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.
April 20, 2010

Funny People (Judd Apatow, 2009)

Funny People is funny, touching and rings true, even through all its comic exaggeration. Apatow's direction is poised and appropriate to the subject matter.
March 22, 2010

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese, 1974)

It was a pleasant surprise to see Alice doesn’t live here anymore. Is it a feminist film? Can a male filmmaker look at a woman through a female perspective?
March 26, 2010

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)

WHAT IT IS: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born destitute, has the most gifted olfactory sense ever bestowed on a human being. He yearns to learn how to distill all smells, including a woman’s. HOW IT IS: Twyker’s Perfume is strange but mesmerizing, like a song you can’t forget. It slowly creeps in, half serial killer movie, half meditation on life, talent and […]
December 5, 2010

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960; Sang-soo Im, 2010)

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960) is one of the oldest films known to have survived South Korea’s evolution from Third-World country to G20 powerhouse. The print shown at Fantasia this year was restored by Martin Scorsese’s World film Restoration Foundation in tandem with the South Korean government and follows The Housemaid (Sang-soo Im, 2010) remake’s stellar performance this year at […]