Film
Sheep Head Noir From The Frozen North
By David N. MeyerThere’s much to be learned about Iceland from the bleak new noir Jar City.
In Conversation
Gauze, Manga and Delinquency, Tadanobu Asano with David Wilentz
No discussion of contemporary Japanese cinema is complete without the mention of maverick movie star Tadanobu Asano. From his work with cyber-punk innovators Sogo Ishi (Burst City) and Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo) to the meditative master behind Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, Shinji Somai, Mr. Asano is a lens through which to view the bolder side of contemporary Asian cinema.
Your Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles
By Sophie GilbertOne of the predicaments that producers face when translating Asian horror movies into English is our profound lack of, like, spirituality. In Eastern culture ghosts are accepted, feared and revered.
Yakuza Films at the Asia Society
By David WilentzThe violent, trope-driven, macho-archetype-abundant gangster cinema of Japan is codified by criminal myth and the true-to-life brutality of the yakuza. A fascinating arc in both crime cinema and social consciousness emerges through the 5 films in Asia Society’s upcoming series.
Parables of Impossibility
By Lu Chen“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” Stephen Dedalus’s line in Ulysses perfectly describes the characters in the films of Goran Paskaljević, the Serbian director who, not coincidentally, chose Joyce’s Ireland as his second home.
DVD Culture
Payday
By Brother CleveIt’s been a long wait, but finally the gritty 1972 drama Payday, starring Rip Torn at his most bravado, has been officially released on DVD in the U.S.
Moolaadé
By Makenna GoodmanFrom the critically acclaimed filmmaker and founder of independent post-colonial African cinema comes a look at Africa’s traditions and sociopolitical landscape—what makes its both beautiful and brutal.
