Tag Archives: political cinema

the Beauty and the Militant (film: The Way We Were – Sydney Pollack, 1973)

Posted on October 4, 2025 by admin

The most appropriate way to honor the memory of a filmmaker or actor who is no longer with us is to see or re-watch their films. ‘The Way We Were‘ from 1973 is one of the films that consolidated Robert … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged American cinema, Barbra Streisand, based on a book, Hollywood movies, James Woods, political cinema, relationship drama, Robert Redford, romantic drama, Sydney Pollack | Leave a comment

a polarized world (film: One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson, 2025)

Posted on September 26, 2025 by admin

‘One Battle After Another‘ is the first serious candidate for the next Academy Awards. I couldn’t have expected anything else from Paul Thomas Anderson, a film maker who has already demonstrated his talent for bringing complex stories to the screen … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged action movie, Alana Haim, Benicio del Toro, film based on a novel, Hollywood movies, Jonny Greenwood, Paul Thomas Anderson, political cinema, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Thomas Pynchon | Leave a comment

the indiscrete wickedness of the bourgeoisie (film: La rupture – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

Posted on August 1, 2025 by admin

Some of the most scathing cinematic critiques of the bourgeoisie and the social order it dominated were created in the years after the student uprisings of 1968. They did not always take the form of explicitly political films, and one … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Claude Chabrol, French cinema, inspired by a novel, Jean-Pierre Cassel, La rupture, Michel Bouquet, Pierre Jansen, political cinema, psychological thriller, Stephane Audran, The Breach | Leave a comment

the other masterpiece of Orson Welles (film: The Trial – Orson Welles, 1962)

Posted on July 11, 2025 by admin

‘The Trial‘ (1962) is – in my opinion – the second peak of Orson Welles‘s directing career, along with ‘Citizen Kane’. Welles himself considered it his best film. ‘The Trial‘ is the title of two masterpieces: one literary – Franz … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Franz Kafka, inspired by a novel, international movies production, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, political cinema, The Trial | Leave a comment

literature as the inner fortress against evil (film: Reading Lolita in Tehran – Eran Riklis, 2024)

Posted on May 21, 2025 by admin

Can art in general and literature, specifically, save the world? Or at least make it better? Or at least create for those who love them – creators and consumers – an inner fortress where they can take refuge in times … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Azar Nafisi, based on a book, Eran Riklis, feminist cinema, Golshifteh Farahani, international movies production, Iran, political cinema, Reading Lolita in Tehran | Leave a comment

courage and art (film: The Seed of the Sacred Fig / Dane-ye anjir-e ma’abed – Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024)

Posted on April 11, 2025 by admin

There are films whose production history dominates what we see during the screening. And I’m not referring to the ‘making of …’ clips or documentaries about special effects. A film like ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig‘ (original title is … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged author cinema, Dane-ye anjir-e ma'abed, Iranian cinema, Mahsa Rostami, Missagh Zareh, Mohammad Rasoulof, original script, political cinema, Pooyan Aghababaei, Setarek Maleki, Soheila Golestani, The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Leave a comment

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

Posted on December 19, 2024 by admin

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 →

Posted in movies | Tagged author cinema, Iranian cinema, Mohammad Rasoulof, multi-segments film, original script, political cinema, Sheytan vojood nadarad, There is No Evil | Leave a comment

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

Posted on February 12, 2024 by admin

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 →

Posted in movies | Tagged Ali Abbasi, Based on a True Story, courtroom drama, Holy Spider, international movies production, Iranian cinema, Mehdi Bajestani, original script, political cinema, social drama, true crime movies, Zar Amir Ebrahimi | Leave a comment

deadly game, deadly resistance (film: Bacurau – Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles, 2019)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by admin

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 →

Posted in movies | Tagged action movies, Bárbara Colen, Brazilian cinema, Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho, political cinema, social drama, Sonia Braga, Udo Kier | Leave a comment

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

Posted on October 3, 2023 by admin

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 →

Posted in movies | Tagged Austrian cinema, Europa, Jetnor Gorezi, Lilith Stangenberg, original script, political cinema, social cinema, Sudabeh Mortezai | Leave a comment