The more I watch the exquisitely crafted, understated, finely balanced films of Yasujiro Ozu, the more enchanted I become. Mark Cousins recently hosted a live messaging session on Twitter as Film 4 screened Ozu's 1949 classic LATE SPRING. I unfortunately missed it, but managed to capture the chain of tweets here. Reading all the comments … Continue reading A few observations on Ozu’s ‘Late Spring’…
roger ebert
Fellini’s La Strada
This month's very well attended Screen St Ives presentation was Fellini's La Strada. The average audience rating for the film was a very reasonable 4 out of 5. There was a particularly interesting post-film discussion reflecting a range of reactions to the movie. Some of the observations emerging from that discussion are reflected in the … Continue reading Fellini’s La Strada
The Passion of Joan of Arc
My short review published online in One Hundred Words Magazine [no longer available]:- Amongst the many gems on offer in the BFI Southbankâs complete retrospective of the films of master Danish director Carl Dreyer is this silent masterpiece. The Passion of Joan of Arc portrays the final days of the tragic and deluded heroine. It … Continue reading The Passion of Joan of Arc
Project Nim
Roger Ebert neatly summarises:- Can a chimpanzee learn to speak by using sign language? Yes. But in what sense does it know what it is saying? "Project Nim," a fascinating documentary, follows the life of a chimp named Nim Chimpsky as it's raised like a human baby and then shuttled from one set of "parents" … Continue reading Project Nim
From The Artist to Dracula
Last weekend I saw The Artist for the third time: I still love it! At the back of my mind there was the vague memory of another film which had impressed me with its use of the stylings of silent cinema. Thanks to a rather circuitous chain of associations that emerged out of various conversations … Continue reading From The Artist to Dracula
when curiosity threatens 