Palme D’or tagged posts

June 5, 2020, Posted in  Features Comments: No comments

BFI Player is currently playing host to the excellent Japan 2020 season.

Its Japanese Classics collection showcases great movies from the Golden Ages of the 1930s and 1950s, the post-war generation who shook the system from the 1960s onward, plus the filmmakers who came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s.

Spanning multiple genres, the collection contains some of the best films ever made. Choosing five you should start with was tough.

But, here is a quintet of movies we think provide a good introduction to the collection…

For more information on BFI Japan 2020, click here

To view Japan 2020 on BFI Player, click here

FLOATING CLOUDS (1955)

We make no apologies for this being the first of two M...

February 15, 2020, Posted in  Podcast Comments: No comments

The Movie Robcast is on a roll! Three episodes in one week, it must be awards season. But, we couldn’t let Parasite’s UK theatrical release come and go without us reviewing this record-breaking, Oscar winning triumph.

So, the two Robs take a close view at Bong Joon-ho’s latest movie. This could be the director’s best yet, and when you remember his previous films include The Host and Memories of Murder that is saying something.

Any discussion of Parasite also has to go into spoiler territory, which the Robs duly do. Don’t worry, we give a clear warning so you won’t accidentally stumble into areas you don’t want to hear until you’ve seen the movie.

As this was originally supposed to be a joint episode with Birds of Prey, we had to specially record an intro from a wet and chilly...

December 31, 2017, Posted in  Podcast Comments: One comment

For this special Reservoir Dogs 25th Anniversary episode, Robs Daniel & Wallis are joined once more by Ian Bird. You’ll remember Ian from his wise words on the JFK podcast. Together they dissect Quentin Tarantino’s sensational debut, discussing its strengths, characters, themes and controversial use of language. And that whole Who Shot Nice Guy Eddie thing.

The three intrepid podcasters place the movie in the overall picture of Tarantino’s career and discuss Tarantino’s cinematic legacy. Could there be a case for the Marvel Cinematic Universe being an extension of what Quentin was doing with his movies in the 90s and noughties? Or Joss Whedon taking the QT baton and running with it into fantasy realms rather than crime? These thoughts and more are given their day in court…

While making ro...

November 6, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writer: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Noé Debré

Cast: Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Claudine Vinasithamby

Cert: 15

Running time: 109mins

Year: 2015

What’s the story: In the final moments of the Sri Lankan civil war a Tamil tiger (Jesuthasan) flees to France along with a fake wife (Srinivasan) and daughter (Vinasithamby) to begin a new life with a new name – Dheepan. Working as a custodian, he tries to forget the horrors of war. What he encounters in his new surroundings is a new, but just as destructive battle. A Prophet and Rust & Bone director Jacques Audiard returns with hard hitting subject matter in this 2015 Cannes Palme D’Or Winner.

What’s the verdict: With three nominations under his belt Jacques Audiard finally, dese...

September 28, 2014, Posted in  Features

This is a good time to be a film fan. You can’t throw a now obsolete film projector without hitting a film festival of some sort and October has the daddy of them all: the BFI London Film Festival, returning for outing number 58.

As it approaches the big 6-0 the festival shows no signs of slowing, attracting an astonishing 248 feature films and 148 shorts for its twelve day run beginning Wednesday 8th October.

The Imitation Game begins the festival in suitably British style. Recounting the life of math genius Alan Turing, who helped crack the Nazi’s Enigma machine in WW2 and was later convicted of indecency when homosexuality was still criminalised, advance word-of-mouth is glowing, with Oscar talk for Benedict Cumberbatch’s lead performance as the tortured Turing.

The Imitation Game...

July 27, 2014, Posted in  Reviews

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Writers: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gourmet

Cert: 15

Running time: 95mins

Year: 2014

The lowdown: Belgian duo the Dardennes brothers deliver another low-key but riveting and compassionate account of life in the modern world. Marion Cotillard is typically mesmeric as a woman fighting for her factory job after a bout of depression sees her targeted for redundancy. A film of real warmth and humanity, pathos and humour, never striking a false note.

The full verdict: Living, breathing, Palme D’or winning proof that all that is required to make a good film is a good story, with minimal fuss the Dardennes have established themselves as two of the most vital filmmakers currently working.

H...

May 11, 2014, Posted in  Reviews

Director: Roman Polanski

Writers: Roman Polanski, David Ives

Cast: Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric

Cert: 15

Running time: 96mins

Year: 2013

The lowdown: In his 80^th year, Roman Polanski shows little sign of succumbing to dull good taste with this witty, erotic and Palme D’Or nominated reworking of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s naughty 19^th century tale of tall boots and long whips. Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric are on bold form as a feisty actress and self-important director condensing the sex war into a 90 minute audition. After the bitter treats of Carnage, Polanski again demonstrates his filmmaking alchemy for turning chamber-piece stage plays into silver screen delights.

The full verdict: Those complaining about two stage adaptations in a row should remember Roman P...