Archive for June, 2026
A review of the classic 1959 film “Hiroshima, Mon Amour”
June 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
It took me many decades to catch this French-language film set largely in the Japanese city that was the first to suffer the atomic bomb and, by then, I’d visited Hiroshima and its Peace Museum twice, so the work had a special resonance for me. This was the first feature film by Alain Resnais, previously […]
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A review of the classic 1959 film”Some Like It Hot”
June 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Although at the time of its release, it was controversial in some quarters and not universally supported by critics, audiences immediately adored it and still do, making “Some Like It Hot” one of the best-loved comedies of all time. In many ways, this is a Billy Wilder movie because he co-wrote the witty screenplay and […]
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A review of the best-selling novel “There Are Rivers In The Sky” by Elif Shafak
June 4th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I had not heard of this book, or even of the Turkish-British author, before the novel was gifted to me by a good female friend, but I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read and a really impressive piece of work. Following a introduction set in Ancient Mesopotamia, the hugely ambitious narrative features three characters from […]
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A review of the 1972 classic film “The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie”
June 2nd, 2026 by Roger Darlington
An odd title for a very odd film, but then this French-language work was co-written and directed by the Mexican surrealist Luis Buñuel. Three upper middle-class couples try repeatedly to sit down for a meal together, only to be frustrated by an absurd number and nature of interruptions. Out of such seemingly quotidian material, Buñuel […]
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