Author Archives: Wael Khairy

When I first read the tagline of Sofia Alaoui’s “Animalia,” I was intrigued. “A young pregnant woman finds emancipation as aliens land in Morocco.” At best, I expected to watch an alien-invasion science fiction film like M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs“ or Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” To my surprise, I found that “Animalia” has more in common with Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” StanleyContinue reading “Film Review: “Animalia” ★★★★★ (5/5)”

Werner Herzog has one of the most impressive filmographies of documentary filmmaking out there, and although his work as a documentarian covers a huge spectrum of topics, the common denominator always seems to be an existential exploration of humanity and truth. Herzog’s approach rejects the notion that documentaries fall within the sphere of journalism. HeContinue reading “Remarkable Fate in Werner Herzog’s “Wings of Hope””

After three seminary students get lost and wander into the countryside, they spot a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. They foolishly demand to spend the night there not knowing that it is home to a wicked witch. The old lady agrees to let them in under one condition, they all must sleep at separateContinue reading “Phantasmagoria in Yershov and Kropachyov’s “VIY””

Carl Theodore Dreyer belongs in the God-tier of film directors alongside Ozu, Bresson, Tarkovsky, Bergman, and Bunuel. The Danish master only made a handful of feature films over the course of his career, and I can only imagine how each momentous release must have felt like a historic event for film enthusiast at that time.Continue reading “Little Miracles in Carl Theodore Dreyer’s “Ordet””

“Time is the great author; it always writes the perfect ending.” _Calvero Charlie Chaplin’s semi-autobiographical film about a washed-up vaudeville performer and a suicidal ballet dancer both in desperate search for hope and meaning in life, is perhaps his most philosophical film. Chaplin weaves in themes of depression, alcoholism, and the cruelty of time inContinue reading “Longing for One Last Hurrah in Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight””

Hector Babenco’s utterly compelling “Carandiru” is as brutal and gut-wrenching as it gets; yet, despite its ruthless depiction of life inside a Brazilian prison, it’s also surprisingly heartwarming. The film is based on the real-life experiences of Dr. Drauzio Varella who worked in the Sao Paulo prison, and got to know the prisoners on aContinue reading “Memories of Lives Lost in Hector Babenco’s “Carandiru””

At the beginning of Mikhail Kalatozov’s “The Cranes Are Flying”, Veronica played by the mesmerizing Tatiana Samoilova looks at her boyfriend before he goes off to war and declares, “Give me something I’ll remember as long as I live.” This is exactly what Kalatozov gifts film viewers with this exquisite piece of bravura filmmaking, aContinue reading “The Exquisite Cinematography of “The Cranes Are Flying””

At the beginning of Mikhail Kalatozov’s “The Cranes Are Flying”, Veronica played by the mesmerizing Tatiana Samoilova looks at her boyfriend before he goes off to war and declares, “Give me something I’ll remember as long as I live.” This is exactly what Kalatozov gifts film viewers with this exquisite piece of bravura filmmaking, aContinue reading “The Inventive Cinematography of “The Cranes Are Flying””

Larisa Shepitko is one of the lesser-known Soviet filmmakers, yet she’s up there with the greatest to ever do it. It is said that Shepitko started to feel her mortality after a horrible accident, and it is then that she felt an urgency to complete her most important work, “The Ascent”. The film masks itselfContinue reading “Are we finite? – Larisa Sheptiko’s “The Ascent””