In 2016, a crew of Icelandic fishermen operating in the North Atlantic Ocean, dredged up something surprising from the seabed – four decaying reels of film, semi-preserved by the ocean’s natural resources of hydrogen sulphide, that set innovative documentarian Bill Morrison, of Dawson City: Frozen Time fame, on a fascinating […]
Russia
Tchaikovsky’s Wife (2023) Biopic Anchored by the brilliant Alyona Mikhaylova (Review)
Tchaikovsky’s Wife – at first it may seem incongruous that Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov’s Flu & LETO) – a parodist of contemporary Russia and two-year victim of a politically motivated house arrest who now lives in exile, would tackle an iconic Russian figure who’s central to understanding the nation’s cultural identity. […]
The Lighthouse (Mayak)(2006) Destruction, and the paralysing state of grief (Review)
Generational gaps are the essence of this depressing run-through of Armenian warfare. The Lighthouse adapts the distance of family and the wasteful nature of death around characters who are doing what they feel is best. That difficulty to connect a younger age group to the seniors is as frustrating as it is […]
Mirror (1975): Tarkovsky shows us his dreams, his memories and his lasting influence (Review)
Two Martial Arts Films: Russian Raid (2020) & Winners and Sinners (1983)
The Ascent (1977) The Greatest Anti-War Film You Haven’t Seen (Review)
Released on Blu-ray this week via the Criterion label comes arguably the best war, or rather anti-war film, you’ve never seen. What’s that at the back? You’ve seen Melville’s Army of Shadows already? Well that’s OK, because I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about Larisa Shepitko’s stunning 1977 Golden […]
Tenet – Cinema Eclectica Podcast 269
S16E06 – Schrödinger’s Black Hole
S16E01 – Furby II: The Owlening
Loveless (2017) A Russian apocalyse within a dissolving marriage (Review)
Russian cinema is certainly one for its figureheads. Sergei Eisenstein was instrumental in many theories that would go on to establish the cinematic language. Andrei Tarkovsky established and nigh on perfected the arthouse. And since his passing there wasn’t really much of a centrepiece for Russian cinema, as such, it […]