Four films by Fellini
Times are changing, and reputations with them. Once one of the major figures in cinema, now many viewers and critics are ambivalent about Federico Fellini. You hear “unstructured”, “self-indulgent”, “egotistic” … Continue reading
A heart in winter
A Heart in Winter (Un Coeur en hiver) is a 1991 film by Claude Sautet (Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud, 1995, Sautet’s wonderful last film). It stars Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart … Continue reading
L’Amant
Jean-Jacques Annaud (Two Brothers, Enemy at the Gate) made L’Amant (The Lover) in 1992. He wrote the script, but the story is from an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras. Anyone … Continue reading
Shunji Iwai: the cinema of introspection
Shunji Iwai (岩井俊二 ) from Sendai is not just a film director: he is also a video artist, scriptwriter and novelist, editor, actor, composer and, more frequently now, producer. There … Continue reading
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great
This is a superb presentation which has, nevertheless, some flaws. Segment one, which tells the story of Alexander’s youth and the launch of the great expedition, gives due credit to … Continue reading
Family ties: the films of Yasujiro Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu is a figure whose films move me deeply. The impression I take away after viewing one of his films is often of him. There seems to emanate from … Continue reading
The life worth living: Ikiru
Akira Kurosawa made Rashomon in 1950, Ikiru in 1952 and The Seven Samurai in 1954. All these films have quite a complex structure. Yet Ikiru remains a very simple film, … Continue reading
