The brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière were two of the earliest and most influential film directors. La Charcuterie Méchanique (1895), considered one of the earliest “sc-fi” films of all time, predicts the mechanical butcher. A rather simple machine “transforms” a pig into Continue reading
movies
A Film Rumination: A Sunday in the Country, Bertrand Tavernier (1984)
7/10 (Good)
The famous French director Bertrand Tavernier has produced some remarkable films (Coup de Torchon and Life and Nothing But for example). A Sunday in the Country is considered by many to be among his best. My opinion is more tempered — if you’re in the mood for a minimalist family drama in the beautiful French countryside without much “drama” Continue reading
A Film Rumination: It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Edward L. Cahn (1958)
5/10 (Bad — but definitely watch if you’re a B-film sci-fi fan)
I think the most important lesson I learned from the hilariously (occasionally) bad 50s sci-fi alien monster caper It! The Terror from Beyond Space is that in future female scientists and doctors still serve coffee and lunch… Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Tales from the Gimli Hospital, Guy Maddin (1988)
8/10 (Very Good)
Guy Maddin’s first feature film is a spectacle to behold. A classic sort of frame story devolves (positively) into a dreamlike wandering in an alternative Iceland, with strange preachers, bark fish, a woman discovered on the shore wrapped in nets, young girls floating down rivers in coffins… Maddin manipulates silent black-and Continue reading
A Film (documentary) Rumination: The Atomic Cafe, Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty (1982)
8/10 (Very Good)
Atomic Cafe (1982) is a scathing documentary on the atomic age created from archival film from the 40s-early 60s. The scope of the material is extensive: military training films (often the most morbidly hilarious and poorly acted of the bunch), television news, various other government-produced propaganda films Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Dogtooth, Giorgos Lanthimos (2009)
8/10 (Very Good — heed the various caveats…)
2010, up for a best Foreign Film Oscar (Greece)
Giorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth (2009) is probably the strangest film ever nominated for an Oscar. The film treads a fine line between black comedy and excruciatingly/twisted dark drama. I found myself drawn into its bizarre otherworldly Continue reading
A (short) Film Rumination: The Box Man, Nirvan Mullick (2002)
7/10 (Good)
Multiple works by the famous Japanese novelist Kôbô Abe were turned into successful movies by Hiroshi Teshigahara (the most well known is A Woman in the Dunes which was nominated for two oscars, including best director). So while browsing the internet looking for other films inspired by Kôbô Abe’s works Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Bed and Sofa, Abram Room (1927)
6.75/10 (Average — worth watching for those interested in foreign silent films)
Bed and Sofa (1927) was directed by Abram Room and remains his most well-known film. It tells the story of a ménage à trois (a very daring plot for Soviet cinema in the 1920s) between one woman (Liuda) and two men (Volodia and Kolia). Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Richard III, Richard Loncraine (1995)
8/10 (Very Good)
Richard Loncraine’s Richard III is an inventive adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play by the same name. Instead of a late medieval setting, we’re greeted with an industrial, Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 