Category Archives: Directors

A review: “DAU. Natasha” [2020, Russia, Germany, Ukraine]

Rarely does one bump into a film with an ambiguous origin, uncertain of the exact time that the first seed of an idea was sown. While we might have encountered films made from ‘found-footage’ or other reality shows, nothing … Continue reading

Posted in Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Russian Cinema, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Standing against odds: “Dylda” [2019, Russia]

Not everyone has the calibre to use a colour palette of festive greens and reds to accentuate jaded decay. At barely twenty eight, young Russian director Kantemir Balagov achieves that and more in only his second feature, “Dylda” [Eng. … Continue reading

Posted in Kantemir Balagov, Russian Cinema | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A celebration of the female: “Las hijas del fuego” [Argentina 2018]

Albertina Carri herself has gone on record for describing her latest film “Las hijas del fuego” [Eng. Title: Daughters of Fire] as feminist porn. But the ever so modest Carri has also packaged something extra in it, as the … Continue reading

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Should artists stay above politics? “Werk ohne Autor” [2018 Germany]

Though this is not the central theme, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, in his Oscar-nominated semi-biographical epic “Werk ohne Autor” [Eng. Title: Never Look Away], poses a rarely discussed question; Are artists – as liberators, revolutionaries, and thinkers, letting themselves … Continue reading

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A load of bull: “El árbol de la sangre” [2018 Spain]

And they end up being as attention-gathering as only a Julio Medem can manage (apart from Bigas Luna, of course). While the bulls and cows in his latest drama, “El árbol de la sangre” [Eng. Title: The Tree of Blood] might … Continue reading

Posted in Julio Medem, Spain | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments