An incredible, unforgettable, apocylaptic vision of war. This is one of the best horror movies ever created and a rare depiction of WW2 that actually does it justice. A few thoughts after finally watching this Soviet classic:

- The movie combines the hyperreal and the surreal. In between the long documentary-like takes and horrifyingly realistic scenes of Nazi war crimes are all kinds of random otherworldly elements with no real purpose. Tropical wildlife roaming around the forests in Belarus. Swamps…

Visual poetry that invented slow cinema.

The abstract images are truly otherworldly and create a reality that looks both medieval and futuristic, although this is set in early modern Armenian history. Every frame is a symbolic work of art. Spiritual transformations, angel wings at death. Bleeding pomegranates, symbols of fertility and rebirth. Less of a movie than a series of static folklore paintings or storybook images becoming sentient on screen.

It’s impossible to evaluate this kind of pure visual experience…

A real Christmas movie and one of the greatest romance films of all time. Things I noticed on a rewatch:

- It's been years, but I forgot how small of a story it is. Every single element, from the grand balls to the spectacular design gowns, exists only in relation to the strange pathological romance of the two protagonists.

- The way PTA misleads the viewer to think the unequal relationship of Alma and Woodcock can only end in murder,…

A haunted mind palace of a film where Angelina empties her entire soul into the role, every frame is a visually beautiful artwork, and every technical aspect is flawless, but the script is terribly paced and never really brings Maria Callas to life. Up until the emotional explosion in the final act, there’s barely any dramatic pulse at all.

This movie tries to adapt Maria’s final days as a very intimate ghost story about love and loss, but never gets…

What I expected: woman gets impregnated by motor vehicle and goes on murder rampage.

What it was: a disturbing and incredibly compelling portrait of loss, fear, alienation, trauma, gender presentation, and unconditional love. Underneath the grotesque visuals of human-machine hybrid horror, even under the heavy metaphor for sexual trauma and its shattering effects on the soul, the heart of the movie is about love. About how the deepest love can emerge from the most unlikely places and exist in countless…

A truly unique dance movie and a literal trip into Hell itself.

Ecstatic dancing, nonstop screams, throbbing dance music, hellish red light and nauseating green. Lunatic anguish and inescapable terror. Collective joy turning into frenzied madness and death. This movie is a full assault on all senses, for better or worse. The central dance sequence is a masterpiece and so hypnotic it takes a while to realize it’s a single long take. Every single element, from the dizzying camerawork to…

When is art worth dying for?

This movie is an expressionistic work of dreamy poetry above all. The fairytale plot of Victoria choosing her artistic self-destruction over her love for an ugly man is standard, but the movie's aesthetic power is stunning. The elaborate ballet choreography, the rich technicolor, the painterly scenes, the little magical flourishes - dreamlike doesn't begin to describe.

Powell and Pressburger realized that aesthetic passion is an overwhelming natural force that possesses, overcomes, and finally destroys…

Thee most beautiful movie ever made, period. First time I watched Wong's masterpiece, I felt awed and depressed afterward. Second time, I became a stan. Third time...

- Wong creates pure visual expressions of unspoken love in every scene. The way Mr. Chow glances at her going down the stairs. The way she looks at him only to quickly turn away. The way his hand twitches for just a second before going for hers. The way they can only speak…

If the expectations of society and family drive someone to mental breakdown, is the world sane?

You're expected to do your duty: make meals, take care of the kids, keep your husband happy. You act out against your duties in the simplest settings, small acts of rebellion to make people notice at play dates or at the dinner table. You're perceived as mentally deranged for being trapped while your husband is completely sane because he is a man. Nobody ever…

When an artist becomes obsessed with the idea of beauty and decides death is the only way to achieve it. Things I noticed on a rewatch of Schrader's surreal biopic of this fascist:

- Mishima's ideal of romance is captured perfectly here. His first self-insert is an angry loser who can't find any human connection in sex and destroys the golden temple because it's something beautiful outside his control. His second is an unhappy narcissist who can't fill his inner…