Wong Kar-wai’s career is perhaps best understood as an extended study of romance as a form of history, a study that reaches its apex in the immense and enigmatic 2046. Structured as the elliptical recollections of writer Chow Mo-wan (who previously appeared in Wong’s Days of Read More …
Christopher Nolan’s second feature film is a mind-bending thriller about Leonard’s (Guy Pearce) obsessive quest for vengeance. After a blow to the head leaves him unable to form any new short term memories, Leonard obsesses over the one thing he can remember: someone named Jon Read More …
Long considered one of the masterpieces of cinema, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane also offers a masterclass in the use of the filmic flashback, structuring its entire narrative through memory. The reporter Thompson’s quest to discover the meaning of Kane’s enigmatic final word, “Rosebud,” leads him and the Read More …
Aging U.S. senator Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife (Vera Miles) travel across the country to a frontier town for the funeral of a local rancher (John Wayne), a surprising course of action for a famous politician. Through Ranse’s recollections, John Ford both affirms Read More …
Taking its title from an Alexander Pope poem, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind combines the DIY exuberance of director Michel Gondry and the existential hyperactivity of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman in a film that is, technically, about brain damage. Following a painful breakup with his girlfriend Clementine Read More …
Haunted by memories of World War II, specifically the Hiroshima bombings, a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) also dwell upon the memories of their now ended affair. Director Alain Resnais repeatedly cuts to the same scenes, ingrained in both their Read More …
Leave No Trace is a cinematic gem that you must treat yourself to! Ben Foster stars as Will, a traumatized war veteran who is trying to live off the grid due to his lack of trust in the government. His daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie), is his Read More …
Tom Hanks turned down the role of Fred Rogers three times before he finally accepted it. Director Marielle Heller finally had to convince him – according to an interview published in Deadline – with assurances that her film would not be a traditional biopic. In Read More …
The Irishman, titled onscreen I Heard You Paint Houses from the title of the book it is based on, is a staggering portrayal of one man on the margins of twentieth century American history. The film follows Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert De Niro) in his journey Read More …
Amidst the wash of imagery and sound in Terrence Malick’s film is a portrayal of humanity’s search for meaning and grace. The parallels between the journey of Christian Bale’s Rick through the bacchanalia of contemporary America and John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress are stated quite clearly, but Read More …