Singers from Brazil
In Brazil popular music can be an unexpected mix of jazz, folk, pop and rock, genres which are usually kept separate in American popular music. The big names, some of … Continue reading
Myths about Shakespeare
A substantial publishing industry is founded on the name and works of William Shakespeare and each year more pours from the press: new editions of the plays; re-examinations of the … Continue reading
Reign of the right wing: Costa-Gavras’ Missing
Missing is a 1982 film by Constantin Costa-Gavras (Z, 1969, State of Siege, 1972). All three films are factually based, and present the US role in support of terrorist right … Continue reading
Genji monogatari
So much has been said about Genji Monogatari (源氏物語): some say it is the world’s first novel; others, the greatest novel ever written; others again an incomparable source of information … Continue reading
Liane de Pougy: My Blue Notebooks
Liane de Pougy is a pseudonym of Marie Chassaigne, later Princess Ghika (1869-1950), a novelist, actress and courtesan of France’s belle époque, one of the best known women in Paris … Continue reading
Nathalie
Nathalie is a 2003 film by Anne Fontaine (Dry Cleaning, My Father and I), starring Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart and Gérard Depardieu. It is a sophisticated attempt to look at … Continue reading
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
