Category Archives: movies

the trivialization of evil (film: The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer, 2023)

Jonathan Glazer‘s Holocaust film The Zone of Interest (2023) is one of the most anticipated and talked about films of the season. The film is interesting and this is not a surprise. Glazer is a director and screenwriter who proposes … Continue reading

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damned be the savior (film: 125, rue Montmartre – Gilles Grangier, 1959)

The year 1959 in which Gilles Grangier‘s ‘125 rue Montmartre‘ was made was not an ordinary year in the history of French cinema. It was the year of the release of films like ‘Les quatre cent coups’ and ‘Hiroshima mon … Continue reading

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the trip of the lonelies (film: Alice in den Städten – Wim Wenders, 1974)

Between ‘Alice in den Städten‘ (‘Alice in the Cities‘ – 1974) and ‘Perfect Days’ (2023) 49 years have passed. 49 years in which the career of German director Wim Wenders has developed in many and sometimes surprising directions. It just … Continue reading

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anatomy of an unhappy marriage (film: Anatomie d’une chute – Justine Trier, 2023)

‘Anatomy d’une chute‘ is the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or trophy at Cannes 2023 and the ‘underdog’ nomination in several key categories at this year’s edition of the Academy Awards. I confess that I have not seen any of … Continue reading

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the last great swashbuckler? (film: Le bossu – Philippe de Broca, 1997

French literature of the middle and second half of the 19th century offered its readers a treasure trove of mystery and adventure novels with themes inspired by the history of France from the Middle Ages to the period of the … Continue reading

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a tale with spies and corruption (film: The Tailor of Panama – John Boorman, 2001)

I miss John le Carré so much. I had gotten used to his novels coming out once every 2 or 3 years and would look forward to the release of the first paperback edition which I could afford to buy … Continue reading

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another Christmas movie (film: The Holdovers – Alexander Payne, 2023)

I confess that I was somewhat anxiously waiting to see Alexander Payne‘s ‘The Holdovers‘ (2023). 5 Oscar nominations should be a guarantee of watching a quality or at least interesting film. On the other hand, my experiences with Payne‘s previous … Continue reading

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holy crimes (film: Holy Spider – Ali Abbasi, 2022)

Ali Abbasi, an Iranian director living in Scandinavia for over a decade chose a famous case that happened in Iran in 2000 and 2001 as an opportunity to make in ‘Holy Spider‘ a film that deals with one of the … Continue reading

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nous sommes partout (film: Ils sont partout – Yvan Attal, 2016)

I suspect that the French director, co-writer and actor Yvan Attal managed to magically steal one of our family’s favorite jokes for his film ‘Ils sont partout‘ (2016). This is exactly how, in French, my wife and I have reacted … Continue reading

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between two worlds (film: Riceboy Sleeps – Anthony Shim, 2022)

The name of Canadian Anthony Shim is to be added to the permanently increasing list of actors who have crossed over from the other side of the camera to become film directors. As an actor, he has quite an impressive … Continue reading

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