The Molly Reynolds’ directed film, Another Country, is a difficult work to define. Guided by the cool, calm, and soothing narration of indigenous actor, David Gulpilil, we are sent on an almost structure-free wander through Gulpilil’s home town, Ramingining. I say almost, because both he and Reynolds have a very clear purpose in mind – to…
A beautiful young couple move into a beautiful house in the American suburbs. He has a new job and she is working freelance. Everything is perfect, right? The Gift shows us that our past can catch up with us when we least expect it, threatening to unveil secrets and turning everything upside down. Ten years…
This is not so much a film review or article, but a beginning, an initial exploration. I’m fascinated by how technology and the fear of death are becoming increasingly entwined in Western culture. There are no easy lessons to draw, but I wanted to write something about how mainstream cinema interacts and deals with such…
We forget, within a modern societal structure, that the propagation of culture is often achieved through re-enactment or retelling. When oral tradition was the dominant social form, prior to the written word, the most famous, most important and the most socially relevant stories or mythologies were the ones being retold at festivals, around campfires and…
Finding non-standardised beauty within the fashion industry seems an impossible task to set, but in the quirky style of Iris Apfel, the late Albert Maysles found his answer. Iris is well known as a ‘rare bird’ of fashion, she’s a style icon for accessory fans and couture lovers. You might have previously seen her in…
Whenever a first-time writer director creates a finely-crafted and satisfying psychological thriller, as Joel Edgerton has done with The Gift, there is cause to celebrate. Edgerton’s movie, however, has an ending that is either troubling or brilliant – or perhaps both; an ending that makes us reconsider the very nature of how we view and…
The b-movie or b-picture was a product of the Golden Age of Hollywood (arguably the 1930s-1950s, more or less) and really took off with the introduction of the “double feature” at cinemas. The b-picture was the more cheaply produced, not always feature length, curtain-raiser at double feature events. Several genres were represented in the…
There are times when a film will come along that is constructed and executed in such a way that it lingers in the audience’s minds. It leaves an ‘emotional hangover’ that viewers have to deal with well after the final curtain. The latest documentary film release, Amy, is set to be one of those films.…
The global success of Sebastiao Salgado’s photography has been somehow condensed into one feature-length documentary, not that the film dilutes the power of his images in any way. Whether you’re a professional or amateur photographer, or just someone who appreciates photography, you’ll be amazed at the beauty and honesty of Salgado’s work. His story, as…
I recently wrote a piece choosing the four most significant directors from each of eleven countries. I referred to the lists as Mount Rushmores. (You can read it here, if so interested). The response I got, with dozens of fans telling me just how wrong I was, has inspired me to do it again. This…
Perhaps because I have long had an interest in photography, and collecting cameras, films about this subject have always attracted my attention. There have been many films about early cinema pioneers, and the ubiquitous ‘film within a film’ theme offers many examples. However, this article is about still photographers, and how they have been represented…
Legend has it that when American blues artist Nehemah James (more commonly known as “Skip”) suspected a listener of studying the way he was performing a song, he would change up the way he played it on purpose. He needn’t have bothered. Even if some rival musician could figure out Skip’s intricate finger picking, there…
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