Murina (2021)

Deep down in the blue. A morning errand dive for teenager Juljia (Gracija Filipović) and her father Ante (Leon Lučev). The type of father whose moods cloud and control the household. Underneath the water, he can’t say anything, demean and insult. They both carry spearguns to catch eels. Underwater is also where Julijia finds escape […]

Portrait Of A Young Girl At The End Of The 60s In Brussels (1994)

Shot for French TV during the nineties, Portrait Of A Young Girl At The End Of The 60s In Brussels (1994) is directed and written by Chantal Akerman, and feels semi-autobiographical. As the title indicates, Akerman sets the story in 1968 but isn’t too concerned about fidelity to the era; you can see CDs in […]

Documenteur (1981)

Documenteur (1981) was filmed by French director Agnes Varda in Los Angeles while she was separated from husband Jacques Demy and it is subtitled “An Emotion Picture”. Like some of Varda’s other work, it mixes together fiction and reality, employing a documentary approach towards constructed elements that are no doubt reflecting what she was going […]

Je Tu Il Elle (1974)

One haunting image from the film, Je Tu Il Elle (1974; I You He She), is when Julie, the young woman played by the director, Chantal Akerman, has shifted furniture out of her ground floor apartment, and has moved her bed against the wall. Sitting against an alcove in the corner of the room, near […]

The Beaches Of Agnes (2008)

Every time I watch an Agnes Varda film for the first time, I am always left with the feeling: why am I not watching more Agnes Varda? Or just all the time? As an autobiographical documentary, The Beaches Of Agnes (2008; Les plages d’Agnès) also works as a primer for the French filmmaker’s career, with […]