Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” defies written description. The experience is more akin to that of music or painting in that it operates on a subconscious level. It communicates its complex concepts and abstractions through otherworldly sights and sounds. This is magical realism at its most spiritual; the characters inhabitContinue reading “Reincarnation in “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives””
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OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020
The 92nd Academy Awards are just around the corner, and it looks like it’s a tight race between Sam Menes’ “1917” and Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite”. Since “Parasite” is a lock for Best International Film, I’m predicting “1917” will take home the big prize; it is exactly the kind of epic that the Academy likesContinue reading “OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020”
The 10 Best Films of 2019
What a year for cinema! There was pretty much something for everyone. Robert Eggers, Ari Aster and Jordan Peele all made successful returns to the horror genre. Hollywood heavyweights, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Sam Mendes reminded us why we hold them with such high regard. There were also plenty of independent as well asContinue reading “The 10 Best Films of 2019”
Film Analysis: “Landscape in the Mist”
In Theo Angelopoulos’ “Landscape in the Mist”, two kids run away from their home in Athens in search for their father whom they were told lives in Germany; but beneath the surface this film is about so much more. The journey they embark on is an allegory for life itself. We all travel through time in searchContinue reading “Film Analysis: “Landscape in the Mist””
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””
Making Connections in Kieślowski’s “Three Colours: Red”
Kieślowski’s “Red” is the most philosophically dense film in the Three Colours trilogy. In his final entry, Kieślowski effortlessly weaves everything together- very fitting for a film about making connections. An opening scene is often a film’s first shot at conveying its main themes and ideas. Here, the camera follows a telephone wire from aContinue reading “Making Connections in Kieślowski’s “Three Colours: Red””
Making Contact in the “Land of Silence and Darkness”
“If there were another World War, I wouldn’t even notice it.” “Land of Silence and Darkness” concerns itself with a very specific demographic of the population, the people who suffer from the unfortunate fate of simultaneously being deaf and blind. Without these two key senses, they are cut off from the reality of the worldContinue reading “Making Contact in the “Land of Silence and Darkness””
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 Sublime Cinema of Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu expressed grand philosophical ideas through little moments of everyday life. He is in my humble opinion, the most sensitive and disciplined director to ever hold a camera. Ozu disregarded how the rest of the world shot films and created his own cinematic language. He broke every rule there was and did it the most subtle way possible. Ozu’s films exercised the most discreetContinue reading “The Sublime Cinema of Yasujirō Ozu”
Sustaining Love in Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes from a Marriage”
Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes from a Marriage” is a brutally honest study of marriage. It revolves around two human beings trying to sustain love and intimacy throughout their lives. No matter what I write, nothing will prepare you for this masterpiece. It is truly a transformative work filled with a lifetime of wisdom. “Scenes from aContinue reading “Sustaining Love in Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes from a Marriage””
The Cinephile Fix 