The preservation and evolution of South Korean cultural traditions became the dominant focus of Im Kwon-Taek’s films after the ease of censorship in a change of government regime. A number of his post-genre cinema began to address this though the real cultural reactions can be found in later work which can effectively be called post-Cannes; … Continue reading Chi-hwa-seon (2002) – Im Kwon-Taek.
South Korean Film Music and Ease of Distribution – Part 1 (Tradition vs. Globalisation).
Tradition vs. Globalisation: The Relationships between South Korean Film Music and Its Ease of Consumption and Distribution. Introduction The Effect Of Globalisation Pressure On South Korean Cinema. “The core problem is no doubt that most of us in the West know little or nothing of Korea’s modern history. It’s impossible to understand Korea’s artists without … Continue reading South Korean Film Music and Ease of Distribution – Part 1 (Tradition vs. Globalisation).
Festival (1996) and the Acceptance of Loss – Im Kwon-Taek.
Celebrating loss can be a difficult task even for the more optimistic of personas. The idea of someone being physically and emotionally lost is not a pleasant experience which, at best can provide some cathartic character building in between the tears and complete incomprehension as to what exactly it means to live or die. It’s … Continue reading Festival (1996) and the Acceptance of Loss – Im Kwon-Taek.
Avant Godard! – Part 2, Musical Subversion (Bande à Part and Pierrot Le Fou)
Part 1. Ideas In Later Films By Godard. Godard would continue to subvert the role of record players in his work to similar but more extreme effects. It seems odd that the connecting factor to all the scenes mentioned is the presence of his, then wife, Anna Karina. Godard is capable of presenting her dancing … Continue reading Avant Godard! – Part 2, Musical Subversion (Bande à Part and Pierrot Le Fou)
Avant Godard! Musical Subversion In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. (Part 1)
Avant Godard! Musical Subversion And Fictional Interaction With Non-Diegetic Music In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. Introduction - French New Wave As Avant Garde. When discussing Avant Garde cinema, the most obvious choices of cinematic subject would no doubt be linked to the likes of Dali, Buñuel and Cocteau. However, the gradual movement from Avant Garde to Art … Continue reading Avant Godard! Musical Subversion In The Films Of Jean-Luc Godard. (Part 1)
Kuroneko – Kaneto Shindo (1968)
Despite the horrific elements contained within, Kuroneko is ill served by being pigeon holed into the genre of horror. The genre as a whole has a huge spectrum of intelligence and allegory but there’s more to Kaneto Shindo’s film than this, quite malleable, label. It of course gives scares, and Japanese “horror” is well ahead of the … Continue reading Kuroneko – Kaneto Shindo (1968)
Maîtresse – Barbet Schroeder (1976), BFI.
This review contains spoilers. Barbet Schroeder’s Maîtresse (1976) is a film that is extremely hard to classify. Even with the hindsight of almost forty years, its apparent bed fellows all share a stubborn resistance to classification. The collection of films with vaguely similar themes and tendencies to push boundaries of explicitness that came out in … Continue reading Maîtresse – Barbet Schroeder (1976), BFI.
The Mirror – Andrei Tarkovsky (1975)
It’s hard to imagine a film made today being as unashamedly honest and personal about its director’s past as Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1975 film, The Mirror. The title alone informs the viewer all they’ll need to know about the personal reflection that is about to unfold before their eyes over 101 minutes worth of some of the … Continue reading The Mirror – Andrei Tarkovsky (1975)
Aguirre, The Wrath of God – Werner Herzog (1972)
Werner Herzog is a dangerous director. Not content with simply make believe, he appears to enjoy a masochistic relationship with actually putting himself through his own film’s narratives and challenges. Perhaps he feels that it yields the best results but it’s obvious when watching any of his films that more blood, sweat and tears have … Continue reading Aguirre, The Wrath of God – Werner Herzog (1972)
Winter Light – Ingmar Bergman (1963)
A dark vein of sorrow flows through many films by Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman. With his constant obsession with death, whether it be in the physical sense of the metaphorical death of emotion or belief, his films often pack a punch way ahead of their times. In his so-called “Faith trilogy”, Bergman assesses the death … Continue reading Winter Light – Ingmar Bergman (1963)
