The films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne all depict characters arriving at forked paths, having to choose between apprenticeship and rebellion, the promise of stability and growth within a predetermined system and a certain feral, almost instinctual resistance to the social and economic contradictions of rural living. No matter the narrative or milieu, both experiences reveal contrasting forms of survival with wildly different consequences and outcomes. This tense thematic dichotomy bleeds through the Dardenne brothers’ stifling handheld camera aesthetic, one where off-screen sound and jarring physical movement strictly defines the borders of the modern world. Ultimately, their films delicately balance chaos and order, unspoken tenuousness and silent expression.
Category Archives for Films: 1990’s
Hard Boiled (Woo, 1992)
Wild Bill (Hill, 1995)
What Happened Was… (Noonan, 1994)
Another retro piece for The L Magazine: Tom Noonan’s beguiling, strange, and amazing character study What Happened Was…
Event Horizon (Anderson, 1997)
Not Coming‘s most excellent series “31 Days of Horror” came to a close a few days back with my essay on Paul W. S. Anderson’s insane genre mashup Event Horizon.
Meshes #3: Les Vampires and Irma Vep
After a month of prep, film viewing, writing, and editing, this monster “Meshes” piece on all things Irma has finally gone up at Fandor. Thanks to my editor, Kevin B. Lee, for all his help throughout the process.
Topsy Turvy (Leigh, 1999)
The Criterion Collection’s recent release of Topsy Turvy allowed me to revisit Mike Leigh’s film for the first time in a decade over at GreenCine. I’m amazed at how seamlessly the narrative jumps from character to character, texture to texture, sometimes traversing days and months in a single edit. This is the rare epic period piece that doesn’t feel long at all, and it will definitely get better with age.
MATCH CUTS 