Film Inquiry’s Best Articles Of August 2016

Hello! It’s September! That means we’re due for another round-up of our best articles of the last month. We published a record number of articles in August and many new writers joined us, which is amazing! Welcome everyone!

We published a bunch of interviews, with Kate Kaminski (here) and John Carchietta (here). We published many reviews, among them Ben-Hur, Chevalier, Kubo & The Two Strings, Lo & Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World, Chicken and The Duel. We discussed book adaptations, the use of pop songs in mediocre movies, American poverty in film, and the quality of women-led blockbusters. And so, so much more. It was a great month.

We also published a book on film analysis (find it for $5 on #ShortFilmaDay Challenge that started on September 1, you can still join in any time!

In case you missed the articles last month, here are our favourite articles of August 2016, in no particular order!

Autonomy Of Androids: The Male Gaze In Science Fiction

Attitudes about the male gaze have been present in science fiction cinema for years, especially relating to the identity of female robots. This includes the objectification of these characters and the loss of their autonomy, which reflects real life attitudes towards women. Many films have been made to show the dangers of viewing women as objects, yet we still see the male gaze in motion pictures every day. We see women being treated solely as a fantasy for male characters, in and out of the genre on which this article focuses. […]

Read the rest of Amanda Mazzillo‘s article here.

The Value Of Community In Filmmaking: Filming DEAD CERTAIN

We shot Dead Certain in the French Alps during seventeen intense days in the winter of 2014. A post-epidemic thriller, we wanted the film to feel desolate and lonely. The quaint town of Monnetier-Mornex offered a perfect setting: an eerily empty town with the vast Alps as a backdrop. Or so it seemed. […]

Read the rest of this article submitted by Hendrik Faller & Katrina Scott here.

PARCHED: A Story Of Freedom And Friendship

In the beautiful desert landscape of Gujarat, India, director Leena Yadav introduces us to a world of friendship, suffering and heartbreak within a story of four women, trying their best to overcome their individual struggles.

Parched explores the ideas of tradition, culture and misogyny in the heart of rural India but with a compelling characters and strong friendships that feel universal to us all. […]

Read the rest of Becky Kukla’s review here.

The Beginner’s Guide: Film Noir

You probably already know what you’ll see in a film noir. Guys who talk out of the sides of their mouths, calling women “broads” and “dames.” Detectives, crime, forbidden love, doomed lives.

By the start of WWII, American films were no longer being imported into Europe. After a steady diet of Hollywood talkies and musicals, France (in particular) was cut off. And when the war ended they binged on all the movies they’d missed over the past few years. […]

Read the rest of Meaghan Gerard‘s article here.

Enter The Soldier’s Mind: Visions Of PTSD In TAXI DRIVER & DISORDER

Taxi Driver and Disorder are thematically close, especially considering the violence involved, although Scorsese’s film is decidedly more bloody. What makes them wonderfully different is how both directors present the material in a way that speaks to the generations in which they were made. […]

Read the rest of C.H. Newell’s article here.

“I Love The Art Of Conversation” – An Interview With POSTHUMOUS Director Lulu Wang

Lulu Wang (about the art in her film Posthumous):  It was a pretty crazy process. One of our co-producers initially hired an art consultant and a real artist. They gave me this huge lecture about how it was important to feature “real art” in the movie, in order to be considered “authentic.” The problem was that a real artist didn’t want to be told what to create or how to create it.

Read our inteview with Lulu Wang here.

MUSTANG & Sister Solidarity In Modern-Day Turkey

The banding together of women in transition is a natural process, especially when their collective goal is to counter a patriarchal force. We see this, “us against them,” separatist mentality in films like Thelma and Louise, Fried Green Tomatoes, and even Kill Bill. But the narrative behind Mustang is a bit darker and more historically conscious. […]

Read the rest of Sophie Cowley‘s article here.

ANTHROPOID: Martyrdom At The Heart Of War

When it comes to World War II, there is never a shortage of stories that are needed and are waiting to be told. Anthropoid is one of these stories. The film begins with an introduction to the true events that have led up to the assassination of a high-ranking Nazi official to be rendered a necessary means in a time of war. […]

Read the rest of Stephanie Archer‘s review here.

The Beginner’s Guide: Sofia Coppola, Director

It seems strange that a body of work which has largely focused on the female experience without pontificating, should prove to be so contentious. And yet, Sofia Coppola’s viewers seem to fall largely within two extremes: the devoted and the apathetic. […]

Read the rest of Siobhan Denton‘s article here.

Beyond The BOOM Pt. 1: Storytelling With Sound In MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Thanks to modern advances in sound recording and projection, modern action filmmakers are now putting sound to better use in storytelling than ever before. In this series, we’ll look at three modern films in the action genre with an eye (or, I suppose, an ear) for how each uses sound to communicate with the audience: George Miller’s acclaimed reboot Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Kathryn Bigelow’s award-winning war film The Hurt Locker (2008), and Paul Greengrass’ comeback sequel Jason Bourne (2016). […]

Read the rest of Joseph Klingman‘s article here.

What were your favourite articles this month? Let us know in the comments, and we’d also love to hear it if you have any suggestions.