While the world is consumed by greed, hate and other unnecessary things, those who deserve attention are passing almost unnoticed, including Native Americans. They are often invisible, and so is their suffering. In the United States of America, one of the richest countries in the world, Native Americans have suffered, well, since the day colonists…
“The Long Goodbye” Review
What makes one British? A birth certificate, an accent or a passport? There is no denial that the UK has always been resistant to the idea that immigrants could become a permanent part of British society. However, when Brexit hit the ground, no one could have predicted how much hate would resurface. To be clear,…
“Aloners” Review
There’s nothing groundbreaking in the idea that, rather than bringing us closer together, technology has left us more divided and isolated than ever before. There have been several films in recent years that have criticised the dehumanisation of the digital age, and almost all of them have invited immediate parody (most notably, Jason Reitman’s Men,…
6th London East Asia Film Festival: “Not Out” Review
Hear the chants, hear the screams… Baseball is one of the most popular sports in South Korea. With an incredible atmosphere in the stadium during every game, baseball has become more than just a sport. Although what we see on the pitch is exciting, what happens behind closed doors is another story. The journey of…
6th London East Asia Festival: “Zero to Hero” Review
Despite social changes and adjustments within professional sport, disabled athletes themselves have been complaining that they are not treated as real athletes but only as those who are in a great need of rehabilitation. This often reflects on sponsorships, government support and endorsements. It is a widely known issue that Paralympians keep trying to bring…
6th London East Asia Film Festival: “Keep Rolling” Review
On the set of her 2017 film Our Time Will Come, Ann Hui is slapping wet mud all across the backs of actors. Her other hand is clutching a walking cane. She stands in the pouring rain, puffing cigarettes, and yelling orders. Reaching 70 years of age – and spending the past 40 plus years working in film…
6th London East Asia Film Festival: “My Missing Valentine” Review
Taiwanese romantic comedies can touch one’s heart regardless of their Rotten Tomatoes rating or the narrative itself. And despite the genre, the country’s cinema has always highlighted its culture and people against the wonderful landscapes and pictorial compositions of local architecture. Although rom-coms are filled with cliches, some storylines make the audience analyse their own…
65th BFI London Film Festival: “A Hero” Review
Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian director, producer and screenwriter, has a superb ability when it comes to writing his stories. He also has a very precise cinematic style which makes him different from Western filmmakers. While Farhadi’s first love was theatre, he chose filmmaking as his profession. Farhadi has always poignantly examined the themes of love,…
65th BFI London Film Festival: “The Souvenir: Part II” Review
There couldn’t have been a film less suited to this writer’s tastes than The Souvenir, Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical 2019 drama about an aspiring filmmaker’s ill-fated romance with a drug addict. It was widely heralded as one of the best films of its year, although it proved hard to engage with due to its exploration of…
65th BFI London Film Festival: “Ride the Wave” Review
Premiering at the London Film Festival this year, Martyn Robertson’s Ride the Wave follows the life of a 14-year-old surfer, Ben Larg. Hailing from the Island of Tiree in Scotland, at such a young age Ben has already grown a strong love for water sports and a passion to make it in life as a…
