Tag Archives: political cinema

a cry for freedom (film: Sheytan vojood nadarad / There is No Evil – Mohammad Rasoulof, 2020)

Mohammad Rasoulof‘s 2020 film ‘Sheytan vojood nadarad‘ (‘There is No Evil‘ is the English title) confirms once again that great cinema can be made even under dictatorship. It is not always possible and many stars have to line up for … 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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deadly game, deadly resistance (film: Bacurau – Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles, 2019)

I rarely get a chance to see Brazilian films, but the ones I get to seem all to be special. This is also the case with ‘Bacurau‘ (2019), written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho – a well-known director with … Continue reading

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Europe in the Balkans (film: ‘Europa’ – Sudabeh Mortezai, 2023)

Screenwriter and director Sudabeh Mortezai took a bit of a risk by choosing the name ‘Europa‘ for her latest film, and not only because this name has already been used. I found about ten feature films with this name on … Continue reading

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deep trouble in the family (film: L’adieu à la nuit – André Téchiné, 2019)

Catherine Deneuve and director André Téchiné belong to the same generation and have made many films together. If my count is correct, ‘L’adieu à la nuit‘, which hit theaters in 2019, was the 8th film they collaborated on. Many of … Continue reading

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there shall not be two pharaohs (film: Cairo Conspiracy – Tarik Saleh, 2022)

Tarik Saleh is an Egyptian-born filmmaker living in Sweden. His career is divided between Sweden, Hollywood and productions about Egypt. The latter are made outside the country, including ‘Cairo Conspiracy‘ in which the story takes place in a Cairo whose … Continue reading

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strangled legality (film: Kurak Günler – Emin Alper, 2022)

‘Kurak Günler‘ (‘Dry Days’, the English distribution title – inaccurately translated – is ‘Burning Days‘) is the fourth feature film by Turkish director Emin Alper, one of the young and brave directors who continue to make films in Turkey (some … Continue reading

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crime and politics (film: Tueurs – Jean-François Hensgens, François Troukens, 2017)

The Belgian film ‘Tueurs’ (‘Killers‘) made in 2017 has two directors. One of them, who is also the author of the story and co-screenwriter, is called Francois François Troukens and is a former bank robber who spent some time behind … Continue reading

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local politics (film: Les promesses – Thomas Kruithof, 2021)

Two main narrative threads combine in ‘Les Promesses‘ (‘Promises‘), the 2021 film by French director Thomas Kruithof. One of them, related to the precarious condition of the Paris suburbs, is centered around an urban project involving political parties (we are … Continue reading

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film noir and dark politics (film: Un condé – Yves Boisset, 1970)

Yves Boisset is not one of the famous French directors, which amplifies for me the (pleasant) surprise of watching his 1970 film ‘Un condé‘ (‘The Cop‘). The director, who had been Jean-Pierre Melville‘s assistant, among others, demonstrates here that he … Continue reading

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