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Sons and Lovers
D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers (1913) is a sort of bridge between two centuries of literature. Its length, breadth, and the length of time it narrates make it a close relative of the Victorian novel. However its concern with themes of sexual frustration, alienation, and meaninglessness place it thoroughly in the twentieth century. If it’s […]
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Funny Games
Haneke’s original Funny Games (1997) is a powerful, unforgettable film. It’s suspenseful and provocative. It implicates its viewers in its transgressions, forces them into the position of voyeurs, and challenges them on other levels. It is an extreme counterpoint to glamorized Hollywood violence. All these things sound positive, but in fact I cannot in conscience […]
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Orphée
Although it’s short, Orphée (1950) begins quite slowly, and feels interminable for its 96 minute runtime. A large part of the problem is that the film does away with critical parts of the Orpheus story, pointlessly inserting bewildering elements of its own invention. It’s still worth watching to see Cocteau’s unique vision, but I am going to […]