Phantom Love

Nina Menkes is not a well known filmmaker, unless you're really involved in the world of Art Films, in which case you know how praised she is as someone who pushes the boundaries of narrative cinema. Phantom Love made big splashes in that small, but important world- a story about Lulu, a woman who is …

El Anacoreta

Anchorites are people who withdraw from society for spiritual reasons, choosing to live hermit-like lives of solitude in their ascetic pursuit of whatever it is they are searching for. What makes them anchorites, however, is their commitment to living, 24-7-365, in the same small space, never leaving, never giving in to the temptations of the …

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb

Very little is known about this amazing and moody stop-motion feature film that found itself on the shelves of the more esoteric video rental stores during the mid-90's, but The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb is written, directed, shot and edited by someone named Dave Borthwick- and it's unlike anything you'll ever see. A mixture …

4 (aka Chetyre)

4 is insane. It's Russian in every way we perceive Russian culture to be: raw, harsh, cold. 4 is ugly, grotesque, relentless. Even when it shows you young, beautiful, naked women, the context is anything but erotic or sensual, at least in the way we usually use the word "sensual." Your senses are definitely being …

Illusion Travels by Streetcar

The great surrealist, Luis Buñuel, has made plenty of famous movies every film student has heard of... but this magical little gem, made during his time in Mexico, is one of his best and least known. Atypically sweet, it reveals a compassionate Buñuel who, rather than focusing his anger on the hypocrisy of the rich …

Jekabs, Mimmi un Runajosie Suni (Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs)

Here's the thing about American animated children's films: they suck. They're all the same- Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, it doesn't matter- every single thing they crank out follows the same tired plots, the same generic "spunky" protagonists, the same watered-down hero's quest, the same, the same, the same. Whether it's 3D animation or hand-drawn 2D, whether …

Ubu Roi

What better way to celebrate the madness of our present time than with the work of art that started it all? Ubu Roi premiered, as a French play, in December 10, 1896, and the world hasn't been the same since. Ubu Roi ushered in modernism. It is punk rock a century before punk rock came …