Wanda (1970)

I first found Wanda (1970) a bit difficult to get into. The opening is slow, observing workers and families in close proximity to a coal plant in rural Pennsylvania, which seems as depressing and barren as the industrial landscapes in Red Desert. Here, Wanda (Barbara Loden) wakes up on a friend’s couch and is late […]

Pusher (1996)

I’ve had friends recommend the Pusher trilogy to me for a long time and even though I am a fan of Nicolas Winding Refn, I never got around to the Danish crime films that made his name internationally. With Pusher (1996), I was surprised by how low-fi it was in contrast to what Refn is now known for as […]

The Blackout (1997)

Continuing my deep dive into the back catalogue of Abel Ferrara, The Blackout (1997) is a film of two halves, which combine to form a portrait of addiction. The opening sets up a hedonistic LA lifestyle with movie star Matty (Matthew Modine) returning home from a film shoot, ready to reunite with his girlfriend Annie […]

The Plumber (1979)

I’ve always been curious about The Plumber (1979) ever since seeing that it was categorised as a horror movie, and that it was a lesser known work from Australian director Peter Weir. There are some more genre appropriate posters and videos covers out there that make it look like a menacing slasher, and the opening […]

3 Faces (2018)

3 Faces (2018) opens with footage recorded on a smartphone of a young girl, Marziyeh (Marziyeh Rezaei), who pleads for help from an actor, Behnaz Jafari, to support her dreams of wanting to become an actor herself and studying at a conservatory, all of which is strictly denied by her village in the face of […]