Directed by German film-maker Wolfgang Becker and starring Daniel Brühl (Alex) and Katrin Saß (Christiane), Goodbye Lenin! (2003) chronicles of the life of a Berlin family during the pivotal years of the German reunification in 1989-90 with a great mixture of tragedy, humour and satire. Alex’s mother Christiane accidentally ... [Continue Reading]
cinema
The Great Beauty
The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza - 2013) is a visually dazzling film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino boasting a brilliant and eclectic soundtrack ranging from electro-pop to classical choral music. The film won the 2014 Golden Globe [update: and Oscar] in the “best foreign film” category. An unexpected event forces ... [Continue Reading]
Le Rêve du Diable: Crac!
Crac! is an enchanting 15mn animated short by Frédéric Back originally released in 1981 and featuring a great collection of songs and tunes from the traditional French Canadian repertoire performed by folk group Le Rêve du Diable. Borrowing its name from a traditional reel of English/Irish origin (the devil’s dream), the band ... [Continue Reading]
The Swell Season
In a scene towards the end of the musical film Once, after the recording studio session, the two fictional characters “falling slowly” in love with each other and aspiring to work together have this conversation: Guy: Come on away to London with me! We’ll write loads of songs and live in a nice flat […] We’ll have a brilliant ... [Continue Reading]
Abel Korzeniowski: Stillness of the mind
Fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford’s first film A Single Man (2009) chronicles a tragic day in the life of gay British literature professor George Falconer (Colin Firth). Based on the Christopher Isherwood novel by the same name, [amazon text=A Single Man&asin=B003BEDAWC] is a story of love, grief and depression. It ... [Continue Reading]
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: Song for Bob
Andrew Dominik’s The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford (2007) is a majestic Western drama documenting the last months of legendary Wild West outlaw Jesse James. Based on the Ron Hansen novel by the same name and starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in the roles of Jesse James and Robert Ford respectively, ... [Continue Reading]
Jo Yeong-Wook: The last waltz
South Korean film director Park Chan-Wook’s revenge drama Oldboy stunned audiences worldwide on its release in 2003 and went on to win several awards at various festivals including the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes film festival. Main character Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is abducted, held captive for 15 years before being suddenly ... [Continue Reading]