Secrets and Lies

My friend and I were first introduced to Mike Leigh through the 1993 under looked film “Naked”. It is our running  joke/belief that David Thewlis vagrant, philosophical rapist, was just Professor Lupin before his tenure at Hogwarts Academy of Wizardry and Witchcraft. So maybe you can make an argument for Timothy Spall reversing from mild mannered blue collar worker in "Secrets and Lies" to a conniving weak willed wizard in "Harry Potter". 

After Hours

"After Hours",  by Martin Scorsese is one of his films that not many people have seen. It may not be on the level of his gangster epics, or the hubris downfall of the protagonist genre, but it falls very much in the vein of exploring New York City as his other film's have . After Hours,  follows  Paul a hapless computer writer who after responding to a woman's advances at a coffee shop, descends into a horrifying tale of death, deceit, paper mache, and robbery, as he tries to get home before he has to report to work in the morning.

Husbands and Wives

In the panatheon of film history, it is not uncommon to come across semi-autobiographical films or perhaps films that express the true feelings and mental state of the director at that time. One could look at 8 1/2, and realize that the tumultious struggle of the director  masterfully played by Marcello Mastroianni, is just a mirror for Fellini to reflect himself off of and for  millions to see. Or perhaps a movie like 400 Blows, In addition even a lesser one like Polanski's, The Tenant (an under rated film that you should see.)

The House Is Black

"The House is Black" by Farugh Farrokhzad,  is a fascinating and beautiful underlooked film that look's at the plight of a small village of Lepers in Iran. It is part of the original titan's of the Iranian New Wave, the most famous example of this time is "GAAV" (Cow).

Waiting For Fidel

“Waiting for Fidel” a 1974 documentary by Michael Ruppo is at first a glance about different political cultures, a country in the grasp of a new government and a documentary crew’s elusive chance to gain an interview with Fidel Castro. The crew consisting of Former Premier Joseph Smallwood, T.V and Radio owner Geoff Stirling and director Michael Ruppo representing three opposing viewpoints which were succinctly summed up in this New York Times review: “.His trip to Cuba is taken in the company of two antagonists. One is Joseph Smallwood, a former Premier of Nova Scotia, and a lifelong Socialist with a bubbling enthusiasm for the new Cuba. The other is Geoffrey Stirling, a self-made millionaire who is financing the trip and who wields a fierce suspicion of what he is seeing[1].” However as the film progresses it becomes apparent the interview isn’t the only thing they are failing to grasp. By examining the directing style, camera work, editing and sound in a selection of specific scenes, this essay will prove how the Canadians crew’s unapologetic and unwavering view point of Cuban life completely clouds their opinion and understanding of these people; in the end, the waiting becomes not for Fidel but for understanding in the complex backdrop of the cold war.

The Relationships in Fire, Exotica, and Leolo

The films Fire, Exotica, and Leolo all share a common interacting theme besides being one worded titles. Each film has a personal relationship at the core of the story. However, in the case of Fire, it is not the relationship that is a problem, but the society in which the protagonists live. In the case of Exotica, the relationship is proven to be a detrimental handicap that stagnates the emotional and development of one of the protagonists. Leolo takes both of these aspects, embodied as a character that is stagnated by this sexual handicap, but allows him to evolve into a different person than those dictated to by their society. By comparing and contrasting the films with each other through music, colours, mise en scene editing, sound and specific scenes, this essay will try to establish a common sexual narrative that can only be succinctly described as a Canadian attribute. I will reconcile the two quotes with this thesis;  Personal relationships have replaced a focus on "imagined communities" in Anderson's sense and that these characters' needs to make sense of their own lives has become the "practice" that has transcended "theory” as per Powe's quote. These practices however seem to be partly intrinsically Canadian; a society that bills itself as a cultural mosaic is shown in practice by two of the films representing two different cultures, one of India and one of  the French Canada. Then lastly shows one that is filmed as a universally applicable story of loss but ultimately giving it a Canadian twist.