1981-1990

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Scottish playwright John Byrne’s follow-up to the great Tutti Frutti of 1987, was another distinctive, music-themed series. But, whereas Tutti Frutti was about rock ‘n’ roll, 1990’s Your Cheatin’ Heart revolved around the country music and rockabilly scene. The tale contains all the traditional ingredients of the archetypal Western: a defiant woman alone with her husband in gaol, a guileless stranger who finds the courage enough to help save the day, murders, and a series of down and dirty bad men. There’s just one thing…it’s set in modern day Glasgow. But don’t forget it was Celtic music played by the Scottish and Irish immigrants in the frontier towns of the new world that helped shape American country music.Read More »

Legendary Scots rock ‘n’ roll outfit The Majestics find themselves in trouble on the eve of their 25th anniversary tour when their singer, Big Jazza, is killed in a car crash. But with the appearance of his younger brother, Danny, their problems appear to be over. If only it was that easy…

Rock and roll mythologises itself as a rejuvenating rebel music, an image embodied by the Rolling Stones, who claim the music keeps them fired up and excited despite their advancing years. However, entry into the ranks of rock and roll originals has failed to bestow the same energising favours on The Majestics, Scotland’s very own (fictional) survivors of the 1960s beat boom.Read More »

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Costa-Gavras’s tense political drama opens in an unspecified South American country (though clearly intended to be Chile) in the throes of a military coup. American activist Charles Horman (John Shea), who has been a thorn in the side of the country’s military ever since his arrival, suddenly disappears. In trying to find out what has happened, his wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) is stonewalled, not only by the ruling junta but by the American consulate. His father, staunchly patriotic Ed Horman (Jack Lemmon), joins Beth in her search. Ed and his daughter-in-law have never seen eye to eye politically, and he refuses to entertain the notion that his son’s disappearance might be part of a larger conspiracy or cover-up. Read More »

A Balinese Trance Seance
Bringing offerings of rice, flowers, and woven coconut leaves, clients visit Jero in her household shrine to determine the cause of their son’s death. Jero lights an incense brazier, sprinkles holy water, and recites mantras as preliminaries to trance. Several ancestors and finally the young son speak through her voice, revealing the nature of his premature death (witchcraft) and his wishes for cremation. In contrast to other films about Balinese trance which focus on spectacular, community performances, this film provides an intimate view of a fascinating process of communication between Jero, the spirits, and her clients who are at one point moved to tears.Read More »

A man travels from China to Vietnam, on the brink of war with America, to retrieve his uncle and cousin but find complications when he falls in love with a female gangster with a dangerous ex.
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The most important horror movie to come out of Poland, Wilczya is also one of the greatest ever werewolf depictions. Superb gothic horror. Unfortunately this atmospheric flick is not well-known abroad.The action of Wilczyca takes place in Poland in the ninetieth century. Maryna dislikes her husband, a Polish patriot named Kacper. Before her death,she curses him. Her evil is transformed not only into a young countess Julia, but also into the wolf… Wilczyca is definitely a Polish horror classic that reminds me of Hammer productions.The film is loaded with traditional genre elements like tombs or silver bullets.The climax is surprisingly gory and the mood is quite sensual.Read More »

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My film As You See is an action-filled feature film. It reflects upon girls in porn magazines to whom names are ascribed and about the nameless dead in mass graves, upon machines that are so ugly that coverings have to be used to protect the workers’ eyes, upon engines that are too beautiful to be hidden under the hoods of cars, upon labor techniques that either cling to the notion of the hand and the brain working together or want to do away with it.Read More »

J. Hoberman, The Village Voice:

Set in a tiny Philippine village, the inimitable Kidlat Tahimik’s film focuses on a family that makes papier-mache animals to sell during the traditional Turumba festivities. One year, a German department store buyer purchases all their stock. When she returns with an order for 500 more (this time with the word “Oktoberfest” painted on them), the family’s seasonal occupation becomes year-round alienated labor. Increased production, however creates inflated needs. Soon, virtually the whole village has gone to work on a jungle assembly line, turning out papier-mache mascots for the Munich Olympics. Long before the town band learns to play “Deutschland Uber Alles”, the fabric of village life has been torn asunder. Read More »

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A woman working as a security guard in an agricultural research facility finds herself and her co-worker Schmidt fighting to survive against their former friends.Read More »