Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

Available to watch on Netflix is a new documentary by Kirsten Johnson called Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020). Who is Dick Johnson? Dick Johnson is Kirsten the director’s father and it is a look at the subject of death by having her dad star in fake constructions of his potential death – walking on the […]

Defending Your Life (1991)

This might be a generalisation, but it felt like the late-1980s/early-1990s were all about high concept comedies, usually involving time travel, reincarnation, body swapping, and the afterlife. I remember the video cover for the Albert Brooks film, Defending Your Life (1991), but watching it had eluded me until the Albert Brooks collection on the Criterion […]

Harlequin (1980)

I remember either my parents or a member of the family had the video of Harlequin (1980), and it always fascinated me, that painted harlequin face on the cover. Shot in Western Australia but the film’s producers keep it vague for the international markets: all the cops and security guards talk with American accents. The […]

Donkey Skin (1970)

Donkey Skin (1970; Peau d’âne) is directed by Jacques Demy and apparently was his most successful movie in France, a lavish fairytale starring Catherine Devenue. In contrast to modern fairytales that rely on CGI to create a world of fantasy, this is very old school in its approach, filmed exteriors at an actual castle and […]

Siberia (2020)

I’ve recently been following up the work of director Abel Ferrara and catching up on the films I haven’t seen (Mary, Driller Killer, Welcome To New York, Fear City). When Revelation Film Festival announced its online festival, COUCHED, which ran during July this year, and that one of its selected films was Siberia (2020), one […]