Summary: The Teutonic Knights invade the city of Pskov and massacre its population. In the face of resistance, Nevsky rallies the common people of Novgorod and in a decisive Battle of the Ice, they defeat the enemy and retake the city. Analysis: The USSR of the 1920s had witnessed an explosion of creativity in the…
In The Realm Of The Senses: Summary and Analysis
Summary: Based on a well-known high-profile criminal case from 1936, In the Realm of the Senses is a biopic on Sada Abe, a geisha-cum-courtesan, and her lecherous relationship with Kichizo- Ishida, the owner of an inn she worked for as a maid. The two engaged in a prurient and obsessive bond where they isolated themselves…
Aguirre, Wrath of God: Summary and Analysis
Summary: Faced with difficult conditions, an expedition in search of the (mythical) city of El Dorado under Gonzalo Pizarro in 1560 sends an advanced party down the Amazon on rafts. A power struggle quickly develops between the leader of this group, Ursua, and his second-in-command, Aguirre. Describing himself as ‘the wrath of God’ and employing…
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Summary and Analysis
Summary: ‘Tick’/Mitzi is contacted to perform a drag show in Alice Springs. Feeling disheartened by the boorish behaviour of his audience in Sydney, he decides to go. He contacts transsexual Bernadette about being part of the act and finds her bereaved and looking for some time away from Sydney. Loud and precocious Adam/Felicia makes up…
A nous la liberte – Freedom is Ours – Summary and Analysis
Summary: Two friends, Emile (Marchand) and Louis (Cordy), plot a prison break. Only Louis escapes. He works his way from record salesman to become the wealthy owner of a phonograph factory (a clear nod to French industrialist Charles Pathé and his career trajectory). He oversees a production line, where workers are reduced to automatons. Emile…
A Bout de Souffle (Breathless): Summary & Analysis
Synopsis: A small-time crook, Michel, who we initially see stealing a car in Marseille, shoots a policeman. On the run in Paris he spends time with a casual girlfriend, Patricia, an American trying to make her way in journalism. She eventually betrays him to the police and he is shot and killed while trying to…
10 (Ten) Film: Summary and Analysis
Summary: Ten sequences examine the emotional lives of women at significant junctures. Analysis: ‘I am unable to grasp the greatness of Abbas Kiarostami … Two digital cameras, a car and your actors, and off you go.’ When the great American film critic Roger Ebert dismissed 10 with these words (quoted in Andrew 2005: 8) he…
8 ½ (Eight and a Half): Summary and Analysis
Summary: Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ portrays a key juncture in the life of the fictional film director, Guido Anselmi (as played by Marcello Mastroianni). Guido is successful with audiences and well regarded by the critics, but he is having problems with his ideas for his latest work, a strange piece that seems to combine autobiographical…
4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days: Summary & Analysis
Summary: Mungiu’s second feature film follows the story of Otilia Mihartescu (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabriela ‘Gabita’ Dragut (Laura Vasiliu), two university friends in an unnamed Romanian town. The film is set in 1987, at the end of the oppressive Ceausescu regime. When Gabita becomes pregnant, the two girls arrange a meeting with Mr Bebe (Vlad…
Tangerine by Edward Bloor: Themes
Truth versus Lies One of the primary themes in Tangerine is the importance of telling the truth and living the truth as well as the consequences of lies. As star football player Antoine Thomas advises Paul toward the end of the novel, ‘‘Don’t spend your life hiding under the bleachers, little brother. The truth shall…