Grumpy old man howling at the moon
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Articles by Rob Aldam
Film Review: January
Winter can be a magical time of year and there’s nothing more atmospheric than a sprinkling of snow. In many places, that light covering becomes something different entirely. In Eastern Europe, snowbound conditions are perfect for traditional folklore and legends to flourish. Rural communities huddled alone in the dark. Listening to new carried on the wind. January uses its setting to full effect.
Sundance Review: Iron Butterflies
As we approach the first anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s easy to forget that this war didn’t start in 2022. Indeed, the (recent) troubles with Russia can be traced back to the Maiden in 2013, which preceded Putin’s annexation of Crimea the following year. It was in the same year that one of the biggest human tragedies of the conflict took place. On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine.
Sundance Review: Slow
Cinema reflects the age, society and country it’s made in. For example, 1950s Hollywood portrayed romance as straightforward love between a man and a woman. They meet, get to know each other and soon Cupid’s arrow does its job. Wedding bells and a family follows, in that order. Obviously, this never really represented real life, but today relationships are more complicated than ever. As is the case in Slow. Elena (Greta Grineviciute) is a contemporary dancer, instructor and choreographer.
Sundance Review: When It Melts
Trauma is a terrible thing. It’s not something you can outrun or escape from. It doesn’t matter how many years you bottle it up inside, it will suddenly resurface when you least expect it. You can close yourself off from the world, lock your emotions away, but unless you face up to it you will never be truly free. One woman revisits her past in When it Melts. Eva (Charlotte De Bruyne) struggles to make friends.
Blu-Ray Review: Villa Rides
The line between good and evil has always been a little blurred in Mexico. Whilst American cinema likes to have a clear delineation between its heroes and villains, the reality is often much more complicated. One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. Some of the best westerns operate within these grey areas. Villa Rides enjoys operating outside its comfort zone.
Blu-Ray Review: The Fighting Kentuckian
While time hasn’t been on his side, Marion Robert Morrison, aka John Wayne, was one of the most iconic stars of his generation. Working during the Golden Age of Hollywood, usually starring in westerns or war films, The Duke was a household name across America and beyond. In the course of his career, he made over 150 films. The Fighting Kentuckian demonstrates why he became so popular. John Breen (Wayne), a Kentucky militiaman, is on his way home from war along with his compatriots.
Film Review: Corsage
‘Growing old gracefully’ is one of those gendered concepts which is usually applied differently to men and women in patriarchal societies. A man matures with age and is seen to gain wisdom as they reach their autumnal years. A woman, on the other hand, is often viewed as ‘past it’ and expected to simply quietly fade into the background in middle-age. Corsage uses a historical figure to tackle some of the themes surrounding this disparity.
Film Review: Jurassic Punk
With the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron is set to take special effects to a whole new level. In a sense, he’s been a pioneer in this area since the release of The Abyss in 1989 and then Terminator 2: Judgement Day a couple of years later. However, it took the hard work and dedication of many skilled artists to bring his vision to life. The team at Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic’s computer graphics department played a vital part in the evolution of filmmaking.
Blu-Ray Review: Adrift in Tokyo
If you’re based outside of Japan, you might naturally assume that the culture is dominated by manga, anime, overwrought historical dramas and young adult fiction. While this is true, to an extent, there’s often much more interesting fare bubbling just under the surface. Most of it never seems to travel but, when films do appear on the festival circuit, they’re usually pretty good. As was the case in 2007 when Adrift in Tokyo wowed at Fantasia Film Festival.
Film Review: Rimini
Fame is a curious thing. It can come and go in the blink of an eye. One day, you’re on top of the world. Everyone want to be you or be with you. The next, you’re yesterday’s man; washed up with a rapidly diminishing fanbase. Age is rarely kind to performers. Most people take the decision to get out. Start a new life. Some carry on, despite the ever-diminishing returns. That is the fate of Rimini. Richie Bravo (Michael Thomas) is an aging lounge singer with a drinking problem.
