There’s no doubt that Michael Mann is true auteur though he specializes in thrillers and action films. Even before considering the plot or the themes, the use of colors to give every scene an overt emotional tone and the pulse-pounding music makes this film distinctively his. Manhunter is one of those films that was underappreciated at the time of its release but its reputation improved over time.

Like people, most films have a clear nationality. Even when a director works outside of his or her country of origin, the resulting film usually still tilts clearly one way or another. Oh Lucy! is a rare exception, being a film that has both Japanese and American characteristics. Appropriately enough its director and writer Atsuko Hirayanagi is a Japanese who studied in and lives in the US and this is her debut directorial feature, being itself an expansion of an earlier short film.

We’ve hardly watched any Danish films at all and this time we’re plumbing the depths of cinematic history for this very old film. What’s especially interesting is that this was made during the Nazi Germany occupation of Denmark and so the austere society depicted here can be interpreted as a kind of indictment against totalitarian rule. It’s also great how this film offers a very ambiguous morality that could really be read either way.

At the time of writing, my wife and I have just returned from a longish trip to Turkey so this is just some light watching while we recover. No one can fail to know about Dumbo the Flying Elephant but I don’t believe I’ve ever watched the original animated film. Still from what I know this update is very different and though it closely tracks the familiar arc of animal rescue genre, I think it may actually be superior to the more simplistic original.

This Hong Kong film made waves for its bold take on transgender issues. It was the debut feature of its director and writer Jun Li and stars multiple well known Hong Kong performers. Unfortunately while I can’t fault its courage I do question its authenticity as it presents a scenario that is just a little too neat to feel quite real.

Get Out was one of my favorite films in the year of its release, being a wonderfully fresh take on the horror genre. As such I had high hopes for this newer, more expensively made film. Unfortunately while this one does have some great moments early on, its central theme is weak stuff and on the whole is a far inferior film.

Here’s a South Korean film from a director, Lee Su-jin, whose work we’ve never seen before and is in fact his directorial debut. This one is somewhat difficult to judge as it plays up the mystery of what it’s actually about and keeps it up right until the end. Yet since it was based on real events in South Korea, the public could not have not known what it’s about. How this affects domestic audiences and international ones would therefore be very different as the former would instantly recognize what is being referenced while the latter would be genuinely mystified just as we were.