Category Archives: United Kingdom

Affectionate portrait of a working class family, “Life is Sweet” [1990 United Kingdom]

When I watched Mike Leigh’s “Life is Sweet” for the first time all those years ago, it didn’t particularly make a strong impression – it was well made alright, but it was also as if I knew these characters all … Continue reading

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Story of a masterpiece – “Nightwatching” [2007 United Kingdom, Netherlands] BR1080

Peter Greenaway’s film “Nightwatching” dramatises a time in the life of the great Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn; the circumstances surrounding the creation of one of his most famous works, The Night Watch – a colossal military group-portrait of the … Continue reading

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A British cinema classic – Ratcatcher [1999 United Kingdom, France]

Scottish director Lynne Ramsay made an outstanding feature-film debut through the social drama “Ratcatcher”. The film won numerous awards including a BAFTA for the most promising newcomer, but Ms. Ramsay was merely following a long tradition of British social realism … Continue reading

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Mathilda May’s “Lifeforce” sparks London mayhem [1985 United Kingdom]

Of course, this isn’t news and it has nothing to do with the recently completed Mayan ‘Baktun’ – only MGM’s 1980’s attempt at adopting for film a sci-fi novel named The Space Vampires. While Tobe Hooper’s offering, fresh from Poltergeist … Continue reading

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Georgina Hale in Ken Russell’s poetic “Mahler” [1974 UK]

Ken Russell had never been stranger to controversy, he revelled in catching critics and audience off guard. He confounded critics yet again during the peak of his notoriety by making one of his most restrained and poetic of films. Whether … Continue reading

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