Stroszek (1977)

High on the list of movies I’d always felt guilty about not seeing was Werner Herzog’s Stroszek (1977). I’d heard so much about it, particularly from friends, and even had a DVD copy of it that sat unwatched for years and years. The first thing I was struck by was Bruno S’s performance as the […]

3 Women (1977)

My friend Lauren Cowdrey wrote a recommendation of Robert Altman’s 3 Women (1977) for VHS Tracking Issue 2. I finally watched it recently and thought it was great. Lauren’s review from the zine says it better than I could: “The first time I saw it I was struck by its beauty, like a painting both […]

The Childhood Of A Leader (2015)

I’d never heard of The Childhood Of A Leader (2015) until one year when I asked people what their favourite scores/songs of the year were and someone recommended Scott Walker’s score from it. The thundering overture sets the strident tone for this drama which, per the title, looks at Prescott (Tom Sweet), a young boy […]

Certain Women (2016)

Certain Women (2016) is based on the short stories by Maile Meloy, and set and shot in Montana, small towns and wide open plains, everything overcast and grey, filmed as a space of both beauty and loneliness. Three short narratives play out – a lawyer’s (Laura Dern) interaction with a disgruntled client (Jared Harris), a […]

First Reformed (2018)

Paul Schrader has been in the direct-to-video weeds for a few movies with mixed results (I disliked The Canyons but quite enjoyed the gonzo-noir of Dog Eat Dog). Even though critics praised First Reformed (2018) as a return to form, there was no cinema release for West Australian audiences – Schrader was still direct-to-digital; it’s […]