The Big Picture Magazine
There’s something uncomfortable in the way that gangster films often ask us to empathise with central characters who are, in effect, psychopaths. ‘Anti’ and ‘heroic’ are separated by a very thin line as the movie gangster is made of sterner stuff than us mere mortals, seemingly existing in a place once removed from normality; a […]
In this second episode of The Big Picture Podcast, Gabriel and Tom discuss two films that explore the nature of ego and the often fraught journey a person takes from fear and doubt to self realisation. Agnes Varda’s 1962 French new wave masterpiece Cléo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) and Paolo […]
When we think of films addressing devastation and disaster, graphic imagery replete with dramatic plotlines are what first come to mind. From tension-filled, post-apocalyptic sci-fi to explosion-ridden war films, the theme of suffering becomes upscaled and unrealistic. Films that carry the highest emotional impact of destruction tend to be subtle and artistically experimental, like Schindler’s […]
Cinema is a woman’s art, François Truffaut used to say, and the great moments in cinema involve “the convergence of the gifts of a director and those of an actress who is being directed by him.” In his films, it’s his feminine characters who are more dynamic, more enterprising, it’s them who direct events. It’s […]
Éric Rohmer was fascinated by philosopher Blaise Pascal’s ‘wager’ of faith, a literal gamble one takes in either believing or not believing in God. Believing is the best ‘bet’ one can make, since there is no way of losing: “If you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager that he exists […]
During the making of La Chinoise, Jean-Luc Godard – the renowned pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague – fell in love with actress Anne Wiazemsky and later married her. She was his muse and his wife for 12 years. Adapted from Anne’s own memoirs, One Year After, Le Redoutable is structured around Wiazemsky and Godard’s marriage, but set largely […]