Review- Hating Peter Tatchell (2021)

A new addition to Netflix, this documentary chronicles the life and activism of Peter Tatchell who has campaigned for gay rights and indeed, human rights since his late teens. Born in Australia, he campaigned for issues such as Aboriginal land rights whilst at college. He moved to Britain where days after his arrival he learnt …

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Review- The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978)

This 1978 Fassbinder movie starts with the film's eponymous hero Maria getting married to her husband Hermann in Germany during World War II just as a bomb being dropped threatens to curtail proceedings. Thankfully the couple's union is officially sealed and Hermann then goes off to fight in the war himself. After learning later that …

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Review- Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)

Fassbinder's 1971 film concerns a German film crew waiting for a production to start whilst on set in a Spanish hotel lobby. The film starts with the verbal recanting of a Goofy cartoon. This is possibly the most linear and conventional part of the entire film's narrative but that's not an insult. The rest of …

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Review- Katzelmacher (1969)

This early Fassbinder film concerns a group of dissatisfied and directionless young people who turn their attentions away from themselves and the relationships within their inner circle when a young Greek man arrives looking for work and lodging. Soon the group rumour mill goes into overdrive as they perceive the young man as an outsider …

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Review- Ali- Fear Eats The Soul (1974)

Emmi, a 60 year old widowed cleaner decides to enter a bar that is playing Arabic music to shield from the rain. She sits at a table on her own far from the regulars who are at the other side of the bar. They dare one of their entourage, Ali to go and ask her …

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31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 31- Onibaba (1964)

A mother and daughter in law (named in the credits as 'older woman' and 'younger woman' respectively) are waiting for their son/husband to return from the war he's fighting in. A soldier named Hachi who fought alongside him comes back to tell them that in fact he saw him killed. He then starts having a …

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31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 29- Carnival of Souls (1962)

A teenage drag race goes dreadfully wrong with one car being forced off a bridge and into a river. From the car a woman, Mary manages to escape and clamber ashore. However, Mary's life after that isn't the same. She seems to see ghostly figures when she seemingly disassociates herself with everyday life that is …

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