L’Argent (1983) Robert Bresson’s last film is an austere study of the bleak Eighties where obsession with money drives youths into gangs of thieves. Their passing of counterfeit money implicates one young man who winds up in jail, with his daughter dying and his wife abandoning him. That act of injustice precipitates him into senseless … More L’Argent (1983)
The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) John Schlesinger adapts this true espionage story, based on the book by Robert Lindsey and screenplay by Stephen Zaillian. Timothy Hutton plays Christopher Boyce, who uncovers CIA projects to destabilize and depose Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of Australia. Using his friend, a drug dealer Daulton Lee, played by … More The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
La Noire de… [Black Girl] (1966) Ousamane Sembène directs the elegant dressmaker Mbissine Thérèse Diop in what has come to be recognized as the first ” Sub-Saharan African film by an African filmmaker to receive international attention.” Winner of the Prix Jean Vigo for best feature film, Sembène dramatizes the conflict between French colonialism … More La Noire de… [Black Girl] (1966)
The Fountainhead (1949) From the novel and screenplay adaptation by Ayn Rand, King Vidor directs Gary Cooper, as the ruthless architect Howard Roark [modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright] and Patricia O’Neal as the devoted socialite Dominique Francon in this allegory celebrating unbridled capitalism in the struggle between individualism and collectivism. During the final courtroom sequence, … More The Fountainhead (1949)
Sorry for the Inconvenience I didn’t realize those were your toes When I dropped the pickaxe. I just assumed Gold lay under spackled nails. I love to apologize. I just can’t help myself From doing wrong, like when I shoved my hand Down your throat to retrieve my silver bullet. Apparently I … More Sorry for the Inconvenience
Modern Slavery The conquered were not citizens, Livia Drusilla knew, so her Roman etiquette was attended by invisible hands whose bodies sometimes came into view when their assistance became indispensable. The more familiar the help, the more likely servitude could acquire a personal name, especially as being of service became a … More Modern Slavery
