Paris, Texas (1984; Wim Wenders) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes These festivals are all about reducing my cinematic blind spots, so it is without (much) shame that I admit that Paris, Texas is the first non-documentary film I’ve seen by director Wim Wenders. That said, from my general […]
The Ballad of Narayama (1983; Shôhei Imamura) GRADE: A- By Mike Dub The opening image of Shôhei Imamura’s 1983 Palme d’Or winner The Ballad of Narayama is a somewhat anachronistic helicopter shot. We’re ushered deep into the mountainous recesses of the Japanese wilderness, a journey that reaches further […]
Kagemusha (1980; Akira Kurosawa) GRADE: A- By Mike Dub It might be hard to think that, at the age of seventy and already recognized around the world as a master of modern cinema, Akira Kurosawa would be capable of surprising us with a film that is as grand […]
Dersu Uzala (1975; Akira Kurosawa) GRADE: B- By Mike Dub Kurosawa has always been considered by critics to exhibit the most “western” style of filmmaking of all the Japanese greats. So it shouldn’t come as too big a surprise that Dersu Uzala at times feels more like one […]
Dodes-ka’Den (1970; Dir.: Akira Kurosawa) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes Made in 1970 during a period of intense personal and professional turmoil, the ramshackle Dodes’ka-Den is a strange anomaly in the Kurosawa filmography. It was his long-awaited return to filmmaking after a string of high-profile projects withered on […]
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007; Cristian Mungiu) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes The first film in our Romanian New Wave festival was Corneliu Porumboiu’s low-key comedy 12:08 East of Bucharest, in which several men debate the existence of a “revolution” in their small town, with […]
