Arts Review
The sordid coalition pursuing filmmaker Roman Polanski
By David Walsh, 8 October 2009
The effort to vilify film director Roman Polanski and have him extradited to the United States has become the rallying point for a broader campaign against “Hollywood liberals,” intellectuals, artists, and non-conformists of all sorts.
Roman Polanski denied bail in Switzerland
By Hiram Lee, October 7, 2009
The Swiss Justice Ministry has denied Roman Polanski's request for release from prison while awaiting extradition. The media frenzy surrounding the case continues.
The New York Times throws Roman Polanski to the wolves
By David Walsh and David North, October 1, 2009
The arrest of film director Roman Polanski in Switzerland and his threatened extradition to the US have stirred the baying hounds of ‘law and order’ into action. To these reactionary voices, we can now add the editorial board of the New York Times.
Director Roman Polanski faces months in Swiss prison
By Hiram Lee, September 30, 2009
Film director Roman Polanski could spend months in a Swiss prison following his September 26 arrest in Zürich. Protests against the detention of the renowned filmmaker continue to mount.
International protests against arrest of film director Roman Polanski
By Barry Grey, September 28, 2009
Expressions of shock and anger are mounting internationally over the arrest Saturday night of Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Filmmakers, writers protest Toronto festival spotlight on Tel Aviv
By David Walsh, September 10, 2009
Dozens of filmmakers, writers and others have signed an Open Letter to the Toronto International Film Festival, criticizing the festival’s decision “to host a celebratory spotlight on Tel Aviv.”
Protest against Toronto film festival collusion with Israeli regime continues
By David Walsh, September 16, 2009
Organizers of a protest against the Toronto film festival’s spotlight on Tel Aviv held a press conference Monday afternoon to explain their purposes and respond to attacks by pro-Israeli forces.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 1
Polarization and protest
By David Walsh, September 30, 2009
To make useful sense of an event as large and contradictory as the Toronto film festival, which screened 273 feature films from 64 countries this year, is no easy matter.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 2
“The Iraq war poisoned the water—you can’t undo that, it’s there forever”
By David Walsh, October 3, 2009
Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein have directed at least three remarkable documentaries about the US invasion of Iraq and its consequences: Gunner Palace (2004), The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (2006), and now, How To Fold a Flag.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 3
Filmmakers on violence and social tension in the Middle East
By Joanne Laurier, October 7, 2009
The seven-year artistic collaboration between Israeli Yaron Shani and Palestinian Scandar Copti produced one of the Toronto film festival’s most important and courageous films, Ajami.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 4
More human (and artistic) problems
By David Walsh, October 10, 2009
Where are the extraordinary and captivating film dramas, and comedies, that go to the heart of our time?
An interview with Asli Özge, director of Men on the Bridge
By David Walsh, October 10, 2009
Asli Özge is the director of Men on the Bridge, a Turkish film screened at the recent Toronto film festival. We spoke during the festival.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 5
Compassion, vision, genius
By Joanne Laurier, October 14, 2009
The poor throughout the world are neglected and abandoned, increasingly left by the authorities to their own devices. In an imaginative and sensitive fashion, some artists are beginning to concern the...
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 6
Thoroughly lost, or playing at it
By David Walsh, October 17, 2009
Lars von Trier from Denmark, once associated with the Dogme 95 group, has been making films for some two decades. His latest effort is Antichrist. It is a murky, hopelessly contrived, and, frankly, ri...
Recent Film Reviews
The Invention of Lying: Telling the truth, or some of it
By Hiram Lee, 20 October 2009
Comedian Ricky Gervais makes his debut as a writer and director of feature films with a comedy set in a world in which human beings never developed the ability to lie.
Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story
By Joanne Laurier and David Walsh, October 6, 2009
Veteran documentary filmmaker Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story sets out to examine the recent financial collapse. His aim, he suggests, is a critique of the existing economic set-up.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: Laying bare the facts of the 1978 case
By Hiram Lee, October 5, 2009
The 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired exposes the character of the legal proceedings from which Roman Polanski fled in 1978.
