It feels like Daniel Kaluuya is in all of the good black American films these days. Not bad for a guy who isn’t even American but this is most certainly an excellent film. I don’t think director Shaka King has done much else of note on the big screen but this is a very impressive, well-rounded biographical drama. Though it is about events in the late 1960s it feels highly relevant today and it seems like the right time to reexamine American’s historical perception of the Black Panthers. I have no particular knowledge of this history but from what I can tell, shocking as this account is, it all seems broadly true.

So this was the media phenomenon of last year when even our niece came up to us to rave about how great this film is. Due to pandemic conditions it was even the highest grossing film of the year globally. But watching this necessitates actually sitting through the television show itself first which took a while. Overall I have not impressed as this is very much a standard shōnen show made for a younger audience. It may be well be the best shōnen around at the moment but it never aspires to anything more than that and I see nothing outstanding in it at all.

Following up on the amazing First Cow which we both absolutely loved, here is an older film by the same director Kelly Reichardt and also set in Oregon. This is an even more minimalist film with basically just the two characters, plus a dog to liven things up a little. Not much happens here and really not that much dialogue either. Yet there is so much understated meaning in between these lines that you can sense how much effort has been put in crafting. Reichardt really is my favorite cinematic discovery this year and I sure as heck am putting more of her work on my list

I honestly can’t remember why I even added this to my to watch list and indeed this isn’t that well known a film. For a long while as I was watching it, I kept thinking, yes, this is all very nice but what is this film actually about? Yet just as the town grows on the main characters without them really realizing it, this film grows on the audience. It’s a very subtle film and even the humor is low-key but by the end, I am convinced that this is a truly delightful gem.

The premise of this film by Henri-Georges Clouzot sounded promising to me as the story about a town being torn apart by malicious rumors and misinformation seemed especially apt for the Internet era. Unfortunately the film is only shallowly committed to this theme and is more interested in the hunt for the writer of the poison pen letters, making it feel more like a murder mystery film. Ironically the backstory of the film itself parallels the story in a way as this was made by a German production company while French was under German occupation during the Second World War. Both Clouzot and the lead actor Pierre Fresnay got into a great deal for trouble for making it as rumors were spread about this film attacking the French people as a whole.

I’ve watched so many films in so many languages from so many countries but rarely has one felt as alien as this one during its opening scenes with its sputtering outbursts of “War starts at midnight!” It’s the combination of the familiar with the utterly absurd of course and this is only one of many reasons why this is such a brilliant film. This has been called the greatest British film of all time and you can tell why because the central theme of the film is really Englishness itself. I understand that the character of Colonel Blimp originated in comic strips as an object of mockery but this version is actually very sympathetic and lovable.

Rags to riches stories are a dime a dozen but this one stands out for being so unapologetically dark. Adapted from the novel that won the Man Booker, the conception of this film makes for a fascinating story as well. The novel’s author chose Adarsh Gourav, a college friend, to direct it, famous actress Priyanka Chopra asked to be involved after reading about the production on Twitter and the lead role was given to a relatively unknown actor Adarsh Gourav. This is not a subtle film and it is plot-driven rather than character-driven but it is undeniably effective at rousing your emotions against the injustice you see in it.