Skip to Content

“Paterson” by Jim Jarmusch: Trying Too Hard for Not Much

Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” is the second film at this year’s festival with poetry as its central theme, though unlike Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surrealist extravaganza “Endless Poetry”, “Paterson” deals in the so-called poetry of the everyday and the ordinary, or prosaic poetry – and I spent the entire film unable to figure out if Jarmush was pulling …

Read More about “Paterson” by Jim Jarmusch: Trying Too Hard for Not Much

Music and Rebellion in ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’

The phrase “first Iranian vampire western” will follow A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and its director Anna Lily Amirpour, until the end of cinema itself. A year and a half after it glided sexily into Sundance, the movie has made waves for its genre play, for Sheila Vand’s already iconic vampire look, and …

Read More about Music and Rebellion in ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’

Mesmerizing ‘Song from the Forest’ follows one man’s quest for harmony

From harmony comes peace. Michael Obert’s luminous documentary, Song from the Forest, is a celebration of one man’s harmony that resonates from the heart of the jungle. At the same time, there’s an undeniable melancholy lacing every frame. The result is a deceptively complicated film that captures the inscrutable beauty of finding one’s place in the world and the economic realities of preserving it.

Read More about Mesmerizing ‘Song from the Forest’ follows one man’s quest for harmony

‘Burroughs: The Movie’ Movie Review – is a reverent portrait of a controversial literary giant

Howard Brookner’s extraordinary portrait of William S. Burroughs was all but lost following its original release in 1983. Now recovered and restored, it offers an intimate insight into the life and work of one of America’s most celebrated and controversial writers. Covering his time spent in New York, Tangier, London and Mexico, from “full out junkie” to literary giant, the documentary is notable for its experimental style and unprecedented access to Burroughs, as well as interviews with his Beat Generation contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Herbert Huncke and Bryon Gysin.

Read More about ‘Burroughs: The Movie’ Movie Review – is a reverent portrait of a controversial literary giant

The Definitive ‘What the F**K?’ Movies: 40-31

As you can probably tell, this list feels more arbitrary than others. That’s not by design, but the unfortunate premise of the list leaves some room for interpretation. As we move forward, we will start seeing the films that, if you asked a lay person to give an example, would probably be a response. In …

Read More about The Definitive ‘What the F**K?’ Movies: 40-31

Halfway Mark: The Best Movies of 2014 (so far) Part 2

    15. Stranger by the Lake Directed by Alain Guiraudie Written by Alain Guiraudie France Though Stranger by the Lake premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival (and appeared on Sound On Sight’s best of 2013 list), it finally reached North American audiences in January of this year. Alain Guiraudie’s stunning noir-tinged thriller is …

Read More about Halfway Mark: The Best Movies of 2014 (so far) Part 2

Halfway Mark: The Best Movies of 2014 (so far) Part 1

Picking the best movies that come out in any given year is no easy feat. For film fans, a quality feature can come out at any time, from any one, and discovering an enjoyable and well-crafted feature is truly a pleasure. As we reach the halfway point of the year, many excellent films have already …

Read More about Halfway Mark: The Best Movies of 2014 (so far) Part 1

SXSW 2014: ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ beautifully examines love in isolation and immortality

Only Lovers Left Alive Directed by Jim Jarmusch Written by Jim Jarmusch UK, 2013 Inspired by Mark Twain’s Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive beautifully explores love and living after immortality siphoned away any semblance of life. Beautifully shot and wonderfully performed, the film eschews the more bombastic side of vampiric …

Read More about SXSW 2014: ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ beautifully examines love in isolation and immortality

Four Uniquely American Directors

Every year during the Fourth of July, American cable and movie channels never fail to make an effort to run a slate of films perceived as ideal in representing the American brand. These range from war movies dripping with nostalgia and patriotism to pop culture pieces sympathetic to American history and ideals to macho action …

Read More about Four Uniquely American Directors

London Film Festival: The Unbearable Inarticulateness of Being

The Limits of Control Directed by Jim Jarmusch The Exploding Girl Directed by Bradley Rust In the early 1990s, slacker cinema was all the rage in American independent cinema, with wacky, mumbling characters, slow pacing and the mundanity of everyday life replacing traditional plots, characterisations and drama. Which brings us to these two Amerindie offerings. …

Read More about London Film Festival: The Unbearable Inarticulateness of Being

The Drone of Dead Man

Undertones: Volume 4 Jim Jarmusch’s transcendental western, Dead Man (1995), is the tale of a spiritual and physical journey taken by an ordinary man named William Blake (Johnny Depp) sometime in the later part of the 19th century. Travelling to a frontier town called Machine, Blake hopes to be given a job as an accountant …

Read More about The Drone of Dead Man