Archive for the ‘Cultural issues’ Category
A review of an important new French film “De Gaulle: Résistance”
September 7th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
General Charles de Gaulle was the most famous and consequential military and political French figure of modern times and it is appropriate that a bio-pic of his activities in the Second World War should be the most expensive production in French cinematic history. The film was directed by Antonin Baudry, co-written with Bérénice Vila, and […]
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A review of the classic 1980 film “The Shining”
August 28th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Confession time: it took me 46 years to see this movie. I’m a massive fan of Stanley Kubrick, who produced, directed and co-wrote it, but I don’t like horror and I’m adverse to the supernatural. Although it initially had mixed reviews, The Shining has come to be regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made […]
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A review of the classic Italian movie “L’Avventura” (1960)
August 20th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
How would you characterise an art house film? Probably foreign, likely black and white, little action, people behaving oddly, striking visuals, opaque messaging, and s-l-o-w. The Italian “L’Avventura” is then the archetypical art house film. The story was composed by the director Michaelangelo Antonioni. At first, it looks as if the main character is the […]
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A review of the classic movie”Bonnie And Clyde” (1967)
August 19th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Loosely based on the exploits of bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in Depression era America of 1932-1934, this is very much Warren Beatty’s film: be bought the rights to an early script, he made uncredited contributions to the screenplay, he was producer and he took the role of Clyde. Equally look-looking Faye Dunaway […]
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A review of the classic Spanish film”All About My Mother” (1999)
August 17th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Internationally, this was the breakout movie for the Spanish Pedro Almodóvar who both wrote and directed it. It won him the Best Director prize at Cannes Film Festival and it won Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Famously, Aldomóvar is a gay man who adores women. He was brought up in a household […]
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A review of the 1944 classic movie “Meet Me In St Louis”
August 9th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I’m not keen on musicals and I can’t identify with a rich, white family in the America of 1903, but it’s hard not to be caught up in the exuberance of the Smith family of St Louis, as the city prepares to host the Louisiana Purchase Exposition to celebrate the centennial of the acquisition of […]
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A review of the 1948 classic film “Key Largo”
August 9th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
What a great cast for this film noir crime drama. Humphrey Bogart and Edward G Robinson in their fifth and final pairing. Bogart’s wife Lauren Bacall in their fourth and final joint appearance. Lionel Barrymore, probably best known for no less than 15 eponymous roles in the “Dr Kildare” films. But it was Claire Trevor […]
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A review of the 1977 classic movie “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”
July 31st, 2026 by Roger Darlington
It is a great title but it is never explained. The first kind is a close visual sighting of a UFO, the second kind is a UFO event with a physical effect, and the eponymous third kind is a UFO encounter with an animated entity. The scale was devised by J. Allen Hynek who makes […]
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A brief review of a short book, “Narrative” by Amy Jones (2022)
July 31st, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I love storytelling which is why I read so much fiction and see so many films. I’ve even written a book of short stories (“The Rooms In My Mind”). So, I previously read “The Science Of Storytelling” by Will Storr [click here] and “How To Read Literature Like A Professor” by Thomas C Foster [click […]
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A review of the 1983 film “Educating Rita”
July 27th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
It took me over 60 years to catch up with this starring vehicle for Michael Caine, by which time he had retired at the age of 90 after a career involving over 130 cinematic appearances, this being one of his finest. His co-star, Julie Walters, has done much of her most memorable work on television, […]
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