Here (2023)

Two characters walk through a Belgian forest on the outskirts of the city. A shot follows one of the characters as they move, and the sound design emphasises the ambience of nature. The leaves rustling, the wind, and cracking trees. We don’t hear the human footsteps as they trudge, and as we see between bushes, […]

New Jerusalem (2011)

New Jerusalem (2011) takes the trope of the talkative co-worker to an intimate, thoughtful level. In a Virginian garage, two men are first seen moving tires around the driveway. Sean (Colm O’Leary) is brooding and quiet, opening up a little to the inquisitive Ike (Will Oldham). Originally from Ireland, but having served in the US […]

The Empty Beach (1985)

Bogie in Bondi. The Empty Beach (1985) is a neo-noir shot in Sydney during the mid-1980s, and based on a novel by Peter Corris, one of a series of books devoted to his detective character, Cliff Hardy. A commercial failure at the Australian box office, this is a boilerplate mystery. But what was satisfying to […]

Before We Vanish (2017)

Yusuke Hayashi’s score for Before We Vanish (2017) – directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa – brings to mind memories of Amblin Entertainment productions. There’s something about the orchestral sweep, its eerie tension and yet a little twinkle-in-the-eye feeling. The sound of an alien invasion movie, and with Kurosawa’s genius for creating tension and unease through blocking, framing and […]

Kamikaze Hearts (1986)

One of the first scenes in Kamikaze Hearts (1986) I couldn’t get enough of. Sharon Mitchell sitting in the back of an open top convertible, driving through San Francisco, as she plays to the camera in her leather jacket and sunglasses. If you didn’t know Sharon Mitchell as an adult film star, in this moment, […]