Film Review: Blanquita
Legal systems are built on upholding the law through the interrogation of factual evidence. Augmented by expert testimony/witness statements. Some crimes are easily quantifiable, while others can boil down to one person’s word against another. Over the last few decades, many countries have faced reckonings over their pasts. Blanquita considers the role of truth, deception and guilt in prosecuting abuse. Blanquita (Laura López) grew up in a foster home run by a priest (Alejandro Goic).
Film Review: Mr Bachmann and his Class
Whilst the results usually take longer to settle, one of the most fruitful approaches to documentary filmmaking is to merely observe. To create a situation where the camera is as non-invasive as possible and simply capture events taking place without direction or interference. The great Frederick Wiseman has shown the immersive power of this medium in creating insights. Stadtallendorf, North Hesse has a complicated relationship with immigration.
Film Review: Christmas Bloody Christmas
The older I get, the earlier Christmas seems to start each year. Businesses certainly look to make the most of it, seamlessly transitioning from Halloween into the festive season. This is great if you’re a big fan of the holidays. Not so great if you’re more bah humbug than ho ho ho. The endless forced fun. The alcohol-fuelled jollity. It’s simply too much for some who just want to drink themselves into a stupor and try to forget about it.
Blu-Ray Review: Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1
There’s something very persuasive about a traditional ghost story. Tales which may have been initially spoken around a campfire. Passed down from generation to generation. Each country, and regions within those nations, have their own legends and folklore. While these are inherited through word of mouth, they’re often augmented and adapted by the minds of imaginative authors. Britain is no exception and the king of the sub-genre was undoubtedly M.R. James.
Blu-Ray Review: The Cat And The Canary/The Ghost Breakers
If you’re from a certain generation, Bob Hope was arguably the most quintessential American comedian. He made over fifty films in a career which spanned a number of mediums. Probably best known for his collaboration with Bing Crosby in the ‘Road’ films, he was an ever present in the entertainment industry for decades. His major breakthrough was signing for Paramount at the end of the 1930s. He was paired up with Paulette Goddard for three films. Eureka bring two of them together in a new set.
Blu-Ray Review: The Driver
It takes a great deal of planning and coordination to pull-off the perfect heist. You need to do your research, without looking suspicious. Know your target inside out. Then, you need to assemble a team of reliable and trustworthy criminals who all have their own individual skillset. Each member will play their part in doing the job. The safe-cracker, the leader, the muscle. The most important cog in this well-oiled machine is arguably the getaway driver. The Driver plays on this notion.
Film Review: The Last Film Show
The magic of cinema is a subject many directors like to pursue, largely because it’s what drew them to start making films in the first place. The results have range from perennial misty-eyed favourites like Singin’ in the Rain and Cinema Paradiso to more outlandish and analytic modern fare. The joy and wonder of going to the pictures is captured in The Last Film Show. Samay (Bhavin Rabari), a 9-year-old boy, lives with his family in a remote village in India.
Film Review: Nr.10
As William Shakespeare (or someone else) so famously penned, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…”. This has obvious connotations in terms of our own self-determination. We’re born, reach childhood, become an adult, starts families, age and eventually die. There’s an argument around nurture versus nature, but usually we make our own choices; for good or ill.
Film Review: Tori and Lokita
Immigration is a perennial headline grabber in European countries. The migrant crisis tends to get people overly exercised and is used by many to fuel intolerance, hatred and racism. Most of Europe has benefited from colonialism in one way or another. Whether that’s economically or through the movement of labour. The slatter through slavery and then modern skill drains. In Tori and Lokita, two friends just want to be able to start a new life.
Film Review: Goodbye, Don Glees!
The ‘boy’s’ own adventure has been popular since mass publication began. These ripping yarns appeared in comic books and magazines, capturing the imagination of active young minds. They became a staple of children’s books, such as The Famous Five, Just William or The Secret Seven, and have produced many memorable TV shows and films like Stand By Me, The Goonies and Stranger Things. Goodbye, Don Glees! is another fine entrant into a much-loved sub-genre.
