I had the sublime pleasure of watching The Phantom of Liberty on the weekend, Luis Bunuel’s second last film and the one he felt best summed up all he was trying to say as a film maker. Surrealism is an older concept now. Freudians (or Lacanians rather) have moved past the idea of the latent […]
Author Archives: lisathatcher
The Malady of Death; Intricate lace by Marguerite Duras
posted by lisathatcher
I have spent one of the most pleasant hours of my life today in a pub with a decent chardonnay and Marguerite Duras’ Malady of Death. Marguerite Duras is considered to be an ‘experimental’ writer. She came of writing age during the neauveu roman era of French literature. She differs from Robbes-Grillet and others of the […]
The Black Herald #2: Carbon based passion – Part 2
posted by lisathatcher
In a recent essay, Paul Stubbs wrote: “The poet of the 21st century will, like any animal, be subject only to the continuing process of adapting to his own biological environment, to create a poetry that must strive in its imagination to actually affect the planetary balance (…) The pen in the hand today need […]
Melancholia: An exquisite chicks flick.
posted by lisathatcher
I saw Melancholia on the weekend. The reviews are mixed about this film. I enjoyed reading them (sort of – as usual some are better than others) but there DID seem to be a male female divide among them. Many male reviewers really hated the film (yawn) and many female reviewers really loved the film – citing […]
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence: One of the best war films ever made.
posted by lisathatcher
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is Nagisa Oshima’s 26th film and the third last one made. He has had three strokes in his old age and it is unlikely there will ever be another one. It is based on a book called The Seed and the Sower written by Laurens Van Der Post. Merry Christmas Mr […]
The Iron lady – Nothing to see but Meryl Streep
posted by lisathatcher
“Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become…habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become. My father always said that… and I think I am fine.” One of […]
Off to see The Iron Lady tomorrow!
posted by lisathatcher
… and I have to confess to being especially nervous. I’d really like this film to be good. But is there much chance of that? Particularly seeing as tonight’s film is Louis Bunuel’s The Phantom of Liberty, and I will be watching in the slipstream of that. How can it hope to compete? I can have […]
Jean Pierre Melville: Un Flic
posted by lisathatcher
I’m lucky enough to be on a Melville kick at the moment. I have a small box set that I was smart enough to buy a while back and I have several brilliant films on order. So my Melville review will be spread over several films, seeing as many of the themes of his work […]
The Empire of the Passions: Japan at its most passionate.
posted by lisathatcher
I saw Norwegian Wood earlier this year, and enjoyed it very much. It’s a beautiful film, made in Japan, sourced from Japan’s greatest living writer, made by a Vietnamese filmmaker. I also watched Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, a Japanese film starring Western actors made by a Japanese director. In the case of Tran Anh Hung, […]
Lisa Thatcher 