Tokyo-Ga (1985), Wim Wenders’ documentary of his trip to Japan in search of the world as seen in the films of famed director Yasujirô Ozu, was described by Vincent Canby on its American premiere as a “small but important film.” Thirty years on, with greater access to Ozu’s films and the expansion of Wenders’ own…
Everything Ghibli takes the form of a traditional Japanese fairytale in Isao Takahata’s new feature. Dazzling audiences with sumptuous visuals and enchanting fantasy, it’s all Studio Ghibli has owed as its global success to in a nutshell. Viewers of all ages will be drawn in by the stunning animation styles and unique way of storytelling, but as always there’s plenty more under the surface for those more discerning …
The World of Kanako is a cinematic experience unlike any I’ve ever had before. For long periods I wanted to run out. Director Tetsuya Nakashima has committed to film a twisted, ugly, and mean-spirited world. It is populated by the worst people imaginable, yet shown…
Hsiao-hsien Hou is a director that requires a journey through his entire body of work before you will be able to find the pulse of his films. There is a set of conflicting philosophies running through his work, and his films tend to illustrate these philosophies in a wide variety of ways. There is an undercurrent of tradition and an endless …
It’s pretty easy to claim to know what you want, but fully knowing is another creature entirely. In this way, some films appear to have a vague idea of what they are about. They put together an enticing trailer, have a synopsis that gets right to the point, and their intent is something easy to communicate…
Innovation bears repetition in cinema. No idea is so great that it cannot be scoured by less imaginative directors to make a quick buck. The most potent example of this is the cinematic landscape in the years immediately following Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s film broke the mold, and a generation of …
All the highlights of the news from Friday and the weekend with stories on the winners of the Venice Film Festival and talks of a director for True Detective season 2.
Akira Kurosawa only made two sequels in his long career. The first was a follow-up to his debut film Sanshiro Sugata titled Zoku Sugata Sanshiro. His second was Sanjuro, which followed his smash hit masterpiece Yojimbo. Sanjuro is a masterpiece in its own right and much better if you don’t watch Yojimbo just before. Not to say that …
The postmodern Western films of the 1960s and 1970s eschewed the American myth of classic Westerns, instead focusing on tough examinations of the culture’s predilection for war, violence and oppression. The vocabulary of the classic Western film was often retained, however, but rather than being used to uphold …
His name is Ghost Dog. He lives on a rooftop in Jersey City, surrounded by the carrier pigeons he uses to communicate with the mafia. Working as a hit man, he lives his life according to Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai. His best friend is a Haitian ice cream vendor who only speaks French. On …