Pan’s Labyrinth (2006
Thus, these films below present young women creating an alternative reality to the limited structures or paths enforced upon them. These protagonists often find themselves willingly entering a rabbit hole, so to speak, to freely explore the nuances of their selves. Through magics within the self, these protagonists return to the familiar world ready to assert their narrative.
Read MoreSo, basically, she had me at "Bluebeard." But since films, especially those created with the deliberate artistic and critical intent that Biller is known for, can take lots of time, here’s a list of items to tide you over until the big release.
Read More
via ToonBarn
Halloween may be over, but who says the eerie, the spooky, and the outright weird must be seasonal? This compilation of vintage cartoons is all of those things and watchable all year round. Cartoons have not always been immediately associated with bright colors and light, child-friendly themes. In the early years of cinema, from the silent era and into the talkies, animated shorts were a constant accompaniment to feature films shown in cinemas. During this time, animated shorts were a vehicle for whimsical musical entertainment, but at the same time, they were not always the twee flights of fancy that became the overwhelming norm when the Hays Code came into strict enforcement. In pre-Code Hollywood, the animated short was an opportunity for artists to let their strangest aesthetic whims come to life. The shorts produced by Max and Dave Fleischer are particularly distinguishable by their surreal aesthetics and distinct German Expressionist influence. The following four cartoons exemplify the Fleischers' signature brand of the bizarre, fitting fare for anyone with a taste for creepy, vintage curiosities.
Read More
The Bling Ring (2013)
The irreality of their reality is chilling. Illusion upon illusion makes for a dangerous perceptual blur in the minds of teenagers who grow up in a culture that worships fame and fortune above all else. And that is the sadness of all this. When you feel the palpable loneliness of these kid who, despite being well-off and provided for, really don’t feel like they matter.
Read MoreUnder the Skin is like a celluloid skin that you crawl inside of. It is the most intimate role that Scarlett Johansson has taken on. Her skin is the film’s skin. She is an alien in a strange land, but the audience is right there with her. The intimacy is palpable and almost claustrophobic. There is very little dialogue to disrupt the experience of seeing the world through her eyes.
Read MoreThis film is tragic and dark, but it is also unapologetically romantic. It meanders and it unfolds in a dreamlike fashion; moments follow each other, sometimes rushing and stumbling over one another, sometimes lingering and lasting endlessly as the sun sets like a bloody orange into the sea.
Read MoreThe message of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is a dark one. Being a woman is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you are everyone’s most valued possession. You are the vessel of life. Women are coddled and protected and kept in a state of infancy. The fantasy of being a little girl forever, of being a princess, of being indulged, comes with the dark side of being trapped, manipulated, and repressed.
Read MoreThe wedding is the ultimate female fantasy of culmination, of dreams coming true, or true love cemented and bound forever in an elaborate ritual. The wedding, in a romance film would be the final scene. It would be the pinnacle. By beginning with the wedding scene Lars Von Trier makes sure that the film's trajectory goes downwards rather than upwards.
Read MoreThis is a film about a journey. The journey from childhood to adulthood. The transformation from art object to art maker. The shift from passive observer to active participant in the script of one’s own life. Nina must decide if she wants her mother to be the author of her life or if she is ready to take responsibility for her own choices and her own pleasure and fulfillment—as a woman, as well as an artist.
Read More
I’ve been editing now for almost 25 years and editing is all I need. I always have great respect for what everyone brings to the film and I put a lot of emphasis on carving out all the love; may it be the script, the costumes, the cinema photography, make up, acting etc. I consider my work to be an interpretation of the script and of the work from other key contributors who are also interpreting the script and in doing so I'm careful never to lose focus on the director´s vision. In that sense I regard editing as a valuable part of the script writing.
Read More
