UGLY MUG 5
An eye-popping volume that marks the return (after three decades) of UGLY MUG, an anthology series put out by the London based House of Harley
SWEETIE
Those who doubt the truth of Jean-Luc Godard’s claim that Jane Campion “was better when she had no money” need only check out her debut feature SWEETIE
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE
A surrealist prank of a movie from the incomparable Luis Buñuel
On THE SWIMMER
“DEATH OF A SALESMAN in swimming trunks” is how Burt Lancaster described his 1968 starring vehicle THE SWIMMER
HEAD-TO-TOE PORTRAIT OF SUZANNE
An unspeakably demented concoction that could only have been dreamed up by France’s late Roland Topor
TV Flashback: TÉLÉCHAT
A show that spoofed TV newscasts via a surreal universe of animal newsreaders and sentient objects, warping an entire generation of French youngsters
TOPOR AND ME
The only film ever directed by the Dutch actress/artist Sylvia Kristel, and a skilled enough piece of work to make one regret that she didn’t helm anything else
MAGIC MIRROR
A worthy, if frustratingly little known, addition to the underground comics scene
A PRAYER FOR HETMAN MAZEPA
With the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine exploding, I say it’s an opportune time to revisit this 2002 feature, which offers a most unorthodox treatment of the skirmish
KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN
Animated madness from 2020 Poland that may or may not have something to say about that country’s political situation