The Coward (1965)

The Coward (1965) – also known as Kapurush – is a film by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Having only seen Pather Panchali, I am still pretty clueless about Ray’s filmography and only heard about The Coward with the recent Criterion Channel’s spotlight on the director’s work. The story itself – a screenwriter encounters a past […]

35 Shots Of Rum (2008)

Of director Claire Denis’ film, 35 Shots Of Rum (2008; 35 Rhums), I’d mainly heard about the use of The Commodores song ‘Nightshift’, a melancholy early-1980s jam (about Marvin Gaye’s passing), in a dance sequence. While not used as electrifying or profoundly as the use of a certain dance track at the end of Beau […]

The Meetings Of Anna (1978)

My first Chantal Akerman. The illustrated poster, and the sound of the plot convinced me. The Meetings Of Anna (1978) or sounds better in the original French title, Les Rendez-vous d’Anna, follows a film director named Anna (Aurore Clément – who would later star in Paris, Texas), a possible alter-ego for director Akerman herself, as […]

Close-Up (1990)

What a magic trick this movie is. An odd courtroom case is filmed by the camera, the person charged is studied in the frame, everyday people are asked to become actors and recreate what they experienced, and the result offers a complexity of meanings and readings, but also depending on your viewing experience, it also […]

Trog (1970)

I’d always been curious about Trog (1970), infamous as Joan Crawford’s last film before she died; rather than a loving tribute at the end of a long career, Trog’s usually an example of the opposite side of the coin, denoting a fall from grace or an unfortunate note to go out on. Yet, even though […]