“They are really full characters who have everyday kind of problems” American filmmaker Kelly Reichardt says of the characters that lead her new film Certain Women. Played by Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Lily Gladstone respectively, these women are our window into an intriguing yet isolated life in the American North West. They’re…
In Conversation with Masa Ogawa, the founder of YAMATO The Drummers of Japan.
Formed in 1993 in Japan’s Nara Prefecture, YAMATO The Drummers of Japan have been storming the world without a break, giving over 2,500 performances in 51 countries. After 19 years since their last show in London’s West End, the group will be back in March to rock the audience’s socks off in the prestigious Sadler’s Wells….
In Conversation with Stephen Kijak, director of ‘We Are X’
Stephen Kijak is an American filmmaker who created the cult classic Cinemania (2002), which dealt with the lives of cinephiles in New York; after that, his docu-making took on a decidedly musical trajectory. He worked with none other than David Bowie to create Scott Walker – 30 Century Man (2006), then followed it up with The…
“We Are X” Review
“If you put your everything into something, your life … you don’t lose. If worst comes to worst, you die.” (Yoshiki) 1975 was a formative year for one Yoshiki Hayashi, who – despite his life being limited by several ailments (and a severe case of asthma) – was a shining classical music prodigy; at the…
In Conversation with Emrhys Cooper
Emrhys Cooper is an ambitious actor whose extensive experience of playing a broad range of roles for musical theatre, television and film makes him one of truly versatile young British actors. Cooper is best known for the Emmy nominated drama series Vanity (2015), the award winning indie feature Till We Meet Again (2015), sci-fi drama Altered…
Kushuthara: Pattern of Love Review
The Kingdom of Bhutan is no common place; and while it is one of the smallest countries in the world, its cultural variety and depth are heartfelt. Located in the breath-taking Eastern Himalayan mountain range, it presents the perfect opportunity for the filmmakers, climbers and photographers to experience the extraordinary beauty of the country. The history…
Pablo Larraín’s Jackie
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis, “Jackie”, is probably one of the most recognizable global icons. She presented herself to the world first as the perfect renaissance woman (she was an accomplished equestrienne, an avid reader, and excelled at several foreign languages), then the perfect wife, mother, and the perfect First Lady (she still remains among the…
Lee Gae-byok’s Luck-Key
Body- and identity-swaps have been explored by Hollywood since the 1970’s; unfortunately, most of those films are just wacky comedies. Unexpectedly, Asian cinema has been keeping up with this trend of the la la land and has produced a few worthy productions, including the Japanese Key of Life by Kenji Uchida (Weekend Blues, A Stranger of…
Hong Ji-young’s Will You Be There?
Surprisingly, last year was fairly fruitful for the female filmmakers in South Korea. Most of their films – perhaps slightly unappreciated by the mainstream cinema critics – have been cherished by many film goers. One of those films is Will You Be There?, the first adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s 2006 bestselling novel with the same…
Damien Chazelle’s La La Land
“City of stars – Are you shining just for me?” There are two main artistic centres in the once “promised” land of USA; we could say that one is the city of dreams, while the other is the city of stars – and in both, you probably have to be at least a bit “la…
Missing Review
After a lengthy hiatus, Lee Eon-hie finally grabbed a pen and paper – as well as camera – and created (with some help from Hong Eun-mi) her first thriller Missing, which features two well-known Korean actresses: Uhm Ji-won (Master, The Silenced, Wish) and Kong Hyo-jin (Single Rider, Boomerang Family, Crush and Blush). Missing depicts a story…
In Conversation with Kristof Deak
There is a high possibility that in a little under a week, the first Hungarian short film in over fifty years will find itself on the list of the prestigious Academy Awards nominations – Sing (also Mindenki), the excellent 25-minute short about the competitive world of children’s choirs that is based on a true story…
A Monster Calls Review
I have to admit that the Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona wrung almost everything he possibly could from Patrick Ness’ fantasy novel A Monster Calls. Even though the novel is short, it is very rich in content; and that is what the audience gets to see on the big screen: the filmmaker serves the viewers…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
It has been 45 years since in 1971, George Lucas conceived an idea for a space fantasy film that has in the following years taken on many a transformation – at first, it was supposed to be a feature set in the Flash Gordon universe – and has undergone several treatments, before it finally found…
