Films

The revolution introduced me to art, and art, in its own turn, brought me to the revolution.

Sergei Eisenstein

Thursday, 14 November 2019 20:57

Synonyms: a denunciation of aggressive Israeli nationalism and its macho, militaristic culture

Written by Rita Di Santo

in Films

Rita Di Santo reviews Synonyms by Nadav Lapid, showing at the Seville Film Festival Seville Festival is a great place to catch up with the best in recent European cinema. Audiences can enjoy prizewinners such as the winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms. The film follows an ex-Israeli…

Friday, 08 November 2019 14:26

The Architects: a film about the reasons for the GDR's collapse

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Films

Jenny Farrell discusses The Architects, a film made in 1989/90 which traced the reasons for the collapse of the GDR 30 years ago, on 9 November 1990, the inner-German border was opened, West Berlin was flooded with shoppers, and over the next few days and weeks the East German state…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 01 November 2019 11:25

arise! filmpoem

in Films

Written by Mike Quille

Culture Matters has produced a short film, made by Carl Joyce, of the poem arise! by Paul Summers, which was sponsored by the Durham Miners' Association. You can watch the film for free on Vimeo here or on Youtube here. The film invokes the collective and co-operative spirit of past…

General Election jeremy corbyn Miners' Gala

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 28 October 2019 08:48

Joker: living without class-consciousness and solidarity

in Films

Written by Fran Lock

Fran Lock reviews Joker's treatment of violence, poverty, class, gender and race, and the way it subverts 'one of capitalism's most pernicious fictions' If you want to get ahead in life, just go for it on your own. Facing obstacles? There’s nothing you can’t overcome and put right. You just…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 11 October 2019 16:54

Sorry We Missed You: how capitalism is destroying working-class families

in Films

Written by Mike Wayne

Sorry We Missed You is director Ken Loach’s follow-up to his excoriating I, Daniel Blake which exposed how the welfare system has been turned into an apparatus of punishment and cruel indignity for those without work. It took a film to expose the moral vacuum at the heart of the…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Tuesday, 08 October 2019 15:35

Culture Punch: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and righteous anti-capitalist violence

in Films

Written by Paul Victor Tims

Paul Tims argues that Tarantino's assertion of the value of violence in his latest film has a message for anti-capitalist activists I’m a huge Tarantino fan. You’re shocked, I can tell. Sarcasm aside, regular readers can probably infer from my writing style and thematic preoccupations that I’m equally enthused by…

Monday, 07 October 2019 14:26

Noura’s Dream

Written by Rita Di Santo

in Films

Rita Di Santo reviews Noura's Dream After screening at the Toronto Film Festival, French-Tunisian filmmaker Hinde Boudjemaa’s Noura’s Dream had its Middle East premiere at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. The film tells the story of a working-class Tunisian woman who has an affair while her husband is…

Tuesday, 10 September 2019 18:09

The film itself is Bait

Written by Mike Quille

in Films

Class conflict, and the various ways class divisions are expressed and resolved in personal relationships, from outright violence to affection and peaceful co-existence, form the central themes of this outstandingly original new film, written and directed by Mark Jenkin. Set in a Cornish fishing village, the story is about the…

Tuesday, 10 September 2019 16:59

Elections, Coups and Tax Evaders: Venice Film Festival Wrap-up

Written by Dennis Broe

in Films

Dennis Broe files his final report from Venice Film Festival Outside, police at the Venice Film Festival massed for a climate march that saw demonstrators swarm around the red carpet demanding action on climate devastation globally – and in Venice in particular, where oversized cruise ships are destroying the lagoon.…

Tuesday, 03 September 2019 16:16

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Venice Film Festival

Written by Dennis Broe

in Films

Dennis Broe reports from the Venice Film Festival 2019 Cover-ups, exaggerated accusations, and payoffs, all in the first week of this year’s festival, and this all took place off-screen. The major story of the festival so far, and it was made a major story because of the American press especially…