Xala (Senegal, 1975)

Sembene Ousmane was a remarkable filmmaker, he was responsible for the first black African film, Borom Saret (Senegal, 1963) and concluded his career with the marvellous Moolaadé (Senegal-Fr-Burkino Faso-Cameroon-Morocco-Tunisia, 2004). Xala, like Deep End, is a film I’d read about but never seen and I have to confess was slightly disappointed. Not that it isn’t an excellent [...]

Four Lions (UK, 2010)

In the current issue of Sight and Sound Chris Morris explains: ‘A bomb goes off. We tear about like headless chickens. Our dread infests the fabric. We change our laws. We restrict our freedoms. We lash out at strangers. Brilliant. Of course we long to laugh at our fears, but we don’t know how. Where’s [...]

The Bothersome Man (Den brysomme mannen, Norway-Iceland, 2006)

It will be difficult to blog about this film without spoilers… It most reminded me of Fight Club (US, 1999) in its satire on an  IKEA-built existence but while Fincher’s movie’s ‘in yer face’ this piss-take of bourgeois existence is more muted (and low budget). It effectively uses the mise en scene to present a [...]

Charley Wilson’s War (US, 2007)

To say this mess is confusing is an understatement. It ranges from a condemnation of America’s lack of reconstruction of Iraq to a celebration of childlike Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Presumably the latter is such a retro-representation of 3rd world peasants that it’s meant to be satire; read it as you will. Even if we take [...]

Shampoo (US, 1975)

Watchable satire; though it’s slightly unclear who’s the target: hippies; men (lead by their cocks); businessmen; women; politicians. Probably all. Beatty’s great as the stud without much of a brain, that organ doesn’t make the decisions. Great restaurant scene when a pissed Julie Christie tries to go down on Beatty who’s pretending it isn’t happening. [...]

Buffalo Soldiers (UK-Ger, 2001)

The release of this was scuppered by Sept 11 (not a time, apparently, to offer a satire on the military). The post-Cold War environment also disappeared on that date and we entered the ‘war of terror’ (I bet this lasts a lot longer than the Cold one) and this also undermines this film. Bored US [...]

Team America: World Police (US, 2004)

A bad film; though the vomit sequence is very funny. Satire can be great; this movie takes the piss out of both hawks and doves. However, it’s the hawks that win (or is that part of the Hollywood parody?). Where’s Bush? A bit faint-hearted not to include the leader of the war of terror. One [...]