Category: Foreign Language
‘Sentimental Value’ Film Review: A Resonant Human Drama
“Sentimental Value is the kind of intricate human drama that reminds us how powerful the art of cinema can be.”
‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Film Review: Moral Lessons in Mother Nature
Opening with a Terrence Malick-like tracking shot through a forest with the camera looking up through the trees and into the cold winter skies, writer-director Hamaguchi Ryûsuke’s Evil Does Not Exist sets its tranquil yet cryptic tone. As the credits
‘Coup de Chance’ Film Review- Woody Allen’s Best in Years
For a great deal of cinema connoisseurs, a new Woody Allen film is still an event. “The Woodman” has long been one of our finest screenwriters and directors; his incredible filmography filled with more than a few classics. Allen is
‘The Wild’ Film Review: A Vivid and Complex Korean Crime Thriller
The new Korean thriller, The Wild, is the latest entry into the Asian gangster genre. Over the last decade and a half, the Korean gangster picture has taken its place on the mantle, right beside China and Japan, forming an
Samurai Saturdays: The First Two Zatoichi Pictures
I have long immersed myself in Japanese cinema. Growing up with a father who introduced me to Eastern movies at a young age, by the time I was a teenager, Japanese (and Chinese) films became my favorites, continuing to this
‘Exhuma’ Film Review: A Studied and Intelligent Korean Horror Tale
Writer-director Jang Jae-hyun obtained a funeral director’s license to ensure his latest work, Exhuma, properly portrayed the intricacies of the burial process, while concurrently ensuring an accurate portrayal of shamanism in Korean culture. With his 2015 feature length debut The
‘Monster’ Film Review: A Profound Work From a Modern Master
Society has long had a complicated relationship with the truth. In these times of undisguised deception, the world (especially America) now lives in a time where what actually happens means less than how it is presented. The way we think,
‘Born to Fly’ Film Review: Thrilling Fun Above the China Skies
While there are similarities, comparing director Xiaoshi Liu’s Born to Fly (Chang Kong zhi wang) to Tony Scott’s 1986 box office hit Top Gun is unfair. Scott’s film featured cartoonishly phony characters tripping over insipid dialogue while the filmmaker tried
‘Polar Rescue’ Film Review: Donnie Yen In the Performance of His Career
Donnie Yen is one of the great legends of Martial Arts Cinema. His performances in Hong Kong treasures such as 1993’s Iron Monkey and 2005’s Kill Zone showed he had versatile acting talents that went beyond his martial arts skills.
‘The Zone of Interest’ Film Review: Serious Subject Gets Lost in Style
Receiving a wider release this week, Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” has officially entered the cinematic arena of the Holocaust picture. Walking a not-so-fine line of pretentiousness and examination of a tragic time in world history, the film takes