March 22, 2010

Les Carabiniers (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)

In Les Carabiniers, Godard is in control, from playing with our scopophilic gaze in the makeshift rape scene or denying us narcissistic satisfaction.
March 22, 2010

Funny Dirty Little War (Hector Olivera, 1983)

Although separated by more than a decade, Funny Dirty Little War and Macunaïma both try to provoke social change by using satire.
July 24, 2011

The Tree of Life, or how to fail at the impossible

The world is whole beyond human knowing. -Wendell Berry The Tree of Life, by renowned director Terrence Malick, is years in the making. Its history starts even before Malick’s previous film, The New World, was distributed in 2005. After generating a substantial amount of ink in the media, and hot on the heels of the film’s highly publicized win of […]
June 3, 2011

In defence of criticism: The case of The Hangover Part II

“Most critics really don’t get it.”, as they say. I feel compelled to respond to the casual filmgoers who don't understand the critic’s perspective.
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?