Blu-Ray Review: The Infernal Affairs Trilogy
While Hong Kong is geographically small, it has always punched well above its weight. It became one of the biggest financial centres in the world. Space is at a premium and it can feel like they built upwards towards the stars; which can be a dizzying experience. Its status has sadly changed since the Chinese government decided the one country, two systems approach wasn’t for them anymore. In the 1970s, the former British colony’s film industry began to flourish.
Blu-Ray Review - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Many white Americans seem obsessed with tracing their genealogies back through Europe. Indeed, a visit to Scotland isn’t complete without bumping in to at least one person from the ‘new world’ who is searching for their ancestral home. While history is perennially popular, so are myths and legends. The likes of Kind Arthur and Robin Hood. The latter has appeared on the big and small screens in many forms. None quite like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Film Review: Million Dollar Pigeons
Whilst it’s hardly an Olympic sport, pigeon racing is surprisingly still quite popular in many places around the world; especially in Asia. While it can be traced back almost two thousand years, it has been given a new lease of life with the concept of ‘one loft racing’. This is where a group of the birds are trained and raced together, from the same location. Their homing abilities are tested by increasing the distances involved in competitions.
Film Review: Scrap
In the twenty-first century, the ‘developed world’ has solidified itself as an acolyte of the god of consumerism. Shiny new things are bought on a whim and discarded with an equal amount of thought. Our lives are built on disposability. Instead of repairing or patching we simply replace. Make do and mend is largely a thing of the past. Items with years more life in them are tossed away. Fashions come and go. Relying on credit to buy the latest new fad.
Film Review: Leonor Will Never Die
The twenty-first century has seen a renewed fascination with the art of filmmaking and the very essence of cinema. This has led to a number of films which have been both a celebration of the process and enjoyed breaking the fourth wall. To exit one narrative and enter a completely new one. This form of meta-cinema allows a director to access places they wouldn’t normally be able to go. It is used brilliantly in Leonor Will Never Die.
Blu-ray Review: The Trial
There are probably no other American directors who can hold a candle to Orson Welles when it comes to being an enigma. The larger-than-life figure left a huge mark on cinema. He was a genius who had a habit of starting a project and then getting distracted. Or running out of money. Then again, when your first film is Citizen Kane, you have a hard act to follow. He completed just over a dozen films. The Trial is one of his most intriguing. Josef K.
Blu-Ray Review: The Teckman Mystery
Today, while women still struggle to experience a level playing with men when it comes to filmmaking, it was rare to see anyone but a white man behind the camera in post-war Britain. Indeed, along with Muriel Box, Wendy Toye was one of the only pioneering female directors during the 1950s and 1960s. She started out as a dancer, choreographer and actress before moving behind the scenes in stage, film and TV. The Teckman Mystery is one of her best films.
Blu-Ray Review: The Draughtsman’s Contract
Of all the British directors of the last 50 years, Peter Greenaway is arguably the most interesting. A painter by training, he brought this art into every inch of his filmmaking. Every shot feels meticulously composed. Celluloid is his canvas. Using landscape and portrait to ensure that each scene is impeccably constructed. Using nature as his playground. The Draughtsman’s Contract employs all these elements beautifully. Wiltshire, England at the end of the seventeenth century.
IDFA Review: Racist Trees
While America will claim that it’s a multicultural country which treats all its citizens the same, it has a really troubling history with race. While slavery was officially abolished in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act a hundred years later that segregation and discrimination on the grounds of race became illegal. However, to this day, inequality and prejudice is endemic in many parts of the United States.
