At the risk of coming across all Woody Allen-ish on you, I have to declare there is something extra special about Bergman. I get this sense of ‘I-will-never-be-the-same-again after I see one of his films. This will be a shorter review because I was only able to get my hands on the 3 hour version […]
Category Archives: Film Reviews
Au Hasard Balthazar: Life in a world that hates us.
posted by lisathatcher
In New York City at the moment there is a Bresson retrospective and I am insanely jealous – what wouldn’t I give to be in New York to see this at the Forum at the moment (besides the obvious – the cash to get there)! One of the films on offer will be Au Hasard […]
Larks on a String: Jiří Menzel and Bohumil Hrabal defeat totalitarianism with spirit.
posted by lisathatcher
What a week in film I’ve had! What a week anyway – but I have been so lucky as to have seen some of the most incredible films this week. I watched Larks on a String today, and all I can say is thank god I own it, because it is a film that I […]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: David Fincher goes Hollywood on Sweden
posted by lisathatcher
It isn’t the downer it appears to be when I tell you the best part about this film is the opening credits. A nightmarish, amorphous vision in liquid monochrome, with an eardrum-frazzling score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I was so excited by the opening credits I forgot i was a bit miffed that this film […]
Madam Bovary: Claude Chabrol takes on a classic
posted by lisathatcher
For many years Madame Bovary belonged to that classic box of literature labelled ‘unfilmable’. The main reason for this is the complex nature of the novels structure. The power of this novel lies not in the plot, but in the characters relationship to what happens to them. Flaubert’s novel is hailed as one of the […]
Beware of a holy whore: Fassbinders take on film
posted by lisathatcher
I really really enjoyed this film! in researching Fassbinder, I have read that he was heavily influenced by Jean-Luc Godard and I can only assume that to be the case, because Godard is all over this fantastic film – however Fassbinder has the smarts and the eye to take Godard just that little further. In […]
The Trial of Joan of Arc: Bresson answers Dreyer with sound
posted by lisathatcher
The Trial of Joan of Arc by Robert Bresson tells the story of Joan of Arc during the final period of her captivity and her execution in 1430. As with all Breasson films, there is no back story to the lives of the characters, but in this case, one is not necessary. This story is […]
The Eel: Dark, sweet, odd Japan.
posted by lisathatcher
The Eel is a 1997 Japanese film by Shôhei Imamura who also collaborated in the screenplayu that is loosely based on the novel On Parole by Akira Yoshimura. It won the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. This is a film of contradictions. Dark and sunny. Funny and tragic. Deep and light. Sex and abstinence. Trust, betrayal, loyalty, friendship and […]
Woman of the Dunes: Existentialism at its disturbing best.
posted by lisathatcher
Something unnameable goes on between Hiroshi Teshigahara and Kōbō Abe. They produce the most remarkable films together. Of course, they are both extraordinary artists in their own right – perhaps it is the multiple disciplines that works in favour of their collaboration. Perhaps it is Abe’s sublime writing. Maybe it is Teshigahara’s sculpting that gives him such command over the […]
Lisa Thatcher 