Category: Film
My collected writing on one of my greatest passions: film. I was a film critic in my undergraduate days (trivia: that’s how I met my wife!) but I now take a more philosophical approach to thinking and writing about films I see.
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Conte d’été
[A Tale of Summer]Rohmer | 1996 | France 2nd watch. 2026 begins with me continuing my quest to re-watch Rohmer’s Four Seasons cycle in line with the “real life” seasons. This might just be the walkiest and talkiest of all the walk and talk stories out there (a compliment). Dinard, St Malo, and St Lunaire […]
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Ciao Bambino (and the Roxy)
Pistone | 2025 | Italy Had myself a night at The Roxy, including a three course dinner at Coco, their restaurant (Sunday roast: lamb shoulder). A yummy time followed up by this meditative coming-of-ager playing as part of the Italian Film Festival. Plumbs a straight line to the only ending it could have, but which […]
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Irma Vep
Assayas | 1996 | France Second watch; first in cinema. I am always going on about the concentric circles of art and memory, and you can stop reading here if you’d like an apology for this. Generally underexplored is the possibility of creating art by mutilating art and, by extension, the moment it captured. This […]
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Little Trouble Girls
Kaj ti je deklica Djukić | 2025 | Slovenia Films such as this have a funny way of making me question how many genuine emotions I’ve felt in my life. Far from depressing, it’s rather life affirming to view a coming-of-age tale with the benefit of a little life experience. My own adolescence was characterised […]
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Observe and Report
Hill | 2009 | USA Umpteenth viewing, but my first in years. Criminally misunderstood and widely underseen, this is my go-to answer when people ask for a hidden gem (with the GIANT caveat that the comedy is very dark and the action shockingly violent). Done zero favours by a marketing campaign that would have you […]
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The Mastermind
Reichardt | 2025 | UK, USA I remember reading an interview with one or both of the Coen brothers in the aftermath of No Country For Old Men blowing everybody’s mind back in 2007. They were asked why they chose to set the story in the 80’s and their answer was simple: to not have […]
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Certified Copy
Copie conforme Kiarostami | 2010 | France, Italy 2nd watch. I don’t have notes from my first watch and so l don’t remember if I was initially as struck by the role that literal reflections play in the story (see above for a good example). It’s all part of a delightfully playful conceit that I […]
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Dog Day Afternoon
Lumet | 1975 | USA First watch; instantly a new favourite. Rarely has a film been this sweaty. Mind-bogglingly layered, it will reward viewing after viewing. Al Pacino simply hands in another all-timer performance, no biggie. The sound design alone deserves to be unpacked via a one-off podcast. I cannot imagine the dread in the […]
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Wake In Fright
Kotcheff | 1971 | Australia | 35mm I’m new to the Yabba, so why not ring up my 1,600th movie with what is probably the best Australian film I’ve ever seen – and on a pristine 35mm print from the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, while we’re at it. Wake In Fright had […]
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Weapons
Cregger | 2025 | USA Julia Garner now 2-for-2 since Wolf Man and we’re back! Enough here to sustain interest, but a case of there being a great movie in here somewhere that just is never really drawn out. This is likely my own fault, as I went in expecting a much different tone and […]