Blu-Ray Review: Reservoir Dogs
When Quentin Tarantino released Reservoir Dogs in 1992, it had a huge impact on Hollywood. The early 1990s were a time of change. A scrappy, almost risqué, period, when a DIY ethos and ‘pulp fiction’ were enjoying a renaissance. He would go on to have a profound influence on a generation of filmmakers. A voracious fan of cult films and popular culture, the American director cobbles together a number of influences to create something entirely original.
IDFA Review: Much Ado About Dying
As a society, we are both living longer than ever before and also much more likely to have chosen to live somewhere far away from home. This creates a number of problems in itself. Traditional family support structures are less likely to still be in place. At the same time, the social care sector is on the brink of falling apart. This means the job of caring for elderly loved ones once again falls to family members. This is the case for filmmaker Simon Chambers.
Film Review: My Neighbour Adolf
Today, the internet is overrun by a myriad of peculiar and ridiculous conspiracy theories. Most of which are dangerous and harmful in one way of another. This is not a new phenomenon though. Far from it. The moon landing, Roswell and JFK are examples of three which have remained popular decades later. The idea that Hitler did not commit suicide but escaped to South America was first espoused by Joseph Stalin, of all people. This conjecture forms the basis for My Neighbour Adolf.
IDFA Review: Look What You Made Me Do
One in three women has experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner, such as pushing, shoving and slapping. A quarter have suffered this in a more extreme form, including sexual violence, stalking and actual bodily harm. The vast majority of the perpetrators in these cases are men. The levels of protection afforded to females differs markedly between countries and societies, as current events in Iran illustrate.
IDFA Review: The Lost Souls of Syria
One of the biggest issues in holding despots and authoritarian regimes to account is how to prosecute offenders for their crimes. There is the International Criminal Court, but not all countries, including the United States, Russia and China, have signed up to it. You can try the UN, but it’s likely that someone will veto (usually, at least one of the same countries). Today, the best hope of holding war criminals to account is through national courts under a concept called ‘universal jurisdiction’.
IDFA Review: A Compassionate Spy
Over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in the Manhattan Project. While the result of countless hours of research would provide a blunt and terrible end to World War II, the focus tends to be on the work of a handful of scientists. The likes of Robert Oppenheimer, Glenn Seaborg and Hans Bethe became household names, whilst Klaus Fuchs and the Rosenbergs achieved notoriety for entirely different reasons.
IDFA Review: Geographies of Solitude
Since the birth of Homo sapiens, we’ve been moving inexorably towards population centres. While early man lived alone or in family groups, more and more banded together for safety in numbers. This evolved into small settlements, which have grown in size ever since. Today, major cities are now hubs for young people and those seeking employment. With the industrialisation of agriculture, increasingly drawing workers away from the countryside.
IDFA Review: Paradise
As long as there has been mature plant life on Earth, there have been wildfires. While these often decimate areas of forest, they’ve also played an important role in the evolution of life on this planet. However, climate change is driving an increase in both frequency and intensity. Warmer weather, increased prevalence of drought and extreme weather patterns have provided the spark. Recent news headlines have been full of deadly forest fires impacting nations across the world.
IDFA Review: Stuntwomen
There’s nothing quite like watching a huge action film on the big screen. One which is full of explosions, gunfire, car chases and fighting. While everything usually looks so slick and stylish, there’s a lot of craft which goes in to choreographing those big moments. To create each set piece, it takes much planning and patience. Not to mention a team of professionals to bring it to fruition. The stuntperson plays a key role in this.
IDFA Review: In Viaggio
When Pope Francis, aka Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became head of the Catholic Church and God’s emissary on Earth in 2013, he became the first pontiff from the Americas. He took control at a time of great difficulty for the ancient institution. While the world had entered a period of political and social turbulence, the church was facing a number of child sexual abuse allegations. Values within progressive societies were changing, bringing them into direct conflict with more traditional nations.
DOC NYC Review: The Elephant 6 Recording Co.
