Film
Japan Cuts
By David Wilentz and David N. MeyerA Festival of Premieres at the Japan Society
Nothing At All
By Jenny SchlenzkaThe man is Zinédine Zidane, one of the great soccer players of all time. With Zidane: 21st Century Portrait, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno tread the border between film and art to cast a monument to Zidane from moving images.
Which One Betrays?
By Jesi KhadiviLe Doulos begins with a statement central to the unyielding world of noir ethics, “One must choose. Die…or lie.” Director Jean-Pierre Melville immerses us in the action from the get-go and, as is his style, explains nothing.
Try to Make Me Go to Rehab
By Tessa DeCarloWhat does legendary singer Edith Piaf have in common with a secretive guy who murders innocent strangers for thrills? Both are hostages to their own dark sides, according to two films that use addiction as a shorthand way to pose a fundamental question: is it possible to become a better person? Can any of us really change who we are?
The Old Insincerity
By Sarahjane BlumNancy Drew has always been better in concept than reality. Young girls read into her all sorts of characteristics she only winks at having: sage wisdom beyond her years, an even temper when harassed, a smart mind and a faultless tongue, and above all, overwhelming freedom and independence.
The Land Of Fatherless Boys
By Karl O'TooleWith opening credits that channel-surf from popular icon Roland the Rat and deteriorate to another British Muppet—Margaret Thatcher amid the Falklands War—This is England leaves little doubt that it’s going to be a bumpy ride in the United Kingdom of the eighties.
DVD Culture
Freedom, Misery, Tenure
By Jed LipinskiWoman Is the Future of Man begins with a reunion between two guy friends, the joy of which lasts for about ten seconds before the onerous complexities of their past relationship start weighing them down. Next thing they’re drunk at a noodle bar, barely restraining their contempt for the other’s lifestyle.
DVD Culture
The Horror Of Bollywood
By Brother CleveIt appears that there’s been a resurgence of interest in the horror film, with even the city’s newspaper of record profiling the surge. A number of upstart filmmakers are using the genre as an entry to the marketplace, in the same way that compelling directors utilized exploitation genres in the past.
