There’s always a place in cinema for a spy thriller. But French director Thomas Kruithof’s debut feature is no Jason Bourne film. At its forefront is the middle aged Duval (Francois Cluzet), a mousy ex-office worker on a downward spiral, unemployed and alcoholic. Things seem to take a turn for the better when he’s referred to the shady Clement (Denis Podalydes), and tasked to transcribe … Continue reading Review: Scribe dir. Thomas Kruithof
Award-winning masters of event cinema CinemaLive have just announced that they will be parterning up with C-Major Entertainment to bring George Bizet’s classic opera Carmen as performed at Bregenz, Austria to close to 300 cinemas in the UK on Thursday 14th September as part of CinemaLive’s new initiative The World’s Most Spectacular Operas, aiming to make accessible the very best operas played around the world to UK audiences. For Carmen On … Continue reading Preview: CinemaLive presents Carmen on the Lake
Director K. Rajagopal has a strangely magnetic presence, and from the moment he opens his mouth, it’s almost impossible not to get drawn in by the sheer passion with which he speaks about his ideas and process. And his latest film sounds absolutely breathtaking. Titled Lizard On The Wall, Rajagopal will not only be premiering the short film at the closing of the 2017 Singapore International Festival … Continue reading The O.P.E.N. 2017: Lizard on the Wall by K. Rajagopal
When was the last time you changed up your routine and could honestly tell yourself you’ve found an inspirational spark in daily life? Living in this terrifying and unstable world, it’s easy to become disillusioned and forget the magic that continues to live on in every moment of the everyday. And that is why sometimes, we all need a little reminder that there is a … Continue reading O.P.E.N. 2017: Rediscover the Magic of the Everyday With the 2017 Singapore International Festival of the Arts
Shot almost entirely in black and white, Dying Laughing is surprisingly serious for a documentary about comedians. Dying Laughing takes most of the major comedians in the business today, sits them down, and interviews them about what it truly means to be a comedian and the nature of their craft. As Chris Rock puts it in the opening shots, comedians are the ‘last philosophers’, and Dying Laughing breaks down the art … Continue reading Review: Dying Laughing dir. Lloyd Stanton & Paul Toogood
There’s always been something inherently heroic about a narrative of pastoral beauty and the encroaching enemies of construction and progress. The Shepherd, written and directed by Jonathan Cenzual Burley, is a fine, beautifully shot manifestation of that, and a stellar example of an exercise in cinematic pacing. The Shepherd opens with a gorgeous ten-minute sequence of the Spanish countryside, seen through the eyes of middle-aged shepherd and protagonist Anselmo (Miguel Martin), as … Continue reading Review: The Shepherd (El Pastor) dir. Jonathan Cenzual Burley
Hirokazu Kore-eda, in his 28 year film career, has established himself as the foremost master of Japanese realist cinema. From his beginnings in 1998’s After Life to more recent hits such as Our Little Sister (2015), Kore-eda’s films have always had the impeccable ability to draw out the quiet beauty of the mundane, and hit emotional high notes in the most surprising of ways. Dwelling just long enough … Continue reading Review: After the Storm dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
Stop-motion animation has come a long way since the early days of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Aardman Animations, with new studios such as Laika taking up the mantle and creating gorgeous works of art, coupled with engaging, intimate storylines. Claude Barras’ Ma Vie de Courgette continues that trend, and despite its bug-eyed, blue-haired protagonist and innocuous sounding title, possesses a deeply powerful story that will resonate with … Continue reading Review: Ma Vie de Courgette dir. Claude Barras (French Animation Film Festival 2017)
The annual French Animation Film Festival returns to Alliance Francaise for the 6th iteration this May! French animation has been a steadily growing industry in the last few years and over the past year, some seriously powerful films have emerged, from the Oscar-nominated ‘My Life As A Zucchini’ to the critically acclaimed ‘April and The Extraordinary World’. For the French, there can only be the … Continue reading Preview: 6th French Animation Film Festival
How much impact does your childhood really have on you? Plenty, as Resilience, a short but effective film tracing the relationship between childhood trauma and its lasting health impacts well into adulthood proves. More than ten years ago, Dr Robert Anda and Dr Vincent Felitti discovered their patients experiencing various behavioural, weight gain and heart disease issues all had things in common – histories of exposure … Continue reading Review: Resilience dir. James Redford
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