Skip to content

“On the Waterfront”: doubts and reflections

After watching ‘On the Waterfront’ this afternoon for the first time in ages, I was struck by the film’s mix of strengths and weaknesses, but most of all, I have to say, by the severity of the latter. Brando’s subtle, supple embodiment of the protagonist is legendary for good reasons, and the surrounding performances justify… Read more

Self-effacing truth-teller

Red Pepper, October 2005 It’s strange that a media obsessed with Brit winners managed to overlook a major success by a British filmmaker at this year’s Cannes festival: Kim Longinotto’s prize-winning documentary, Sisters in Law. Perhaps it’s because Longinotto’s quietly unsensational portrait of African women struggling for self-determination defies received notions about both women and… Read more

Epics of resistance – Bollywood and Hollywood

Level Playing Field The Hindu, 21 August The British opening of Aamir Khan’s ‘The Rising’ was a low-key affair. In fact, there were a grand total of seven of us sitting in the darkness at the first-day screening in my local north London cinema. Yes, it’s easily the biggest ever UK opening for a Bollywood… Read more

Jenin Jenin

Red Pepper, July 2004 “I didn’t plan to make the film. I’m not a director, I’m an actor,” says Mohammad Bakri, describing the genesis of Jenin Jenin. “The story was like this. I was standing with a colleague of mine, an actress, with a group of Arab and Jewish demonstrators at Jenin checkpoint. It was… Read more