As a send-up of the postmodern discourse about art, The Plagiarists is hilariously successful. But as a work of art in itself, it feels uninviting and closed off, insulated by its own convictions.
Category: berlinale 2019
delight and delusion: berlin critics’ week
At this year’s Berlin Critics’ Week, I was invited as a guest speaker for the post-screening debate on Kostas Samaras’ MAGIC SKIN.
berlinale dispatch: filming the objects of memory
At this year’s Berlinale, a number of films contend with questions of the archive.
berlinale dispatch: phantoms of cinema past
A poignant tribute to the resilience of cinephilia, TALKING ABOUT TREES chronicles the efforts of a group of retired Sudanese filmmakers to revive a defunct cinema.
berlinale dispatch: detours in the steppe
In the haunting opening sequence of Wang Quan’an’s ÖNDÖG, a car stumbles upon a dead woman in the heart of the Mongolian steppe, its headlights eerily illuminating her naked body.
notes from the in-between: an indian critic in the states
The transatlantic move between two incredibly robust film cultures has deeply influenced my foray into criticism.
