The ‘Good Grammar of Civility’ & Zeus’ Law
Conservative commentators may not yet connect with Zohran Mamdani’s words at his inauguration, but cinema heard them and is articulating what civility and empathy are for.
Category Archives: Features
Akira, ‘Cyberpunking’ & the future
As AKIRA took to the cinema screen once again for a re-release just this year, it reminded us of its storming arrival to the science-fiction genre in 1988. The film may not suggest a perfect tomorrow, but promises a future we can choose.
Apathy & Hope in Children of Men
As we approach twenty years after the release of CHILDREN OF MEN, Alfonso Cuarón’s imagining of a grim world racked not by a plague or natural disaster, but by human apathy, remains a fitting warning.
Die My Love
DIE MY LOVE is unlikely to be considered the pinnacle of Ramsay’s career. Still, even when revisiting themes, the intense clarity of vision ensures Ramsay’s work continues to feel fresh and ominously vibrant.
Hamnet: Shakespeare would have approved
Both Shakespeare and Zhao acknowledge the beauty of grief, which is, of course, a form of love, as well as its horrific reality. Whatever you have lost will be touched upon when you see this film. Tears streamed down my face, my breath coming in shudders by the end.
Winter Kept Us Warm & queer love
Some aspects of David Secter’s legacy are likely beneficial to leave behind, but WINTER KEPT US WARM preserves a singular lifeworld in poetic form, bringing the raw and honest tumult of youthful romance into lyrical harmony with all the advantages cinema offers.
Brokeback Mountain’s ‘Gay Western’ Legacy
With the 20th anniversary of the release of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, it’s pertinent to look back on the wave of criticism that the film was met with upon its release, particularly concerning ideas of the Western among more conservative figures in the film industry.
North West Independent Film Festival
The inaugural edition of the North West Independent Film Festival in Preston used its second day to focus on the theme of ‘Shifting Grounds: Breaking Cycles, Seeking Truths’, showcasing films which hold a spirit of independence and creative ambition.
The Piano Teacher
Isabelle Huppert’s gut-punching performance solidifies THE PIANO TEACHER as one of modern cinema’s most profound, painful, and transcendental films.
Sophia Carr-Gomm on Return
Short film RETURN foregrounds the growing directorial voice of Sophia Carr-Gomm; a cinematic short with a haunting central performance, rendered all the more poignant by the passing of lead actor Peter Faulkner shortly after the film’s completion.