“If you set your mind to something, no one can stop you.” ‘Wadjda’, directed by Haifaa al-Mansour in 2012, is a Saudi Arabian drama depicting the life of an eleven year old year in Riyadh. The girl, Wadjda, played by Waad Mohammed, is headstrong and rebellious. She decides she want a bike so she can…
Month: January 2018
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
“Cary, let’s face it: you were ready for a love affair, but not for love.” ‘All That Heaven Allows’, directed by Douglas Sirk in 1955, is an American melodrama set in a small town in New England. Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, an affluent widow who falls in love with her free-spirited gardener, Ron Kirby,…
The Sound of Music (1965)
“You brought music back into the house. I had forgotten.” ‘The Sound of Music’, directed by Robert Wise in 1965, is an American musical drama starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Andrews plays Maria, a novice nun in Austria. Maria is a free-spirited and, at times, disobedient, so her superiors decide she should spend time…
The Red Turtle (2016)
‘The Red Turtle’, directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit in 2016, is a French animated fantasy. A man is shipwrecked on an island. He finds wood and makes a raft to escape, but his raft is destroyed by a creature in the sea. After this happens a number of times, the man discovers the creature…
The Handmaiden (2016)
“You’re asking me about how I think? You think that all I’m interested in is your body? Is that so? You definitely have been reading too many of those erotic writings! If there’s anything I do want from you it’s not your eyes, hands, or ass, but your money. You having the first is money….
Closely Observed Trains (1966)
“I’m Milos Hrma. I’ve tried to kill myself because I’m suffering from premature ejaculation. But that’s really not so. Even though I flop every time, I’m a real man.” ‘Closely Observed Trains’, directed by Jiří Menzel in 1966, is a Czechoslovak drama set in a small town during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in the…
The Last Metro (1980)
“It takes two to love, as it takes two to hate. And I will keep loving you, in spite of yourself. My heart beats faster when I think of you. Nothing else matters. ‘The Last Metro’, directed by François Truffaut in 1980, is a French historical drama starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu. Deneuve plays…
Close-Up (1990)
“This is a film that made itself” ‘Close-Up’, directed by Abbas Kiarostami in 1990, is an Iranian drama based on the real life story of a man who posed as the notable Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (the man who made ‘Gabbeh’) and was arrested and charged with fraud. Kiarostami follows the story by using the…
Man of Marble (1976)
‘Man of Marble’, directed by Andrzej Wajda in 1976, is a Polish drama. Jerzy Radziwiłowicz plays Mateusz Birkut, a bricklayer working on Nowa Huta, a socialist realist settlement near Kraków. When he breaks a record laying 30,000 bricks in one shift, Birkut becomes a socialist legend but rapidly loses faith in the system when he…
Elektra, My Love (1975)
‘Elektra, My Love’, directed by Miklós Jancsó in 1975, is a not a film on the list, but as Jancsó is rapidly turning into one of my favourite directors I had to watch it. The film follows the style of ‘Red Psalm’ from 1971, the action taking place entirely on the Puszta grasslands near Kunszentmiklós…
Tampopo (1985)
“The old man bit some shinachiku root and chewed it awhile. Then he took some noodles. Still chewing noodles, he took some more shinachiku. Then he sipped some soup. Three times. He sat up, sighed, picked up one slice of pork-as if making a major decision in life-and lightly tapped it on the side of…
A Passage to India (1984)
“You shouldn’t walk alone, Mrs. Moore. There are bad characters about, and leopards may come down from the Marabar Hills – snakes also!” ‘A Passage to India’, directed by David Lean in 1984, is a British period drama set during the 1920s in colonial India. Victor Banerjee plays Aziz Ahmed, a doctor who is keen…
Live Flesh (1997)
“Sancho: You’re aiming at your superior! David: No, I’m aiming at a lunatic and a drunk!” ‘Live Flesh’, directed by Pedro Almodóvar in 1997, is a Spanish adaptation of Ruth Rendell’s 1986 psychological thriller. In Madrid in 1970, a prostitute gives birth to a boy whilst on a bus. In 1990, the boy is now…
My Man Godfrey (1936)
“Tommy, there’s a very peculiar mental process called thinking – you wouldn’t know much about that – but when I was living here I did a lot of it.” ‘My Man Godfrey’, directed by Gregory La Cava in 1936, is an American screwball comedy starring William Powell and Carole Lombard. Powell plays a down-an-out called…
Film Ark 