While great music can spring up anywhere in the world at any point in time, it’s difficult for any band to grow a following and become known outside of their own hometown. It takes a lot of talent and hard work. Blood, sweat and tears. This is a lot easier when you’re part of a community. A local music scene with a group of likeminded musicians who support and help each other. A network of venues, recording studios, practice rooms and a group of passionate loyal fans.
IDFA Review: Innocence
Whenever there’s a spike in youth crime or truancy in the UK, a certain sector of society starts the call to bring back national service. The concept of all young adults, when they reach a certain age, undertaking a period of military service. The theory is that it teaches a number of key skills, including discipline and hard work, while helping the country defend itself. Even today, many countries require some form of military service, including the likes of Finland, Denmark and South Korea.
IDFA Review: The Adventures of Gigi the Law
The life of the rural policeman or policewoman hasn’t really changed that much over the decades. While colleagues working in big cities have to deal with very modern problems such as cybercrime, terrorism and organised crime gangs, in the countryside life generally passes by at a more lethargic pace. Days often merge into one. Small routines become the norm. This idea has often been used as the background for detective films.
IDFA Review: The March on Rome
At the end of World War II, the Allies had assumed they’d banished the scourge of fascism from Europe forever. However, a hundred years after the March on Rome, seen as the birth of the modern movement, it’s raising its face again. In countries like Hungary, where it holds a sway, but more troubling in Italy itself, where the leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, led her party to victory in recent elections.
IDFA Review: Aurora’s Sunrise
Although Turkey still refuses to acknowledge that it happened, the Armenian Genocide was one of the lowest points in European history. In the years running up to World War I, the Ottoman Empire deported well over a million Armenians and forced them on death marches across the Syrian desert. Those who survived were taken to concentration camps. They were routinely starved, raped, robbed and murdered. Even sold into slavery. In 1919, the world premiere of Auction of Souls took place in New York City.
Film Review: The Great Basin
It might be stating the obvious, but the United States of America is a vast country, with a huge diversity of landscape and people. With much of the media scrutiny focuses on events taking place in New York City or Washington DC, if not the more vocal Southern states, it can be easy to overlook the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. The ebb and flow of the seasons. The minutiae of those daily interactions which play a huge part in who we are.
IDFA Review: Things I Could Never Tell My Mother
Religion can be a strange beast. Previously intelligent and open-minded people can suddenly change their entire worldview if they fall under the sway of a new belief. This can cause problems with friends and family, even drive a wedge between them. While there’s often a desire to respect this change of direction, it can be a difficult balancing act when a new creed directly impacts on those closest to the new convert. Bangladeshi Filmmaker Humaira Bilkis loves her mother dearly.
IDFA Review: Ice Under His Feet
The Russian invasion and bombardment of Ukraine has brought home just how powerful Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is in his homeland. The former KGB analyst has been in power now, one way or another, for over twenty years. He’s established an iron grip on the country, making a bargain with oligarchs and suppressing any opposition through force. While he started out as a moderniser, the motherland is now as authoritarian as ever.
Film Review: The Human Trial
Diabetes kills around five million people every year and is a condition which can often be debilitating for countless more. If you have type 1, your immune system actively attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is where the human body does not produce enough, or react to, insulin. The former requires regular injections, the latter is often manageable through diet and lifestyle changes but deteriorates over time. There is no cure.
Film Review: No Bears
Making a film involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It also demands a huge commitment on the part of the filmmakers, both personally and often financially. It can be a labour of love, but all directors are not equal when it comes to bringing their projects to fruition. Especially when they live under an oppressive regime. Jafar Panahi has been waging an ongoing battle with the Iranian authorities for most of this century. He is currently in jail while his new film, No Bears, is being released.
Film Review: Retrograde
You can’t conquer Afghanistan. Many empires have tried and failed to govern this region. Even if you’re able to gain a foothold, it’s a constant uphill battle which you’re guaranteed to lose in the end. This is due to several factors. Firstly, there’s the inhospitable terrain, which comprises mountainous fortresses and unforgiving deserts; not to mention particularly harsh winters.
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