Cannes: The Assassin review

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin is set during the Tang Dynasty of China, the period from 618 AD to 690 AD and then from 705 AD to 907 AD. The break in the dynasty was the result of the seizing of the throne by Empress Wu Zeitan, China’s only Chinese empress regnant. Whilst the interruption of the dynasty … Read more

Cannes: Hithcock/Truffaut review

It seems fitting that Kent Jones’ Hitchcock/Truffaut documentary premièred in France, the country whose cineaste culture first embraced Alfred Hitchcock as an artist and not simply an entertainer. Pivotal to this reputation spreading around the world and onto future generations, was Francois Truffaut’s book, Hitchock/Truffaut, a key text for film students, filmmakers and cinephiles in general. The book takes the form … Read more

Cannes: Youth review

Cannes: Youth review

Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth is a gorgeous bauble of a movie: shining, beguiling, hollow. The film takes place in a luxury Swiss resort in the foothills of the Alps. Staying in this magnificent hotel, which is so extravagant it almost made me gag, are Fred (Michael Caine) and Mick (Harvey Keitel). These two old friends are well … Read more

Cannes: Sicario review

Cannes: Sicario review

Director Denis Villeneuve has carved out a moderately successful career of late, making polished thrillers about Serious Subjects with a pair of capital Ss. His latest, Sicario suggests he has no intention of diverging from this path. This is border thriller, centred on an elite group of mostly American special agents carrying out a clandestine … Read more