ESSAYS

September 28, 2010

Flowers of Shanghaï (Hsiao-Hsien Hou, 1998)

Hou Hsiao Hsien’s depiction of life in Flowers of ShanghaÏ explores the inherent contradictions in the era’s Chinese society.
September 30, 2010

Central Station and the Cinema Novo tradition

Central Station is one of the most popular and internationally acclaimed Brazilian films of the 1990s. It heralded a renaissance in Brazilian cinema.
March 22, 2010

Knocks at my Door (Alejandro Saderman, 1994)

Knocks at my door explores the political instability that has plagued Latin-American countries and Third-world countries in general.
March 22, 2010

The Journey (Fernando E. Solanas, 1992)

Argentina has one of the most impressive cinematography in the world. Within that cinema, Fernando E. Solanas is a director of seminal importance. In his essay, Towards a Third cinema, Solanas and his co-writer, Octavio Getino, galvanize the overall revolutionary ideas of the time into the concept of a decolonization cinema, denouncing the weak, liberal arts that have, up until […]
September 28, 2010

Coming Home: Melodrama and social change

David Ehrenstein condemns melodramas like Coming Home for perpetuating the illusion that they can affect social change instead of creating real change.
October 1, 2010

Election (Alexander Payne, 1999)

There are some movies that change your perception of what is possible, what is allowed. Alexander Payne's Election was that for me.
September 28, 2010

Cronenberg’s discourse through Videodrome and eXistenZ

This essay will explore the duality of Cronenberg’s works, as a statement on man’s curiosity and an open window to the unknown in Videodrome and eXistenZ.
March 26, 2010

The City and the Dogs (Francisco J. Lombardi, 1985)

he City and the Dogs, based on the popular novel of the same name by Mario Vargas Llosa, is an allegory of power in South America.
March 22, 2010

Macunaïma (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969)

One of the most interesting aspects of South-American cinema is its post-colonial perspective. Having lived myself and being raised in a Third-world country, I can identify and relate to the plight of South-American characters, living up to their (displaced) roots while fighting their imposed colonial heritage. I’ve seen firsthand the social stratification that the colonial rule instilled into the indigenous […]
March 26, 2010

I Don’t Want To Talk About It (Maria Luisa Bemberg, 1993)

In I Don’t Want To Talk About It which precedes her sudden death in 1995, Maria Luisa Bemberg explores the same themes as in her most famous movie, Camila.
October 1, 2010

Come Drink With Me (King Hu, 1966)

In Come Drink With Me, King Hu considers each of the director’s tools, using camera movement differently than editing or the wide-screen space.
March 20, 2018

Black Panther: A Perspective

I haven’t been motivated enough by any of the recent movies to add to the discussion. Black Panther has changed that. Although not a revolutionary film, elements of it speak to me profoundly.How does Black Panther paint the African-American portrait? How does it interact with other films from Africa and the African diaspora?