Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging

NB: The Iranian regime is a tyrannical theocracy, which permits no criticism, no deviation from so-called divinely sanctioned modes of behaviour. To punish people with flogging and imprisonment for speaking truth about corruption is itself a criminal act. It should never be forgotten that the regime’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa for the execution… Read More Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging

The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands

When viewers are introduced to Abdiwahab Ali, the main character in the short documentary Neighbour Abdi, his charisma radiates from the screen as he showcases his creative metalwork and spins a series of lively potential titles for a film about his life. But viewers soon learn that his easygoing attitude is hard-earned as he recounts his… Read More The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands

The Peacock’s Graveyard

Myth taken symbolically is the glass through which we darkly see: Hans Jonas Amar Kanwar: The Peacock’s Graveyard. Reviewed by Aruna D’Souza Marian Goodman Gallery; New York City, through February 24, 2024 Five poetic stories in image and text reveal the ever-present power of nature, greed, friendship, and philosophical inquiry Amar Kanwar: The Peacock’s Graveyard,… Read More The Peacock’s Graveyard

When Charles Chaplin Became the Enemy

First posted September 13, 2013 Von Clausewitz said that war is the logical extension of diplomacy; Monsieur Verdoux feels that murder is the logical extension of business. It’s all business. One murder makes a villain. Millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify… “By his very existence, Verdoux renders society guilty.” Approaching eternity, the convicted killer subtly reverts… Read More When Charles Chaplin Became the Enemy

A Murder at the End of the World: Emma Corrin is the ‘Gen Z Sherlock Holmes’

Extreme wealth is becoming the narrative preoccupation of our times. The obscenely rich entrepreneur, or sometimes the heir to an immoral fortune, has been all over television in 2023, from Beef to Dead Ringers, Succession to The Fall of the House of Usher to The Morning Show. In A Murder at the End of the… Read More A Murder at the End of the World: Emma Corrin is the ‘Gen Z Sherlock Holmes’

Louis Althusser: An Intellectual Adventure (2017)

Louis Althusser – an Intellectual Adventure (2017) This documentary traces the development of the thought of the Marxist French philosopher Louis Althusser (1918-1990), who influenced a whole generation of philosophers, including Lacan, Foucault, Derrida, Badiou and Zizek. Famous for his Definition of ideology and ideological state apparatuses. Althusser is credited with reinterpreting Marx in a… Read More Louis Althusser: An Intellectual Adventure (2017)

How a father’s love for his daughter challenged India’s ‘rape culture’

When his 13-year-old daughter stumbled home six years ago and told her father that she had been gang-raped, Ranjit embarked on a mission to get justice in a manner that is almost unheard of in rural India. Going against the wishes of the entire village in the eastern state of Jharkhand, and challenging India’s highly patriarchal culture,… Read More How a father’s love for his daughter challenged India’s ‘rape culture’

Obsession, jealousies and Joséphine: has Ridley Scott captured the real Napoleon?

Andrew Hussey Napoleon Bonaparte is probably the most famous Frenchman of all time and is, according to academic sources, second only to Jesus as the most filmed figure in cinema history. Napoleon is a complex subject whose aura, monstrosity and genius is a perfect fit for great cinema and who is therefore an irresistible challenge… Read More Obsession, jealousies and Joséphine: has Ridley Scott captured the real Napoleon?

Gangsters are the villains in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ — but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government

Forced removal touched every tribe east of the Mississippi River and several tribes to the west of it. In total, about 100,000 American Indians were removed from their homelands to western reservations. Director Martin Scorsese’s new movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” tells the true story of a string of murders on the Osage Nation’s land in Oklahoma… Read More Gangsters are the villains in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ — but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government