When a marriage lasts nearly half a century, presumably the partners have figured out a way to romp in the garden without stomping on the flowers. But because every spring blasts new growth, who can predict what seasonal surprises lurk in the soil? In the case of Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Geoff […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Son of Saul’ (2015)
December 12, 2015 by
No matter what privileges they give you, the enemy is still the enemy, an adage at the heart of Holocaust drama Son of Saul, whose protagonist must figure out how to use a benefit bestowed by his oppressor to create a personal testimony to goodness before he dies. Directed by Hungarian László Nemes, the movie […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Big Short’ (2015)
December 12, 2015 by
In the continuously expanding and contracting world of finance, fortunes are made by those able to spot markers ahead of everyone else, just like the men propelling the narrative in The Big Short. Co-written and directed by Adam McKay, and based on Michael Lewis’ non-fiction book about the meltdown in the housing market in 2008, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Revenant’ (2015)
December 4, 2015 by
Survival has always been about either vanquishing or besting one’s foes, whether they’re humans or offshoots of Nature at its most unforgiving. In The Revenant, co-written and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the protagonist must triumph over both. The ordeal is not pretty. The movie is loosely based on Michael Punke’s novel set in the […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Macbeth’ (2015)
December 3, 2015 by
Towards the end of the official Shakespearian “Macbeth,” the titular character delivers a grim assessment of “dusty death”: the candle of vitality burns but briefly, and life “struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” Director Justin Kurzel, whose Macbeth is based on the Bard’s, takes the metaphor of the stage and runs with it, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Youth’ (2015)
November 28, 2015 by
Do artists in their twilight years have a moral obligation to continue to make art? Or are they entitled to wind down the time they’ve got left by internalizing their gifts? Youth, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, grapples with this question in a visually gratifying film whose transcendent moments seem to mimic the creative […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’ (2015)
November 26, 2015 by
Amy Berg’s documentary about Janis Joplin, Janis: Little Girl Blue, doesn’t tell us whether the ‘60s R&B rocker was a serious student of astrology. But twice in the film Joplin notes she’s a Capricorn. Turns out the girl knew enough about her sun sign to aim high and not take no for an answer. However, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Creed’ (2015)
November 25, 2015 by
What could be worse than being the son of an absentee father? Try being illegitimate, and having Dad – an iconic boxer – die before you were born. Those are the sizable issues gnawing at the soul of the protagonist of Creed, the sixth sequel in the Rocky franchise. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Carol’ (2015)
November 18, 2015 by
Venus, the archetype signifying love and pleasure, is at the heart of most enduring relationships. Although same-sex unions are now increasingly embraced by the general population, they were at one time more than Venusian. They were non-mainstream-Venusian, and aligned with the Uranian archetype of uniqueness, rebellion and, for some, subversiveness. However, this notion of anarchy-in-love […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Mustang’ (2015)
November 17, 2015 by
There’s estrogen, and plenty of it, in Mustang, a film that explores the treatment of the Feminine in a coastal village in northern Turkey. Co-written and directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven, the movie creates a personal and cultural tug of war between two archetypes – Venus and Mars – culminating in a bittersweet victory. The […]
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