Author Archives: cynephilia
“Two Days, One Night” (“Deux Jours, Une Nuit”) directed by the Dardenne Bros. (Belgium)
review written by Cynthia Webb The compassionate eyes of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne see the real world of ordinary people with great clarity. They see humanity’s dignity and courage, but do not fail to notice streaks of selfishness, weakness, meanness. … Continue reading
BIRDMAN (2014) directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
BIRDMAN (2014) directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Oh, the tragic emptiness of modern lives! Self obsessed, insecure, needy for attention, recognition. What has modern society become? It all seems so hollow, so meaningless. That’s the picture painted by Alejandro Gonzalez … Continue reading
“Mr Turner” (2014) Directed by Mike Leigh, (UK)
“Mr Turner” (2014) – a richly rewarding biography of a great British painter Directed by Mike Leigh “Mr Turner” is a fascinating film which the director Mike Leigh dreamed of making for about fifteen years. We see the latter years … Continue reading
“Beatriz’s War” (East Timor’s first feature film) 2014, 101 mins), directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto
It seems necessary to mention that the plot-line in the second half of the film “Beatriz’s War” is inspired by the 1982 French film, starring Gerard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye – “The Return of Martin Guerre”. Audiences watching who’ve seen … Continue reading
“THEEB” written and directed by Naji Abu Nowar
“THEEB” (Wolf) directed and written by Naji Abu Nowar (Jordan, Qatar, UAE, UK) A Bedouin boy’s coming of age This first feature film by the director, tells the story of a young boy’s awakening to the dangers and treachery in … Continue reading
Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival, 2014
(PHOTO: The Nominees on stage at APSA 2013 Ceremony, City Hall, Brisbane. Photo by Cynthia Webb) The former Brisbane International Film Festival, has a new identity. It’s been linked to the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), so that the two … Continue reading
BRANDO – his legend will never die
Image: Marlon Brando, in “One Eyed Jacks”, directed by him in 1961. Marlon Brando – an extraordinary life Cynthia Webb, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia Some famous people become such legendary figures that we forget that they are only ordinary people, … Continue reading
OPERA JAWA by Garin Nugroho (2006)
“OPERA JAWA” Garin Nugroho, the director of the feature film “Opera Jawa” says that for him it is “not only a film, but a library”, meaning that it is a valuable historical record of Javanese culture, both ancient and modern. … Continue reading
Music and the Cinema – Marriage of the Century
Music and the Cinema, Marriage of the Century? Can you imagine “Star Wars” without John Williams’ rousing theme music? Can you imagine “Lawrence of Arabia” without the inspiring theme music by Maurice Jarre? Film soundtracks are incredibly eloquent, and can … Continue reading
DOUGLAS KIRKLAND: A LIFE IN PICTURES Cynthia Webb, Brisbane, QLD., Australia Several years ago, I attended a discussion with Douglas Kirkland, at the Gallery of Modern Art, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where there was an … Continue reading
“Match Point” by Woody Allen – another visit to Woody’s 2005 drama,, prompted by “Blue Jasmine”.
If you want something to think about revisit ‘MATCH POINT’ directed by Woody Allen Cynthia Webb, Gold Coast, Australia Woody Allen returned to his best form, with “Match point” (2005). I loved “Blue Jasmine” – especially the … Continue reading
“PURE” directed by Lisa Langseth (“Till det som ar Vackert”)
“PURE” (“Till det som ar Vackert”) directed by Lisa Langseth (her debut film) – released in Sweden, October 2010 On16 Feb. 2014 TV SBS 2 (Australia) showed “PURE”, starring Alicia Vikander, as Katarina and Samuel Froler as Adam. The … Continue reading
Christine Hakim – Follows the signposts on the road of life The matter of “identity” has been on Christine Hakim’s mind for most of her life. In her most famous role as Tjoet Nja Dhien, she played a woman who … Continue reading
Anthony Chen and the film that took over his life
When I interviewed Anthony Chen, (29 years old) from Singapore, he came across as a young man inspired, despite struggling with jetlag, induced by months of world-wide travel.Since his film “Ilo Ilo” had it’s premiere at Cannes and went on … Continue reading
OMAR
OMAR (Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, 2013) Omar is a young Palestinian man.. who works as a baker, (played by Adam Bakrie – a brilliant performance). He and his two childhood friends, Tarek and Amjad, are involved in what the Israelis … Continue reading
The Great Beauty (review by Cynthia Webb)
Paolo Sorrentino certainly understood that film-goers and writers and would link this film to “La Dolce Vita” (Fellini) and “La Notte” (Antonioni). There is also a touch of Visconti. He has given us the 21st Century version. We meet the … Continue reading
The brilliance of Asghar Farhadi, (Iran)
On February 6th, Asghar Farhadi’s latest film, “The Past” will be screening in selected cinemas around Australia. It has taken a long time to reach our shores, but we must be thankful that it’s getting distribution at all, considering the … Continue reading
“Mystery Road” directed by Ivan Sen
This excellent 2013 film was shown on ABC TV tonight (Australia wide), a perfect choice to commemorate Australia Day (26th January) because it’s directed by Ivan Sen ( indigenous Australian) and stars Aaron Pedersen ( also an indigenous Australian). Both … Continue reading
Simon Yam and Cyn
It was my privilege to meet Simon Yam, a legendary actor of Hong Kong, and a very modest and nice person. Of his huge number of films – many were directed by Johnny To, to whom he credited a lot … Continue reading
The first day of my cinema blog — commenced on Australia Day, 2014.
The story of a cinephile, named Cynthia Webb Add Media My addiction to Cinema began when my mother took me to see “Salome” starring Rita Hayworth. She wanted to see it, so she just HAD to take me along – … Continue reading
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