Short Dramas at Brighton Film Festival
Keith Braithwaite reviews the short dramas screened at Brighton Film Festival on November 26th.
Category Archives: Reviews
Squint Volume One: Up on your feet
“For one night only let’s see things on a big screen, with the sound up loud – a party atmosphere to celebrate a commercial artform that continues to run deep roots into all aspects of the cultural conscience”. Harry Hunt reviews Sam Cuthbert’s anthology of music videos at Brighton Film Festival.
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 3D
The ancient samurai ritual of hara-kiri, also known as seppuku, is a symbolic suicide performed in an attempt to regain honour when all hope is otherwise lost. It is a grisly fate, involving plunging a short sword, known as a tantō into one’s stomach, and slicing left to right. An appointed “attendant” would then finish the job by relieving you of your head. Harry Hunt reviews Takashi Miike’s HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI
Moonbug
“I take photos to show another world,” explains Steve Pyke, opening up his long awaited documentary MOONBUG, and with a subject of astronomy, you’d expect this to be quite fitting. Unfortunately, a documentary about space exploration it is not; it’s an astronomically claustrophobic look into the world of Steve Pyke.
Aesthetica Short Film Festival York
This month saw Aesthetica magazine’s first short film festival take place in some of York’s historic venues. Steve Williams reviews one of his favourite films from the arts, experimental and documentary categories.
The Turin Horse
In 1889 Friedrich Nietzsche left his house in Turin and witnessed a man violently whipping his horse, which would not move. This image caused a mental breakdown in the philosopher, who threw himself at the neck of the creature to protect it, and afterwards fell ill until his death in 1900. What happened to the horse remains unknown, the narrator informs us at the beginning of what is allegedly Hungarian director Béla Tarr’s last film.
Breathing (Atmen)
Roman Kogler (Thomas Schubert) is a bit lost. Four years in the Austrian juvenile detention system have left him numb and passionless, but he still yearns for resolution. BREATHING follows him as he seeks this resolution out. Harry Hunt reviews this directorial debut from Austrian actor Karl Markovics.
The Awakening
In the wake of the Great War, England was shrouded in a time of recovery, melancholy and ghosts. The bereaved searched for their lost sons, brothers and lovers in the lies of con artists who claimed they could contact the afterlife in spiritual séances and readings. This is the setting in which we find our … Continue reading The Awakening
Dance Town (댄스 타운)
DANCE TOWN brings a snowy rallentando to Jeon’s trilogy which began with ANIMAL TOWN and MOZART TOWN. Each film looks at Korean life through the eyes of urban misfits who have been excluded from, or simply ignored by the rest of society.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Even though Lynne Ramsay has layered WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN with colours and striking vision, it resides firmly in shades of morally ambiguous grey.