Go Go Tales (2007)

Abel Ferrara makes a comedy, Go Go Tales (2007), which is set in a go-go joint strip club, a project he’d always wanted to make, describing it as “Cheers meets The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie.” Much like Cassavettes’ film, Go Go Tales sees the strip club as a metaphor for filmmaking, for creative expression […]

Le Bonheur (1965)

I didn’t know much about Agnes Varda’s Le Bonheur (1965; title translates as “Happiness”) before I started watching it except for the title credit image of the hetreosexual nuclear family blurred in the distance while a sunflower is in the foreground and noted comparisons to The Stepford Wives. It’s all about Francois (Jean-Claude Drouot) who […]

Kings Of The Road (1976)

I’d long wanted to see Wim Wenders’ Kings of the Road (1976; Im Lauf der Zeit, “in the course of time” is the translated title). All I knew about it was that it was three hours long, filmed in black and white, and shot in Germany (West Germany at the time), and involved cinemas. It […]

Contempt (1963)

Contempt (1963; Le Mepris) was a film that I admired or appreciated rather than loved. I’ve long read about it, seen it discussed by film critics and directors, and it did help to learn this was director Jean-Luc Godard’s only film financially backed by American film producers and that he didn’t like the filming experience. […]

Cleo From 5 To 7 (1962)

Only having seen One Sings, The Other Doesn’t, I was excited to explore further the career of director Agnes Varda. Taking advantage of the ‘Voila Varda’ section on the expanded Mubi library, I was finally able to watch her film, Cleo From 5 To 7 (1962; Cléo de 5 à 7), a classic of the […]