I struggle between what I know is right in my own mind, and some warped truthfulness as seen through other people’s eyes who have no heart, and can’t see the difference anyway.
From the Archives: Adrift (2009)
21 Aug
Vietnamese director Bui Thac Chuyên’s second feature “Adrift” is an introspective and thoughtful study of loneliness, sexual desire and experimentation. Mismatched relationships lie at the heart of the picture, which centres around newlywed Duyen (an understated Do Thi Hai Yen) and her dalliances with her young disinterested husband Hai (Nguyen Duy Khoa), solemn friend Cam (Pham Linh Dan) and mysterious alpha male Tho (a rugged Johnny Nguyen).
A Field in England (2013)
5 Aug
Ben Wheatley has steadily established himself as a director of considerable craft, boundless diversity and unabashed ambition; seemingly as comfortable helming an occultist horror thriller (“Kill List”) as he is a pitch-black comedy (“Sightseers”). For his fourth full feature, Wheatley turns his hand to 17th-century English Civil War psychedelia with “A Field in England,” a baffling but brave sojourn into the fantastical.
The Act of Killing (2012)
16 Jul
In September 1965 an abortive coup d’etat in Indonesia resulted in bloody retribution and the deaths of approximately 1 million people, the majority of whom were assassinated for alleged links to Communism. In charge of these killing squads were small time crooks of the likes of Anwar Congo, a happy go lucky gangster who remains proud of what he did and who enjoys minor celebrity status to this day.
From the Archives: Balibo (2009)
23 Jun
Inspired by journalist Jill Jolliffe’s book “Cover Up,” Robert Connolly’s controversial political thriller “Balibo” attempts to uncover the truth behind the brutal deaths of six journalists in East Timor in 1975. It’s highly charged, emotive and powerful, but it’s also exceptionally brave film-making because it dares to challenge the long-held official line of events of not one, but two governments (that of Indonesia and Australia).
From the Archives: Shirley Adams (2009)
17 Jun
First-time director and scribe Oliver Hermanus delivers an astounding and intimate portrait of a mother’s struggles to care for her quadriplegic son. In Cape Town slum Mitchell’s Plain, Shirley Adams (a remarkable Denise Newman) cares for her young son Donovan (Keenan Arrison), a tragic victim of a gangland shooting which has left him paralysed from the neck down. Shirley’s husband has abandoned the pair; and Shirley — forced to give up work to care for Donovan — lives in relative poverty, relying on the good nature of neighbour Kariema (Theresa Sedras) to get by.
crash/burn 