A round-up of what I did, read and watched in January 2021
Tag Archives: films for lockdown
Review no 122: Black Book, a Dutch movie
“Shamelessly entertaining” Dutch film Black Book, directed by Paul Verhoeven
Review no 94: The Lives of Others (Germany)
Voyeurism and moral quandaries in 1980s Germany
Review no 83: Syrian feature documentary ‘For Sama’
I watched For Sama (2019) on All 4, knowing only that it was an Oscar-nominated film about the Syrian conflict, dedicated to the baby daughter of the journalist and film maker Waad al-Kateab (and co-directed by Edward Watts). I expected it to be harrowing, but I was unprepared for how gripping and powerful the film …
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Review no 82: The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza): a film by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
EUROPE “To this question, as kids, my friends always gave the same answer. “Pussy.” Whereas I answered, “the smell of old people’s houses”. The question was: “What do you like most, really, in life?” I was destined for sensibility. I was destined to become a writer. I was destined to become Jep Gambardella.“ The Great …
Review no 69: Two Swedish films: Force Majeure and The Square by Ruben Östlund
The master of squirming embarrassment, Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund.
International Reads (and Views) for a Lockdown
Much of the world is locked down as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, and normal routines have been dramatically changed. I’m finding it hard to concentrate on things I usually love, which include watching films (preferably at the cinema) and reading voraciously. Here are a few thematic ideas for books and films that might …
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