Quintet (1979)

I was always intrigued by the existence of Quintet (1979), a poorly-reviewed box office flop and low point in both director Robert Altman and actor Paul Newman’s careers. As a kid leafing through my Mum’s Paul Newman books, the idea of a sci-fi flick about a death game sounded great, but this was before the […]

The Sacrifice (1986)

The Sacrifice (1986; Offret) was one of Nathan Beard’s answers for ‘What movie would you want to watch when the world ends?’ when we held the VHS Tracking – Live event for Blue Room Theatre a year or so ago. I always had it in mind to watch because of that, alongside my ongoing journey […]

The Rapture (1991)

Being a teenage fan of The X Files, I was aware of The Rapture (1991) as a movie David Duchovny was in before becoming Fox Mulder. Yet the central performance is by Mimi Rogers and she is great in delivering a character who shifts gradually throughout this movie’s ongoing thematic conversation with God and religion. […]

You, The Living (2007)

My first Roy Andersson movie was A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence, which I loved, though when I reflect upon it, I can think of certain moments and scenes but not the experience as a whole. Maybe that’s because of Andersson’s particular style, his movies consist of surreal, deadpan tableaus, one after […]

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 […]