elliott

elliott Patron

Favorite films

  • Riddles of the Sphinx
  • The Tree of Life
  • Wavelength
  • Howlings in Favour of De Sade

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  • That Most Important Thing: Love

    ★★★★

  • Kinds of Kindness

    ★★★

  • Riddles of the Sphinx

    ★★★★★

  • The Shape of Water

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  • Cure

    Cure

    ★★★★★

    What makes this film so brilliant is that it does not listen to its own premise. In contrast to standard detective novels, there is no puzzle for the detective to put together in Cure; rather, it asks a broader and more metaphysical question: what is at work that makes human beings do such things, and can this darkness be cured? Mamiya, then, is not an antagonist in the usual sense; rather, he serves as a deus ex machina, forcing all…

  • Back and Forth

    Back and Forth

    ★★★★★

    This film is a meditation on vision and time. The title Back and Forth symbolizes the cycle of repetitious action from the camera, as well as a touch of irony in terms of the give and take between what is apparent vs. what could be lost as everything seems to slip off into view. By invalidating the narrative structure of the film itself, Snow forces the viewer to shift their focus onto the ways in which motion and rhythm can…

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  • Riddles of the Sphinx

    Riddles of the Sphinx

    ★★★★★

    Jeanne Dielman meets Wavelength


    What is most compelling about this film is its refusal to adhere to conventional narrative traditions. The fractured narrative, non-chronological editing, and soundtrack that careens between spoken word, music, and silence result in an experience that is more akin to a philosophical inquiry than to conventional drama. Although its compact theoretical underpinnings and slow pace will probably dismay the casual observer, this film remains a necessity for viewing by those interested in feminist film theory, experimental film, and representation politics. A film that stubbornly resists giving up simple solutions but instead provokes thinking and re-interpretation—like the riddles of the legendary Sphinx itself.

  • The Pleasure of Being Robbed

    The Pleasure of Being Robbed

    ★★★★★

    <3

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  • See the Sea

    See the Sea

    ★★★★

    lesbians are crazy

  • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

    Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

    ★★★★★

    Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom is chillingly precise, even if its horrors are anything but. The cinematography is crafted with care and an overwhelming sense of artistry, drawing a parallel between the serenity that envelops the place and the filth they harbour. This sterile elegance in the interiors only befits to underline the cold detachment of our libertine, ordering a world where all thoughts of moral and ethics have been replaced by mere power greed. The performances of…