Monthly Archives: May, 2011

Both by design and by accident, The Misfits is a remarkably prescient farewell to an era. Huston’s intent was to chronicle the death rattles of the American cowboy tradition; the demise of rugged individualism in a modern world that rewarded conformity and commerce. The adventurous riders of the western plains were being corralled by the material pressures of consumerism; their free spirits permanently altered by the crushing need to draw steady paychecks in a new, commodity based, reality.

"Her framing is so tight because she doesn’t want to step back and acknowledge the looming emptiness of her endeavour. She is like a puzzle assembler so focused on each separate piece that she never raises up to see that the big picture is a big blank."

Argentinean Natalia Smirnoff's Formulaic “woman’s pic” Puzzling To Say the Least

A graduate in Film Direction at Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Brazilian born Ricardo Alves Júnior's first short movie "Material Bruto" (Raw material), received over 10 awards at international festivals, and his second film, "Convite para jantar com camarada Stalin" won the award for Best Experimental Short Film at the International Short Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro; Best Short Film, Best Director and Best Photography at the 40th Film Festival of Brasilia, plus Special Mention "Film of Tomorrow" at the International Festival of Short Films, in Belo Horizonte. This May, Ricardo's 32-minute film "Permanences", was an official selection at Cannes Critic’s Week. Here is our interview with the filmmaker.

"Because Muntean refrains from taking a moral stance and is more curious about what a cerebral, adulterous behaviour looks and feels like, it is in the poignant announcement sequence that is the cherry of the film -- we are treated to a long take that culminates in years of one's life lost in one snap statement."