A sullen teenager, Tom, is upset about his family's move from London to rural Devon. But then a dark family secret is revealed, changing everything. The War Zone is actor Tim Roth’s directorial debut, and he does a great job directing it. The fact that he chose a story involving such a thorny issue as …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 38- The War Zone (1999)
Elephant chronicles an average day in the life of a Portland, Oregon high school. But this is anything but an ordinary day as there is a school shooting. Gus Van Sant was inspired by the Columbine High School shooting to make this film. There’s so much to applaud here. Introducing characters by name on screen, …
Alain Resnais’ half-hour examination of German concentration camps. This is as shocking as you imagine it to be with the most graphic footage being (rightly) included so the atrocity of the Holocaust is never forgotten or downplayed. But the film also examines the thinking behind the camps, whether it’s their commission, planning, construction, or maintenance. …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 35- Night and Fog (1956)
A doctor, Andrew Bagby is found murdered in a park in Pennsylvania. His lifelong friend plans a documentary about his life featuring interviews with his family and friends along with clips from the short films Andrew starred in when they were growing up. There’s much more I could post about this feature, but I don’t …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 34- Dear Zachary (2008)
Feature-length Studio Ghibli animated film about two orphaned siblings who struggle to survive and stay together during the final months of the Pacific War. This is more animation that's strictly not for kids. In fact, just like The Plague Dogs, this is a harrowing, haunting watch. The innocence of the children in the face of …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 33- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
In a working-class London neighbourhood, Janet, a widow, has welcomed relatives into her home. In addition to her elderly mother, Kath and her son, Billy, Janet lives with her daughter, Valerie and Valerie's abusive, alcoholic husband, Ray. This mix proves explosive. I thought my family was dysfunctional. Nil By Mouth is brutal, violent and utterly …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 25- Nil By Mouth (1997)
Stan Brakhage’s 32-minute film is soundless footage captured during autopsies in a Pittsburgh morgue. The film’s title is a literal meaning of the word ‘autopsy’. Obviously, don’t watch this whilst eating a meal (the first time I watched The Exorcist was whilst eating an evening meal with my dad. But that, as they say, is …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 22- The Act of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes (1971)
Mr Lazarescu, an elderly man who likes a tipple and lives with his cats, becomes ill but, firstly, getting an ambulance to come out to him and then getting him to a hospital that will actually provide the appropriate care for him becomes nearly impossible. This Romanian film is admirably directed by Cristi Puiu, with …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 21- The Death of Mr Lazarescu (2005)
How the hell do I describe this film? Someone who looks like Leatherface stabs themself to death in the Evil Dead cabin. After this, we witness the birth of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth who then ‘journey across a dying world’ apparently. This scungy, lo-fi work by E. Elias Merhige features unknown actors …
Actress Nikki Grace lands the lead in a Hollywood remake of an unfinished Polish film, one that may be cursed. As she slips into the role of Sue, the line between Nikki and Sue, Los Angeles and Łódź, rehearsal and nightmare, starts to fade. There are talking rabbits, a screwdriver, a woman dying on Hollywood …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 19- Inland Empire (2006)
