A Korean man is hanged but doesn’t die in Oshima’s complex if puzzling political farce, built out of layers of thematic juxtapositions and performative gestures, as the ghastly spectre of Japanese imperialism and social injustices rear their ugly heads.
Truffaut and Leaud continue another chapter in the life of ‘Antoine Doinel’ in this charming take on youthful romance and misadventure that toggles between pseudo-screwball comedy and detective drama.
A stunning ‘ethnographic’ work by Imamura about the age-old clash between ritualistic tradition and disruptive modernity as a Tokyo engineer visits an isolated island in order to develop it, only to find a superstitious, and even, incestuous, family dictating the law of the land.
The first-ever film to be shot in an African language, Sembene’s landmark sophomore feature is a cultural experience to behold, and a gently comic satire about the bureaucratic hurdles a debt-ridden man has to undergo to cash in his money order.
This 19th installment is a rather straightforward if still serviceable affair, as the guilt-ridden blind swordsman protects a woman from nefarious harm.
This mostly decent 18th installment balances drama with sharp swordfighting action in what is a decidedly darker film in tone.
The story-within-a-story treatise might feel undercooked but Welles still does a lot within its short runtime, particularly creating the film’s dreamy, intoxicating atmosphere, accompanied by the ethereal music of Erik Satie.
While rather light on story, there’s a refreshing, liberating quality to Meszaros’ feature debut about a young Hungarian woman’s search for romantic and psychological fulfilment.
Jodorowsky’s notorious debut feature seems to show us a burgeoning surrealist-visualist already fully-formed, but one couldn’t care any less for his meandering storytelling or impenetrable characters.
Alea’s groundbreaking Cuban film may not be powerfully visceral, but its radical ‘docu-fiction’ style does encourage deep contemplation of the personal in relation to the political.
Eternality Tan 