By living exclusively for the present, we let ourselves be hemmed in by an ocean of death. By reviving the past, we enlarge our living space
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filmopenDemocracy sees films differently: pioneering the mini-essay cine-crit, we offer in-depth and lateral criticism of films and the cultures they emerge from.
"Gomorrah", a fearless anatomy of Napoli's mafia, also exposes the new face of global crime
The Dark Knight offers - via Slavoj Zizek - a bleak insight into democracy's post-9/11 moral void
The passing of a great filmmaker of Alexandria and Egypt casts light on his country’s journey
Cristian Mungiu makes humane, engaging art from
the bleakness of a young woman's illegal abortion
The homecoming of an exiled militant is the beginning of a new journey
The great director was at the heart of Sweden's cultural life for sixty years, but it was a conflictual as well as intimate bond
The great Swedish filmmaker made art that speaks profoundly to the truth of ourselves
"The Lives of Others" depicts a world of paranoia and foreboding, but this is no ordinary cold war thriller. The compelling exploration of the "dark side" of Communist East Germany sets this film apart, says Steve Crawshaw. Read the rest of this post...
Rachel Rawlins talks to director Abderrahmane Sissako about his new film Bamako, the IMF, the World Bank and relationships. Read the rest of this post...
Clint Eastwood's film "Letters from Iwo Jima" finds the humanity behind
the brutality of war, thus honouring the past and opening hearts in the
present, says Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, author of "Kamikaze Diaries".
Robert Altman's last film, A Prairie Home Companion is a beautiful farewell to life and art, writes Maggie Gee Read the rest of this post...
Sylvester Stallone's sixth instalment in the "Rocky" franchise about a washed-up palooka-cum-hero may be a movie driven by cartoon logic, but it is also a masterful exercise in nostalgia and American redemption, says Kasia Boddy. Read the rest of this post...
Babel’s emotional and visual pleasures should not blind us to the simpler story told by the gift of the gun, says novelist Maggie Gee. Read the rest of this post...
Forest Whitaker's superb performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin cannot redeem a hollow film that washes whiter a complex reality, says Stephen Howe. Read the rest of this post...
Mel Gibson's Mayan blockbuster is an imperialist Christian dream but otherwise an historical and cultural nightmare, says Kanishk Tharoor. Read the rest of this post...
openDemocracy's Richard Young talks to David Leaf, writer and director of "John Lennon vs the US", a film about the Nixon administration's attempts to silence Lennon's anti-war message. Read the rest of this post...
As Sacha Baron Cohen's provocative film hits cinemas worldwide, Kasia Boddy asks who has done the most "cultural learning", Kazakhstan or America? Read the rest of this post...
Nick Broomfield's powerful docudrama uncovers the ghosts of poverty, corruption and racism that haunt British migrant workers. Read the rest of this post...
A new French film that exposes amnesia about the colonial subjects who fought for France against Nazism in the second world war has profound contemporary resonance, says Patrice de Beer.
The real target of Stephen Frears's depiction of a British queen under siege from politicians and people following Princess Diana's death is the constitutional system embodied in Tony Blair's imperial prime ministership. Tom Nairn, pioneering critic of Britain's monarchical state, views the film and looks beyond. Read the rest of this post...
openDemocracy’s Mark Hanrahan talks to Chris Gorak, director of "Right At Your Door", a film about the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Los Angeles. Read the rest of this post...
The Kinotavr film festival in the Black Sea resort of Sochi makes clear to Zygmunt Dzieciolowski that Russia's resurgent cinema is attracting close attention from the country's political overlords. Read the rest of this post...
When an acclaimed, leftist English director makes a film about nationalist Irish struggles – and wins the top prize at the Cannes festival – controversy is inevitable. The historian Stephen Howe looks behind the shouting to ask: is the film truthful? Read the rest of this post...
Robert McGann’s film about the "war on terror" is that rare breed of documentary that resists political agenda, writes Rob Cawston, but how effectively does it tackle the bigger picture? Read the rest of this post...
In just a few days time, on 11 June, Iran officially begins its 2006 German World Cup adventure. If they triumph and proceed to the knock-out stages, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself, has suggested that he would show his support by coming over and watching them play live – a move which has been cautiously frowned upon by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Would Ahmadinejad be banned from attending the World Cup? Read the rest of this post...
Fresh from London's Palestine Film Festival, Saeed Taji Farouky relives the laughter amid the darkness and reveals humour's precious, humanising power. Read the rest of this post...
Dismissed as propaganda by its critics, the "Wal-Mart" documentary has nonetheless captivated audiences with its devastating expose of the mega US retailer. Conn Corrigan talks to the film's director Robert Greenwald. Read the rest of this post...
"Paradise Now", the controversial Oscar-nominated film is an insightful and, at times, surprising portrait of two Palestinian suicide bombers. But does its political message go far enough, asks Jane Kinninmont. Read the rest of this post...
In trying to bring the complex subject of Rwanda's 1994 genocide to western audiences, does the film Shooting Dogs stray too far from the Rwandan experience? Duncan Woodside defends the filmmakers. Read the rest of this post...
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