Cold War (2018)

Beautifully shot and composed in black and white by cinematographer Lukasz Zal, director Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War (2018; Zimna wojna) is an ode to a love that endures over decades despite great suffering. Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) meets Zula (Joanna Kulig) while both working for a state-sponsored music troupe that travels throughout post-war Poland. Their attraction […]

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 […]

God’s Own Country (2017)

At the film discussion event we held at Blue Room Theatre’s Winter Nights, I asked the special guests to recommend films in response to a question. One of the questions was “What film would you watch as the world ends?” For academic and writer Janice Loreck, one of her answers was God’s Own Country (2017), […]

A Matter Of Life And Death (1946)

SBS OnDemand adding several films by British directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a real treat for any lover of cinema, and a great chance for myself to catch up on the titles that I’d not seen. What strikes me, and I’m sure many others, about A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) is […]

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) is director Barry Jenkins’ follow up to the award-winning Moonlight, an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. Beautiful cinematography by James Laxton and lush score by Nicholas Britell. Lovely performances from KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King and Brian Tyree Henry. All of it working together to create a […]