Vigour of Film Lines

Detailed and thoughtful film analysis, unique film lists, original perspective on cinema's greatest auteurs

  • Author’s Personal Writings
  • Cinema of the World
  • In the Words of the Director
  • Film Lists
  • Contact

  • December 12, 2019

    5 Japanese Movies Filmed in the Spirit of Junichirō Tanizaki’s Beautiful Essay “In Praise of Shadows”

    5 Japanese Movies Filmed in the Spirit of Junichirō  Tanizaki’s Beautiful Essay “In Praise of Shadows”

    In a 1951 letter to his editor, while explaining his Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien writes: “As far as all this has symbolical or allegorical significance, Light is such a primeval symbol in the nature of the Universe, that it can hardly be analysed. The Light of Valinor (derived from light before any fall) is the light […]

  • November 29, 2019

    The Rule of Law’s Absence in “The Mandalorian” – Chapters I-III

    The Rule of Law’s Absence in “The Mandalorian” – Chapters I-III

    The Mandalorian takes place some time after the fall of the Empire, in the outer reaches of the galaxy, which evades the authority of the New Republic. As we witness the beginning of the show, we see the setting similar to that of a western movie. A bar with thugs, and the hero, the Mandalorian […]

  • November 27, 2019

    Silence (Martin Scorsese, 2016) “The Dark Night of the Soul”

    Silence (Martin Scorsese, 2016) “The Dark Night of the Soul”

    Earlier this year, I wrote an article about this very film, “Last Breaths of Christendom in the Land of the Rising Son”, emphasizing the role of the Japanese state (Tokugawa Shogunate) and the Hobbesian reading which implies that the state proscribes the teachings and religions practiced by the populace; in this case the state religion […]

  • November 12, 2019

    In Martin Scorsese’s Words: Cinema and Spirituality

    In Martin Scorsese’s Words: Cinema and Spirituality

      When we talk about personal expression I’m often reminded of [Elia] Kazan’s film America America – the story of his uncle’s journey from Anitolia to America; the story of so many immigrants who came to this country from a very, very foreign land. I kind of identified with it and was very moved by it. Actually, […]

  • November 8, 2019

    Freedom or Security? – MCU’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

    Freedom or Security? – MCU’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

    Chris Evans, the actor who impersonated Captain America, said the following words regarding his character’s transition from the WWII era to the modern day: “It’s not so much about his shock with [technology]… It’s more about the societal differences. He’s gone from the ’40s to today; he comes from a world where people were a […]

  • October 23, 2019

    5 Films Inspired By the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Red Riding Hood)

    5 Films Inspired By the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Red Riding Hood)

    For the second part of the list dealing with the films based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, with a focus on the fairy tale Red Riding Hood, I chose a Japanese animated film “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade” and a surrealist Czechoslovakian film “Valerie and Her Week of Wonders”, films which deal with this fairy tale in an extraordinary way…

  • October 21, 2019

    5 Films Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Sleeping Beauty & Snow White)

    5 Films Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Sleeping Beauty & Snow White)

    Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales are now part of our collective imagination (I will not use Jung’s term “collective unconscious” since it is a bit problematic). Isabel dos Santos, the author of the article about Brothers Grimm “Reluctant Romantics”, writes: “Throughout the entire world, fairy tales have for generations played a significant part in children’s upbringing […]

  • October 6, 2019

    The Advent of “Joker” – A Pathological Struggle for Recognition

    The Advent of “Joker” – A Pathological Struggle for Recognition

    Editor’s Note: Since the film is in the cinemas at the moment while I am writing this article, I will not reveal any details about the film’s plot, and I will certainly not write a value judgment of the film. Whether the film is enjoyable or not in the final verdict is a matter of […]

  • September 28, 2019

    In Paul Verhoeven’s Words: A Leap into the Unknown

    In Paul Verhoeven’s Words: A Leap into the Unknown

    Verhoeven compared making RoboCop with making Elle and once said that the experience was a “leap into the unknown”. He elaborates it in an interview: So you go to an unknown part of the world where you don’t know the people, and that’s frightening. But also, at the same time, if you do it, it turns […]

  • June 14, 2019

    Dionysiac Union with Art in Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”

    Dionysiac Union with Art in Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”

    Aronofsky’s Black Swan follows the ballet dancer Nina, who gets a part in the production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. She is fragile, innocent, fearful and pure, but lacks the feel for playing the Black Swan, while she is a perfect cast for the White Swan. In the performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, the same ballerina sometimes […]

←Previous Page
1 2 3 4 5 6 … 9
Next Page→
About

Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions

Subscribe

Contact

Work with me

Services

Blog at WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    • Follow Following
      • Vigour of Film Lines
      • Join 211 other followers
      • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
      • Vigour of Film Lines
      • Edit Site
      • Follow Following
      • Sign up
      • Log in
      • Report this content
      • View site in Reader
      • Manage subscriptions
      • Collapse this bar