous, as you can probably guess from its title, is a gentle romantic comedy, directed and co-written by Jean-Pierre Ameris. Its French title is Les Émotifs Anonynmes, after a group that the protagonist, Angélique Delange, attends every week. It translates to something like ˜Emotionals Anonymous' “ a support group, akin to Alcoholics Anonymous, for people who … [Read more...]