Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Anticipation of the Night 1958

  ★★★★★ Watched 04 Mar 2025

  Photography abstracted to such a degree that it, in parts, resembles Brakhage's painted works. It taps into something I did a lot as a kid where I'd just look at something at a different angle or look at it much closer and it would suddenly become something else entirely. The corner of a ceiling, the way light dances in water. I love when I find little abstractions in life, hidden in plain sight. Infinite things to see, infinite ways to see them.

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  News from Home 1976

  ★★★★★ Watched 03 Mar 2025

  Everything is just a series of transitions and every time something must be left behind. I realised about 20 minutes in that, despite how marvellously composed everything is, I shouldn't be paying attention to where Akerman is placing the camera but instead to where she isn't placing the camera. I don't believe the camera is ever "in doors" in this film, unless you count the subway or cars. More specifically it is never "home", never in a place of comfort.…

Popular reviews

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  Close-Up 1990

  ★★★★★ Watched 23 Mar 2021

  Even though I've only seen two of Kiarostami's films now, he has already become one of my favourite directors. What an absolute genius. RIP.

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  Beau Travail 1999

  ★★★★★ Watched 21 Sep 2021 1

  An instant favourite. And I can only see it getting better on a rewatch. Claire Denis' Beau Travail is a hypnotic masterpiece. Everything in this film is so subdued and seemingly calm, but there is always something lurking under the surface.

  It is one of the most visually striking films I have ever seen. Almost every single shot is breathtaking and rich with detail. The performances are brilliant and the editing is perfect. From beginning to end the film fills…