Bruno Dumont’s third feature film, Hors Satan, [trans.Outside Satan] (2011) sees the director dispense with the familiar elements of narrative and character development, making this his most radical and uncompromising work since his debut, la Vie de Jesus(1996). Dumont’s writing process is unique in that each story he brings to the screen is essentially an adaptation of Read More
As much as we do not like to admit to such trivial temptation, it is often the title or the cover design that draws us to a book. A History of Sarcasm does not, however, represent a history or catalogue of the word sarcasm and its meanings. Seventeen of Burton’s published stories have been collected Read More
Being a crime-fiction writer cannot be an easy job, trying to distinguish your work from so many others in an already crowded market. This pressure, coupled with the glut of crime shows like CSI or Criminal Minds that appear on television on a nightly basis, must make distinctiveness hard to come by. It is for this reason that I Read More
Sally Read’s new collection, The Day Hospital, comprises twelve monologues in the voices of elderly psychiatric patients inspired by patients at the London day hospital where she had previously worked. Of these twelve patients, two are indigenous Londoners, four are Irish immigrants, and four Jewish refugees. Separation from family and friends through migration is just one aspect Read More
Adapted from David Mitchell’s novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is certainly one of the most ambitious films of recent years. The film was directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski, who brought us The Matrix, and Tom Tykwer, and has had previous experience interpreting novels for film, for example, Patrick Süskind’sPerfume: The Story of a Murderer. Nevertheless, Cloud Read More
Caesar Must Die is a film loosely based on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, performed by a mixture of actors and inmates from the high-security wing of Rome’s Rebibbia prison. The men are serving lengthy sentences, for crimes such as drug trafficking, involvement in the mafia, and murder. The film is shot in the style of a documentary, using Read More
An intriguingly insidious concoction of sci-fi, thriller and horror, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral exudes discomfort from its first extreme close-up of a hypodermic needle to its last. The film’s disturbingly sterile production design and stark technical details render it worthy of much attention, especially considering its status as a debut feature. However, the real jewel in Read More
Zero Dark Thirty offers a unique approach to some of the most shocking historical events of the last decade. Written and directed by The Hurt Locker’s Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow, the film offers a behind the scenes look at the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Based on first-hand accounts from CIA agents, the film Read More
Wreck-It Ralph is the latest release from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and it definitely feels fresh. The film’s focus on the world of arcade games is a marked departure from the worlds of princesses and magic of recent Disney films such as 2010’s Tangled. Although Disney has deviated from the traditional fairy tale before, this Read More
Women, Water & Wells by Gil Garcetti is a collection of photographs taken in West Africa. Garcetti’s project highlights issues of water scarcity and the prevalence of waterborne disease that arises from the lack of safe drinking water. These photographs are also included in Water is key, a book that documents the work of NGOs Read More