“Law & Order” episode makes case for prosecution of Bush administration torturers
By Patrick Martin, October 2, 2009
The season premiere of NBC’s crime drama “Law & Order” was a rarity for American television: an unsparing and essentially honest examination of the crimes being committed by the American government, in the name of the “war on terror.”
District 9, an attempt at serious science fiction
By Hiram Lee, September 17, 2009
Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is a science fiction film about aliens forced to suffer under apartheid when their ship stalls in the skies over Johannesburg, South Africa.
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra—yet another celebration of militarism and war
By Christie Schaefer and Hiram Lee, September 5, 2009
Based on a popular toy and cartoon franchise, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a film that does little more than glorify militarism and war.
Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino goes to war
By Hiram Lee, September 1, 2009
Director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is another sadistic revenge tale, this time set during the Second World War.
Balibo: A war crime exposed
By Richard Phillips, August 17, 2009
Balibo tells how five young reporters working for Australian television were murdered in East Timor by the Indonesian military in the lead-up to the invasion of the tiny country in 1975.
“The Balibo deaths represented part of the broader tragedy that befell East Timor”
Director Robert Connolly speaks with WSWS
By Richard Phillips, August 17, 2009
Robert Connolly discusses Balibo, his latest feature about the military execution of five television reporters in East Timor in 1975.
Funny People: Requiem for a paperweight
By Tom Horton, August 14, 2009
Funny People, producer-director Judd Apatow’s bid for recognition as a serious filmmaker, serves instead as the first major theatrical failure since his string of hits began in 2004.
Germany: Berlin cinema shows films commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall
By Bernd Reinhardt, August 11, 2009
On the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, a cinema in the German capital showed a retrospective of films dealing with the event.
The Hurt Locker: Part of a deplorable trend
By Joanne Laurier, August 10, 2009
The new film directed by Kathryn Bigelow focuses on an Army bomb deactivation—or Explosive Ordnance Disposal—squad, during its last 38 days of deployment in Iraq in 2004.
500 Days of Summer: The eternally sunlit paradise that is Los Angeles
By Jordan Mattos, August 3, 2009
A graphic designer with dreams of becoming an architect falls head over heels for an elusive lady, and the film goes back and forth in time, highlighting the 500 days of their courtship, with equal do...
Is Chéri genuinely ‘subversive’?
By Joanne Laurier, August 1, 2009
In Stephen Frears’ new movie, Chéri, based on a novel by Colette, a voiceover asserts that in Paris, during the Belle Époque (the 1870s to World War I), successful courtesans were the most powerfu...
Atom Egoyan’s Adoration: Also not very compelling
By David Walsh, July 29, 2009
In Atom Egoyan’s Adoration, Simon is a high school student in Toronto, whose teacher, for reasons of her own, encourages him to pose as the son of a would-be terrorist.
Brüno: Another series of pranks at everyone’s expense
By Hiram Lee, July 27, 2009
The latest film from Sacha Baron Cohen finds the comedian pranking unsuspecting victims with a new, provocative character.
Moon: Back to the future in science fiction
By William Moore, July 25, 2009
The new science fiction movie Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, was apparently released to coincide with and capitalize on the fortieth anniversary of the first landing of humans on the moon.
Whatever Works: The results are unattractive
By David Walsh, July 15, 2009
The most recent effort from Woody Allen is a very poor film, unconvincingly and even cartoonishly written and performed, accomplished with little humor or grace.
Public Enemies and a pivotal moment in American history
By Joanne Laurier, July 11, 2009
Based on material in Bryan Burrough’s Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34, Michael Mann’s new film chronicles John Dillinger’s spectacular and short...
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: A tale of two movies
By Alan Whyte, July 2, 2009
A remake of the 1974 film, the new version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 retains the same plotline: a gang of criminals hijacks a single New York City subway car and attempts to extort cash from city ...
