Joshua Oppenheimer exposes the atrocities of the Indonesian genocide in two of the most unique documentaries ever made. “The Act of Killing” is unquestionably the most innovative piece of documentary filmmaking to come out this decade. It re-invents the use of reenactment and takes filmmaking to unprecedented territory. The concept reminded me a lot ofContinue reading “Shame in “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence””
Category Archives: Film Analysis
Film as a Reflection in “Through the Olive Trees”
The third film in the ambitious Koker trilogy is a delightful viewing experience filled with pleasant surprises and cameos at every corner. The entries in this multi-layered trilogy are short and sweet, but when consumed together, you get an explosion of flavours that only a master chef could put together. “Through the Olive Trees”, forContinue reading “Film as a Reflection in “Through the Olive Trees””
Disturbance in Luis Buñuel’s “Land Without Bread”
In Luis Buñuel’s grotesque, “Land Without Bread”, we are introduced to a small town struck by extreme poverty and disease. The camera does not shy away from exposing viewers to some of the most disturbing imagery you can think of. We see plenty of rotten animals, a dead baby, the mourning mother, and sick childrenContinue reading “Disturbance in Luis Buñuel’s “Land Without Bread””
New Beginnings in Abbas Kiarostami’s “And Life Goes On”
“And Life Goes On” is Abbas Kiarostami’s second film in the delightful Koker trilogy. After the 1990 earthquake that took over 30,000 lives, Kiarostami goes on a search for the kid who starred in his previous film, “Where Is the Friend’s House?” The film was shot like a documentary, yet it is actually a semi-fictionalContinue reading “New Beginnings in Abbas Kiarostami’s “And Life Goes On””
Melancholic Reflection in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”
Martin Scorsese brings forth a gangster film we haven’t seen before. “The Irishman” is a meditation on time and death. Scorsese doesn’t glamorize a gangster’s lifestyle by showing them indulge in excess. Instead, he draws our attention to the latter part of their lives, the part we rarely see on the big screen, when theirContinue reading “Melancholic Reflection in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman””
The Pursuit of Justice in “The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On”
In Kazuo Hara’s shocking Japanese documentary, “The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On”, Kenzo Okuzaki will do anything to get WWII veterans to confess to the barbaric atrocities committed in New Guinea towards the end of the war. When the conversation doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, Okuzaki resorts to violence. He punches, kicks, and wrestlesContinue reading “The Pursuit of Justice in “The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On””
Emotional Freedom in Kieślowski’s “Three Colours: Blue”
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy, “Blue”, White”, and “Red”, named after the colors of the French flag is themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. The first of the three films, “Blue”, tackles the concept of liberty in the everyday life of Julie, the wife of a composer, who must copeContinue reading “Emotional Freedom in Kieślowski’s “Three Colours: Blue””
Nostalgia in Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord”
In Federico Fellini’s nostalgic time capsule, “Amarcord”, we are introduced to the director’s birthplace, the seaside town of Rimini, and the colorful characters that reside in it. Only it feels like Fellini is showing us how he wants to remember this town as opposed to how it actually was. We are seeing the world throughContinue reading “Nostalgia in Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord””
Werner Herzog’s “Lessons of Darkness”
Werner Herzog once referred to “Lessons of Darkness” as a science fiction film, and I can see why. The hellish landscapes of pitch-black oil fields interrupted by fountains of fire look like something straight out of a post-apocalyptic future where man orchestrated his own demise. Strangely enough, the subject matter is not that far off;Continue reading “Werner Herzog’s “Lessons of Darkness””
The Grand Illusion in “Koyaanisqatsi”
Godfrey Reggio’s “Koyaanisqatsi” is a documentary that has been imitated countless times but never surpassed, and maybe never quite equaled either. Ron Fricke, the cinematographer of this important piece of filmmaking, went on to direct his own films like “Baraka” and “Samsara”, but for some reason they lacked the philosophical depth that a mind likeContinue reading “The Grand Illusion in “Koyaanisqatsi””
The Cinephile Fix 