Dec 2011
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Film Review: Three Colours Red / Trois Couleurs Rouge [dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski; 1994]
When you know a film as well as I know Red, re-watching it becomes an experience that’s as much about yourself as it is about the movie. You find yourself reacting less strongly to aspects which had a tremendous impact on you years ago, whilst scenes which seemed relatively unimportant when you were younger resonate… Continue reading
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Film Review: How To Train Your Dragon [dir. Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders; 2010]
Watching How To Train Your Dragon reminded me of how much there is to enjoy about Hugo. Yes, this story of a skinny (which is Hollywood-ese for ‘unmanly’, ‘geeky’, ‘socially outcast’) young Viking who realises there’s more to be gained from trying to befriend rather than kill the dragons with which his fellow villagers insist on… Continue reading
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Film Review: Attack The Block [dir. Joe Cornish; 2011]
As far as multiplex-friendly, 90-minute long, 80s-inspired alien invasion movies go, Attack The Block does a decent job of ticking all the right boxes: it pushes its plot along at breakneck speed, it sports an excellent electronic score and it features endearingly minimal special effects. It also goes above and beyond the call of genre duty in… Continue reading
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Film Review: Blue Valentine [dir. Derek Cianfrance; 2010]
Blue Valentine is an excellent example of a film that is let down by its own structure. Clearly, Cianfrance’s intention was to portray only the opening and closing stages of a relationship and expect the viewer to fill in the gaps in the middle. This strategy works up to a point and, indeed, there are several evocative… Continue reading
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Film Review: Three Colours White / Trois Couleurs Blanc [dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski; 1994]
When it was released in the mid-90s, White was dimissed as the weakest chapter of Kieslowski’s trilogy. Although I’ve always been very fond of it, I concede that much of its impact is lost in translation, not least because of its tone-deaf English subtitles. However, recent socio-economic events have been kind to this sardonic essay on the pros and… Continue reading
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Film Review: Three Colours Blue / Trois Couleurs Bleu [dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski; 1993]
About fifteen minutes into its running time, Blue‘s protagonist (played with unforgettable precision by Juliette Binoche) is woken from a nap by a burst of orchestral music. She looks straight into the camera, following its movement as it pans from one side of her face to the other. The screen is filled with a deep shade of azure;… Continue reading
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Film Review: George Harrison – Living In The Material World [dir. Martin Scorsese; 2011]
Although I was brought up in a Beatle-loving household, George Harrison was spoken about only as one of “the other two” members of the band. Scorsese’s documentary of this complex, intriguing cultural figure filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge with considerable finesse. Using new interviews with key figures in Harrison’s life (including Paul… Continue reading
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Most Memorable Film Moments Of 2011
Please allow me to indulge in another shameless plug. I’ve been mentioned not once, but twice in the latest episode of Francine Stock’s consistently excellent Film Programme on BBC Radio 4. Please click on this link to listen to the show and if you really haven’t got time for the whole thing (your loss!) then… Continue reading
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Film Review: Carnage [dir. Roman Polanski; 2011]
Polanski’s silver screen version of Yasmina Reza’s acclaimed play is so very stagey, one wonders if the director was actually trying, for some reason unknown to the rest of us, to emphasise its non-cinematic tone and texture. In baldly theatrical fashion, two sets of parents meet to discuss a fight between their children. Cue: lots of trendy,… Continue reading
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Film Review: Shame [dir. Steve McQueen; 2011]
Michael Fassbender is without any question one of the finest English-speaking actors working at the moment and I have no doubt that he formulated detailed, intelligent reasons to explain why his character in this particular movie has reached such an extreme degree of emotional isolation. I just wish that this internal planning had been made… Continue reading
About Me
I am a writer and award-winning perfume critic currently living in the south of England and working on a novel. For my perfume-related writing, please visit Persolaise.com.
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DARIUSH ALAVI 