At this heart-fracturing moment, we say that we did the best we could. But maybe we didn’t. We marched. We signed. We petitioned. We emailed. We tweeted. We posted. We talked and talked and talked. We sang. We shouted. We chanted. We honked. We hooted. We hollered. We stickered. We t-shirted. We badged. We bannered. We leafleted. We postered. We tried, we tried, we tried. … Continue reading Brexit Day
I’m trying to keep to the resolution that I’m not going to over-think these non-film-related blog posts and just write the first thing that comes to my mind as and when I get a chance to sit in front of a keyboard… but the trouble is that when I do find a moment to myself, my brain is absolutely and utterly overwhelmed by responses to and views on the many, many things happening around me at the moment.
Continue reading “Unsigned”
I realise that various news sources have already covered the information this documentary presents about the activities of Cambridge Analytica (and if you’re not aware of the organisation, I suggest you look it up with delay), but Amer and Noujaim’s documentary encapsulates and presents it all in frighteningly compelling fashion. From the work of The Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr, to the not-unproblematic involvement of Christopher Wylie, … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 49: The Great Hack [dir. Karim Amer & Jehane Noujaim; 2019]
If nothing else, The White Crow deserves praise for being a biopic that pretty much stays faithful to the bio. Some would argue that by choosing to end with Rudolph Nureyev’s defection in Paris in 1961, it omits the more tempestuous elements of the man’s life, but at least what’s there is fairly accurate, as far as one can tell. However, even though the climax … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 22: The White Crow [dir. Ralph Fiennes; 2018]
Forgive me, but this post is going to be a bit of a cheat. Instead of offering a new review of Three Colours: White, I’m going to direct you to the latest issue of Sight & Sound (digital version out now; print edition in shops from 7th Feb) which contains an article on Kieślowski‘s movie by none other than yours truly. I am beyond delighted … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 9: Three Colours: White [dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski; 1994]
We quite often hear the complaint that ‘worthy’ films preach to the converted; Ken Loach’s output is perhaps the first that comes to mind in this regard. So why am I not excited by the possibility that the irreverent, genre-morphing style of Vice might be the very thing that gets through to audiences who wouldn’t normally show any interest in a political biopic? Maybe it’s … Continue reading 2019 Film Reviews – 6: Vice [dir. Adam McKay; 2018]
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 cons of equality. In the 90s, Poland was desperate to … Continue reading Film Review: Three Colours White / Trois Couleurs Blanc [dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski; 1994]
Rafi Pitts’ latest doesn’t quite deliver on the promises it makes in its first half. With commendable restraint – and a striking use of light and colour – it builds up a portrait of a taciturn night security guard who spends much of his free time roaming the forests outside Tehran. But when a tragic event causes him to commit a crime, the story loses … Continue reading Film Review: The Hunter [dir: Rafi Pitts; 2010]
Time flies when you’re not blogging. But, by some cruel quirk of physics, it seems to slow down each time you pick up a red biro. Yes indeed, the above statement is a thinly veiled hint to those of you who know what I normally get up to at this time of the year: Red Pen Season has arrived. I won’t say that blog posts … Continue reading An Interesting Record
Whenever I go on holiday, I decide that I really ought to know more about politics, architecture and economics. Visiting a foreign country must be such a rich experience if you can look at the buildings with an expert eye and come to intelligent conclusions about how they reflect the society that built them, or if you can read the business sections of the local … Continue reading Make Sound Judgements
DARIUSH ALAVI 