Classical Period (2018)

The main reason I watched Classical Period (2018) was that its running time was 60 minutes and it was available to stream on Mubi. After watching Classical Period, I grew to appreciate it more thinking about it, particularly after reading a few interviews with the director-writer Ted Fendt, a film projectionist who self-funds his movies, […]

Heartbreakers (1984)

With its Tangerine Dream synth-wave score and gliding Michael Ballhaus cinematography, Heartbreakers (1984) exudes considerable neon-noir energy. Yet the movie has nothing to do with the crime or thriller genre. Instead, all that neon and energy is just the palpable aesthetic for a drama about male friendships. The film’s title card frames the two men […]

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)

In Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), there’s an obvious contrast between the 1960s wuxia film being screened, Dragon Inn, and the dilapidated cinema where its being shown; the faded film stock of adventure and action compared to the mundane stillness of empty cinema seats and rain dripping from the ceiling. Within Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang’s slow […]

The Aviator’s Wife (1981)

It’s a testament to the directing and writing of Eric Rohmer, and the performances of the actors, that the characters in The Aviator’s Wife (1981) come off as understandable and empathetic, even as they’re wrapped up in their own emotional problems and romantic overthinking. Then again, Rohmer’s talky, French serio-comic catalogue is not for everyone […]

The Woman Who Ran (2020)

I’ve not seen any of South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo’s work – he’s made like over twenty moderately budgeted movies – before The Woman Who Ran (2020), which appealed to me because it was available on SBS On Demand and it was only 77 minutes long. The first thing I can say: zooms. A camera […]