Tag Archives: Filmmaker

Jinju’s Pearl (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Save the old cafe

Posted on July 28, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Jinju’s Pearl” is a simple but intimate drama to be appreciated for several good reasons. Although it stumbles more than once due to the uneven mix of comedy and melodrama during its last act, the movie … Continue reading →

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A Brighter Tomorrow (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A angry and bitter Moretti movie

Posted on June 2, 2024 by kaist455

Nanni Moretti’s latest film “A Brighter Tomorrow” is unusually angry and bitter compared to many of Moretti’s mild and gentle works such as “Caro diario” (1993). As a seasoned filmmaker who does not approve much of the current cinema trends, … Continue reading →

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What’s Love Got to Do with It? (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): So it goes like that

Posted on March 21, 2024 by kaist455

“What’s Love Got to Do with It”, which is incidentally not associated with the 1993 Tina Turner biopic, is as predictable as your typical romantic comedy. Right from when its two lead characters appear together at the beginning of the … Continue reading →

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Jane B. for Agnes V. (1988) ☆☆☆(3/4): When Birkin and Varda played together

Posted on February 17, 2024 by kaist455

Agnès Varda’s 1988 docudrama film “Jane B. for Agnes V.”, which happens to be released in South Korean theaters a few weeks ago, is a charming playtime between its director and Jane Birkin, who also appeared in Varda’s another film … Continue reading →

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Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Brooks on Albert

Posted on January 15, 2024 by kaist455

I must confess that it took some time for me to appreciate more of that immense talent of Albert Brooks. When I was just a young South Korean moviegoer a long time ago, he seemed to me like a merely … Continue reading →

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No Bears (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another interesting work from Jafar Panahi

Posted on January 14, 2024 by kaist455

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest film “No Bears”, which won the Special Jury Prize when it was premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, is fascinating for how the director willingly pushes his artistic vision further despite lots of … Continue reading →

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Passages (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): You will be sorry for them – but not him

Posted on December 4, 2023 by kaist455

Ira Sachs’ latest film “Passages” will definitely make you wince a lot for its utterly unlikable hero – and how much the two other main characters around him struggle with his toxic influence in one way or another. Although you … Continue reading →

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Promise (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A boy missing his departed mother

Posted on November 5, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Promise” is a seemingly simple but undeniably poignant personal diary from a filmmaker father and his sensitive 9-year-old boy still missing his departed mother a lot. While wisely avoiding any cheap sentimentalism via its calm and … Continue reading →

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Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): When they were young cinephiles

Posted on October 31, 2023 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Yellow Door: ‘90s Lo-fi Film Club”, which was released a few days ago, looks into the memories of a little club of young South Korea cinephiles in the early 90s. Although they did not know that much … Continue reading →

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Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): How he made it

Posted on October 17, 2023 by kaist455

William Friedkin, who sadly left us a few months ago, has always been associated with “The Exorcist” (1973), one of the iconic classic horror films in the 1970s. To be frank with you, I was not so scared when I … Continue reading →

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