The second entry in my 52 films list by the wonderful Suzanne Bier, Brothers (Brodre) is a tense, taut little family drama, where there are no answers and no rights, no wrongs. Set in a Denmark of flat fields, trees, quiet suburbia, it’s the story of Michael (Ulrik Thomsen) and his brother Jannik (Nikolaj Lie… Continue reading Week 24: Brothers (2004)
Directed by the wonderful Sarah Polley, and starring the never-more wonderful Julie Christie (in a role she was Oscar-nominated for), Away From Her tells the tale of a small tragedy – a long-married couple being torn apart by the cruelty and reality of Alzheimer’s disease. Full of resigned sadness and long-lost dreams of another life,… Continue reading Week 23: Away From Her (2006)
This was heartbreaking. Kelly Reichardt directed one of my favourite Westerns of all time – Meek’s Cutoff – and so I was really happy to be watching another of her films, a lesser known effort from the mid-noughties. Michelle Williams seems to be a favourite of Reichardt but it’s not difficult to see why. She’s… Continue reading Week 22: Wendy & Lucy (2008)
Lyrical and naturalistic, The Falling – directed by Carol Morley (Dreams Of A Life) – channels a myriad of other films (Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Wicker Man, If…) to great effect. Rainwashed shots of lakes and trees, shrouded in mist, soundtracked by some effective folk-y music by Tracey Thorn, plus the febrile, fevered atmosphere… Continue reading Week 21: The Falling (2014)
Ooh, this looked good. Really good. Based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s comic book of the same name, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl looked to be crammed full of teenage tropes and 1970s counter-culture – as well as some inventive uses of comic-book stylings. Directed by Marielle Heller, who also adapted the comic into a play,… Continue reading Week 20: The Diary Of A Teenage Girl (2015)
Oh dear. So I’ve been away travelling for 3 months which has put me hopelessly behind on my 52 Weeks blog – this isn’t really Week 19, it must be Week 30 in reality! But I’m back to complete my 52 Weeks challenge – and with 20 weeks left, I reckon I can just do… Continue reading Week 19: Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
Oh wow. Yet another incredible film from a little-known female director. Frozen River was nominated for two Oscars, and also won a Grand Jury prize at Sundance; it’s a movie I’d heard of but knew hardly anything about. It’s terrific. Set in the frozen, wintery landscape of upstate New York – on the border with… Continue reading Week 18: Frozen River (2008)
I’ve had a run of really good films as part of this project of late – Honeymoon, The Selfish Giant – and now Sherrybaby, which was an astonishing feature debut from director Laurie Collyer. Maggie Gyllenhaal, as ex-con and ex-druggie Sherry, is also quite incredible, her performance luminous even as Sherry descends into depression and… Continue reading Week 17: Sherrybaby (2006)
I watched The Selfish Giant on a sunny April afternoon, knowing very little about it, but by the end, I was crying like a baby. To draw comparisons to this beautiful, skillful and moving British film is tough as it’s quite unique, but imagine a cross between Kes and a bleak episode of Coronation Street,… Continue reading Week 16: The Selfish Giant (2013)
And just a few days after complaining that I wanted to watch a horror film as part of my 52 Films project… another one turned up. Rather like unpleasant buses. Honeymoon – I don’t mind saying up front – was terrific. First-time director Leigh Janiak handles this taut, tense chiller set in the Canadian woods… Continue reading Week 15: Honeymoon (2014)
52 Shades Of Film 