Author Archives: Brannavan Gnanalingam
Jim Marbrook on Mental Notes
At the World Cinema Showcase, acknowledging New Zealand’s atrocious history in mental health care through documentary and testimony.
Music Round-up: Bon Iver, Death Cab for Cutie, First Aid Kit
At the New Zealand International Arts Festival, three headline indie acts.
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Previously at the Wellington Film Society: Joan Crawford as James M. Cain’s desperate housewife.
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WCS 2012: Under African Skies
At the World Cinema Showcase, Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ is both celebrated and scrutinized.
The Life and Times of Germaine Greer
At the New Zealand International Arts Festival,
The Skin I Live In (2011)
Previously at the Wellington Film Society: Almodóvar’s dark days.
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Eleanor Catton on The Rehearsal
The New Zealand-raised writer talks about the success of her first novel and her forthcoming new work, The Luminaries.
Hamish Clayton on Wulf
Inside the author’s remarkable first novel on 19th century New Zealand, the country’s early explorers, and Te Rauparaha’s conquering of Kapiti Island.
Die Mitte (The Centre, 2003);
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
This week at the Wellington Film Society: The heart of Europe; Lubitsch’s touch.
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Pia Marais on At Ellen’s Age
The director of The Unpolished confronts the dilemmas of ageing and belonging in her unpredictable new film.
The Story of Me (2009)
This week at the Wellington Film Society: Brazil in the spotlight.
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The Woman with the Five Elephants (2009)
This week at the Wellington Film Society: The weight of history; the power of language.
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Fraught Families: Elena, A Separation
At the New Zealand International Film Festival: Duty, morality, and class intersect.
Sexuality and Speed:
Sleeping Beauty, Senna
At the New Zealand International Film Festival: Julia Leigh’s erroneously marketed “erotic thriller”; plus, Ayrton Senna’s fast times.
The Remembrance of Things Past:
Mysteries of Lisbon
At the New Zealand International Film Festival: Raúl Ruiz’s sprawling, magisterial epic.
Ti West on The Innkeepers
The director of The House of the Devil continues to finesse the horror genre with his latest throwback.
Calypso Kings: Fire in Babylon
At the New Zealand International Film Festival: The Windies' blaze of glory.
Morgan Spurlock on
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
The affable documentarian famous for an all-McDonald’s diet turns his attention to the world of product placement in movies.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Viva Riva!
At the New Zealand International Film Festival: Gangsters and floozies in the Congolese Republic.
Wake in Fright (1971)