Haneke’s shocking work daringly dissects the nature of love, sexual desire, sadomasochism and power with a fierce intelligence that is matched only by arguably Isabelle Huppert’s finest ever performance.
This is Haneke in peak form—made up of more than forty vignettes shot in long takes that combine to give us a fragmentary sense of what it feels like to live in a multi-racial yet racist, technological yet incommunicable post-2000s world.
There’s a lot of filmmaking artistry to appreciate, and so is the sizzling chemistry between Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi in this follow-up to In the Mood for Love (2000).
Six dramatised end-of-WWII stories that bring us from Sicily to the Po Valley, the second part of Rossellini’s ‘War Trilogy’ shows us the emotions associated with the tragedy of war as well as the liberation from oppression.
Arguably Wong Kar Wai’s finest hour, the film is gorgeous yet restrained… like an alluring and yearning waltz.
One of Wong’s most straightforward films is arguably his most mature, about the intimate kinship between two men.
It may be difficult to connect emotionally, but this darker companion piece to ‘Chungking Express’ (1994) has all the hallmarks of Hong Kong’s premier visual stylist.
Prefiguring the likes of ‘Funny Games’ and ‘Cache’, Haneke’s second feature is a challenging and disturbing work on media violence and its psychological ramifications.
One of David Lean’s finest early works, this is a heartrending exploration of the joy and torment of an impossible love, as experienced giddily in a chance encounter by two strangers who are already married.
Wong’s influential international breakthrough is fascinating, sensual and carefree, and an essential Hong Kong classic from the ’90s.
Eternality Tan 