Barbra Streisand’s directorial debut follows the titular character (Streisand), a young woman living in an Ashkenazi Jewish community in the early 20th century who disguises as a man to study in a Yeshiva after her father passes away. Based on the short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer and cowritten by Streisand and Jack Rosenthal, Yentl is a… Read More Yentl (1983)
With the hype of awards season in full swing, I thought I would take a look back at some older favourites of mine. Inspired by the Judy Garland biopic, Judy, what better way to connect the current awards season with a favourite classic of mine and discuss the wonderfully magical The Wizard of Oz (1939).… Read More Favourite Films: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
One of the best Best Picture winners in Oscar history, Barry Jenkins’ coming of age tale follows Chiron, a young black man coming to terms with his homosexuality through three key stages in his life. Split into three segments: Little (Alex Hibbert), Chiron (Ashton Sanders) and Black (Trevante Rhodes), we follow Chiron’s ascendence from bullied… Read More Moonlight (2016)
A gem of a film you may have missed this past decade comes in the form of this Oscar-nominated Turkish-French film. Mustang is the debut feature by filmmaker Deniz Gamze Ergüven and follows five young sisters who are forced into arranged marriages after they are caught innocently playing in the sea with male classmates. Told… Read More Mustang (2015)
My favourite animation of the past decade hands down belongs to Isao Takahata’s swansong which is a retelling of the Japanese folktale “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”. It follows a man who finds a small girl in the centre of a bamboo shoot, he picks her up and she turns into a baby and… Read More The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Benh Zeitlin’s Deep South exploration of classism and racism within a microscopic community called The Bathtub based in the Louisiana Bayou shows the heartbreaking journey a little girl, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) makes to be reunited with her mum after her father falls ill who she hasn’t seen in years. The film is intricate in all… Read More Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Another day, another Ghibli review. Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke is a Medieval set fantasy in the ancient land of folklore and Gods and the battle between Mankind and the spirits in the forest. The film follows Prince Ashitaka who is cursed by a dying boar and must venture to the West to find the reasons… Read More Princess Mononoke (1997)
