UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES

If there is any common thread between the disparate parts of the film, it’s that the boundaries of the human body and soul are in flux; characters might easily slip into the non-human domain through seduction by the forces of nature, whether conscious or unconscious. 

THE WOMAN WITH TWO HEADS

Behind a girl and her rolling hoop, a shadow hangs against a sheet, as if delicately pinned by a psychic substance. Indeed, shadows are spirited. They shape-shift, they follow, they cling; they’re parasitic.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM

The video starts in primordial blackness. Atomic compounds form simple bodies, which soon grow and contort, taking on new properties as they adapt to their environments. In one sequence, a chalk-drawn crab merges with a bucket as it chases a plastic bag; in another, a deflated ball drags itself across a beach with a pair of gloves.

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

Bodies are swathed in silk and tulle; stood before a lighthouse at sunset or bouquets of flowers, drifting beneath candlelight, waltzing through enfiladed drawing rooms amongst paintings and whispers and regrets. 

JE TU IL ELLE

While it may be distressing to some, it can feel like home to others: Akerman displays with radical transparency how it may feel to be in conflict with the search for human connection and the fear of rejection from the world outside. 

THE VOICE OF THE SLASHER

For Kirk, Pam, and Franklin—like the middle-of-the-road American—to find the grotesque underside of the country (i.e. the deep corruption that upholds the country’s normative ideologies), one must first believe in the beauty of it. In other words, one can only have a loss of faith if one ever had faith in the thing to begin with.

SISYPHUS

This image – of a man suspended in endless labour, with no hope for relief – has resonated with many throughout history; one might find parallels in agricultural cycles, relentless working schedules, and even celestial movements.

EDVARD MUNCH

As he grows older, Munch drifts in and out of countries, romantic relationships, and artistic ideals. But the threat of death is a constant for the artist, coursing through life’s ups and downs. Together, these moments form what he calls the “frieze of life.”

BLOOD FOR DRACULA

As the blood pours like cheap wine, Paul Morrissey parades an impaired and physically weak Udo Kier through an anti-communist, bizarrely conservative, and surreally moralistic caricature of the famous bloodsucker.

THE GREAT GATSBY

Clayton’s Gatsby is a visual adventure. It unearths vague feelings of nostalgia amidst high-drama and extravaganza. It is a film devoted to its own aesthetic. It’s Casablanca’s eyes combined with the hand-animated sparkles of classic Disney, dusted over a plot of melancholy and murder.

SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

Marianne placates her husband so that the relationship may stay solid: running the house, dieting and bringing the family together. But her tenderness with Johan vacillates with his intentions, pulling the relationship and her role in it into a trap. Piece by piece, Johan drains her of her strength.