Radical dissent has always been central to the American project. Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. And yet some ideas are so vile and distasteful that they provoke animosity wherever they rear their head. Welcome to Leith is an eerie documentary that shows how the tiny town of … Continue reading
Category Archives: Film reviews
Slow West
Slow West, the directorial debut of John Maclean, may feel oddly familiar to those acquainted with the novels of Cormac McCarthy. Like works such as Blood Meridian or Child of God, Slow West depicts a lost American world of lawlessness overflowing with unremitting violence, bizarre happenings and characters that spout wisdom through a punchy folk wit. All this adds … Continue reading
Irrational Man
Irrational Man, Woody Allen’s latest annual offering, has the distinction of at least being better than its trailer makes it look. The fact that Allen is such a household name apparently makes it unnecessary to compose the trailer of anything other than a few, mostly random, witticisms and a prominent mention of the director. It is sadly unusual these days to find … Continue reading
Im Keller (In the Basement)
“Austrian Gothic” would be a fitting alternate title for Ulrich Seidl’s latest documentary. Im Keller presents the extraordinary basements of ordinary Austrians in a series of strange tableaux and without commentary or, for the most part, much explanation. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that this non-narrative choice is a case of the director … Continue reading
While We’re Young
Noah Baumbach’s latest film credits its central inspiration more explicitly than most movies do. As While We’re Young begins, lines from Henrik Ibsen’s play The Master Builder appear on the screen. Solness, Ibsen’s protagonist, is worried that he has become afraid of the younger generation. He is encouraged that, instead of barring his door to young people, he should let them … Continue reading
The Duke of Burgundy
The Duke of Burgundy starts out on what looks like a modest but comfortable village estate. A maid (Chiara D’Anna) arrives and receives snappish instructions from her disinterested mistress (Sidse Babett Knudsen, of Borgen fame). As the scene goes on, certain incongruities come to light. The mistress appears to be entirely alone in the house. There are … Continue reading
Eisenstein in Guanajuato
Peter Greenaway has called Amsterdam home for 20 years, which explains why the British auteur’s latest picture is more highly anticipated here than perhaps anywhere else. Several special events and Q&As with the director have been advertised, there are posters everywhere and the free film magazine De Filmkrant, found in every cinema in town, has devoted a … Continue reading