The Girlfriend Experience: Not rich or thorough enough
By David Walsh, July 1, 2009
Steven Soderbergh’s new film, The Girlfriend Experience, is a glimpse into the life of a high-priced call girl in New York City, set and filmed during the financial meltdown (and pre-election period...
Away We Go: Parent trap
By Joanne Laurier, June 29, 2009
Away We Go is British director Sam Mendes’s third attempt to deal with social reality in the United States—the film is no more successful than American Beauty and Revolutionary Road.
The Twilight Saga: Shimmering vampires who drive Volvos
By Alfonso Santana, June 24, 2009
The entertainment media in the US is in the process of fattening up its new golden goose: New Moon, the next installment of The Twilight Saga series about vampires living in small-town America, set fo...
Afghan Star: Eyes not opened wide enough
By Peter Kloze, June 23, 2009
Afghan Star, a documentary about Afghanistan’s version of American Idol, the television talent show, includes some interesting human material, but glosses over all the complex questions.
Six pre-Production Code films from William Wellman: an uneven but welcome collection
By Charles Bogle, June 22, 2009
In one astonishing 12-month period, 1932 to 1933, American filmmaker William Wellman directed 13 movies, 6 of which are included in this, the third volume in Turner Classic Movies’ “Forbidden Hollywood” collection.
Film Festivals
Sydney Film Festival 2009
Part 1: Courage and audacity sadly lacking
By Richard Phillips, July 9, 2009
The quality of new work screened at this year’s Sydney Film Festival was patchy and generally undemanding, with critical human issues largely unexplored.
Part 2: Competition movies: largely passive reflections
By Ismet Redzovic, July 10, 2009
Part 3: Some perceptive documentaries
By Richard Phillips and Ismet Redzovic, July 13, 2009
Part 4: Vital ingredients missing
By George Morley, July 14, 2009
Part 5: Several movies well worth revisiting
By Richard Phillips, July 17, 2009
San Francisco International Film Festival 2009
Part 1: Painful truths
By David Walsh, 20 May 2009
The recent San Francisco film festival, its 52nd, presented 151 films from 55 countries to a combined audience of some 82,000 people.
Severe artistic unevenness, a sharp contrast between advanced technical means and the inadequacy of thought and expression, a lagging behind the realities of contemporary life—these are some of the qualities of international filmmaking in recent years. And that continues in the first year following the greatest economic crash since 1929.
Part 2: Human drama, partially treated
By David Walsh, 22 May 2009
Part 3: The trauma produced by events
By Joanne Laurier, 25 May 2009
See also: An interview with He Jianjun, director of River People, June 25, 2009
The 59th Berlinale
Part 1
Lagging alarmingly behind the times
By Stefan Steinberg, February 19, 2009
Perhaps most striking about the latest Berlinale was the absence of any comprehension of the urgency of the current crisis. None of the burning issues at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century were adequately addressed at the festival.
See also The 59th Berlinale—Part 2: A few healthy shoots and Intimations of changes to come—but nothing more: On the film series After Winter Comes Spring—Films presaging the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Vancouver International Film Festival 2008
World Socialist Web Site
arts critics David Walsh and Joanne Laurier wrote extensively on new films shown during the 2008 Vancouver International Film Festival, which ran from
September 25 to October 10.
Part 1, "Life in its incontrovertible reality," was published October 13; Part 2, "Art, artists, the difficulties of the 20th century," was published October 16; Part 3, "The oppressed and excluded," followed on October 20; Part 4, "Repentance, betrayal and the less dramatic," was published October 23; and Part 5, "Six films: problems of perspective, passivity," concluded the series on October 27.
See also Walsh's interviews with Li Yifan, director of The Longwang Chronicles, published October 20, Azharr Rudin, director of This Longing, published October 27, and Ying Liang, director of Good Cats, published November 15.
The Toronto International Film Festival
A series of film reviews and director interviews published September 18-29 2008, devoted to the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (September 4-13).
See Part 1, 2, 3 , 4, and 5, as well as the WSWS interview with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, directors of Lorna’s Silence.
