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 […]

Exotica (1994)

Atom Egoyan’s early work was a regular fixture on SBS Saturday Cult Movie night and him, alongside Hal Hartley, defined a certain indie cinema aesthetic pre-Tarantino. I remember Egoyan’s break-out arthouse hit Exotica (1994) being advertised as an erotic thriller, posters and video boxes using the imagery of Mia Kirshner’s character dancing in a school […]

Husbands (1970)

Even as a fan of John Cassavetes movies, I completely understand how they can be off-putting. It’s intentional, part of the auteur’s legacy, with characters barking at each other, swinging for the fences in the direction of truth but also heightened into broad acting moves. I loved the way filmmaker Andrew Bujalski wrote about Husbands […]

Mary (2005)

Continuing to explore the work of Abel Ferrara and Catholic imagery has always echoed throughout his films. Mary (2005) is an explicitly religious film though is also more of an essay movie, bringing together ideas and characters into a metatextual drama about representing religious deities and how to actually embody them in real life. Responding […]

Taste Of Cherry (1997)

One night, I could not get to sleep and was feeling unwell. Best advice usually is to get out of bed and do something else in another room until you feel tired. I felt like starting to watch something and as soon as I felt sleepy, I’d finish it the next day. I don’t mind […]