Tag: Documentary
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Where to Invade Next.
In his latest documentary, Michael Moore crosses the pond with the intention of invading European countries to steal their good ideas. As always, he approaches the subject with his tongue in his cheek and with an aim to bring some humour to the injustice and misery he uncovers. This is a film entirely about America…
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My Scientology Movie.
The church of Scientology has remained a pop culture fascination for several decades, constantly prominent in our minds because of high profile followers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Louis Theroux, familiar with documenting and deconstructing the bizarre and the delusional, approaches the subject at a very particular angle. When Theroux struggles to gain…
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Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach.
When I was 17 I saw Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen. My introduction to cinematic realism, my mind was blown. In the months that followed I devoured Loach’s back catalogue and, for the first time, consciously sought out new and innovative films and genres that I’d never experienced. I was mesmerised by seeing a film where…
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Hitchcock/Truffaut.
Hitchcock/Truffaut shares its names with a quintessential book for film-makers and film lovers alike. In 1962 Alfred Hitchcock was at the top of his game, his career at the beginning of its end. Two years earlier he had terrified audiences with Psycho and revolutionized the horror genre by essentially inventing ‘the slasher film’. Francois Truffaut’s…
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Janis: Little Girl Blue.
If you look for this documentary under the image tab of the search engine of your choice, you will come across many a photographed portrait of Janis Joplin. Very little else emerges except perhaps the occasional film poster. This is somewhat reflective of Janis: Little Girl Blue, a film deeply concerned with image and painting…
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The Best Films of 2015.
This has certainly been one of the most challenging years for me, in terms of great cinema access. I moved back to Preston for my first graduate position and found myself, for the first time in four years, living in a town with no independent cinema. Stuck between a bad Odeon and a more than…
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He Named Me Malala.
I recall one of my university lecturers (who specialised in film, spirituality and religion), talking about Malala Yousafzai in 2012. At the time she was in intensive care in Birmingham hospital. I vividly remember her claiming that if this young girl were to survive it’d be one of the most powerful, game-changing things to ever…
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A Young Patriot.
We first meet Zhao Chantong at the age of 19. Like many young men, he’s idealistic, passionate and naive. Like many young men, Zhao will change and grow greatly over the next three years of his life. Haibin Du’s documentary paints an intricate picture of youth and lost souls. A Young Patriot handled not only…
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Merchants of Doubt.
Oddly humorous despite all of its depressing revelations, Merchants of Doubt follows in the footsteps of other great social and political whistle-blowing documentaries; uncovering the corruption that plagues the tobacco, sugar and oil industries. Highlighting the regurgitation by said industries of the same accusations, tactics and power moves, Merchants of Doubt is a complicated, rigorous documentary…
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Cartel Land.
Danger and documentary have always gone hand in hand. The great masters of the genre have always strived to put their art before their safety. Matthew Heineman takes risk to a new level in Cartel Land, proving himself to be made of the same courageous steel that’s present within the likes of Werner Herzog. A…
Hannah McHaffie 