Browse films by title with CW new film archive.

Shifting identities

Saturday Night at the Palace, written by and starring Paul Slaboslepsz (1987)

He is looking forward to returning laden with presents to his wife and two daughters back home in Newcastle for the first time in two years, and is closing up at the end of the night when two white men, punch drunk after a boisterous party, roar onto the forecourt of the diner on a bike.

A surfeit of moralising outrage

The Ghost Writer, directed by Roman Polanksi (2010)

Robin Cook’s ghost haunts the film, as the statesmanly Richard Rycart, valiantly fighting to bring the nefarious Lang to justice because, as every disappointed Labour loyalist knows, everything would have been fine if Robin Cook had stayed around government. It’s a wonder that Claire Short and Mo Mowlam don’t turn up in the film and thus complete the hagiographical halls of broken Labour dreams.

Murky Harry

Harry Brown, directed by Daniel Barber (2009)

In a sense Harry Brown is a postmodern moral fable. And it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the gritty ultra-violent and moralising revenge ethos of this film speaks to a significant number of people.

A therapeutic Odyssey

Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman (2009)

Ryan can go home to a sparse Omaha apartment but chooses not to. He lives in hotels 322 days a year spending only ‘43 miserable days at home.’ He doesn’t want a family, preferring one night stands in hotels to any relationship. His aim is the privileges that flow from becoming number seven on the list of people who have flown ten million air miles.

The theatre of the real

The Travelling Players (O Thiasos), directed by Theo Angelopoulos (1975)

The Travelling Players takes its sweet time before revealing its true nature. Nearly ninety minutes go by before a viewer will try to stop taking things on face value, and realise that the film’s drift through time (often veering back and forth in a single scene or dolly shot), and its blackout sketches, are not meant to be taken literally in any way

Tale and performance

Mouchette, directed by Robert Bresson (1967)

The camera always seems to look at its lead character’s life slightly askance, as if it was somehow recapitulating the clearly warped view of life Mouchette owns. In essence, the film called Mouchette recapitulates the point of view of its character Mouchette, which allows the viewer to both ‘feel’ a bit of the character’s warp, while also being able to step back and intellectually distance oneself and ‘understand’ the character’s warp.

A manifesto for the imagination

Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton (2010)

Naturally, the moral of Burton’s story is that freedom and imagination must triumph over conformism. As Alice’s father told her, all the best people are completely bonkers. But the moral is no less appealing for being predictable, and there are a few suprises and twists in the telling of the story.

Muslim Cinema: an introduction

With 101 must-see Muslim-themed films

An introduction to Muslim Cinema allows Muslims to take a critical reflection about their own beliefs and culture, as well as providing a window for those who are of other faiths to see who Muslims are. Where does one start?

Why can’t we all just get along?

My Name is Khan, directed by Karan Johar (2010)

While the love story is moving and there are some emotionally powerful scenes, the film’s central message is finally just banal. As a boy, Khan learns from his mother that the fighting between Hindu and Muslim is pointless and wrong since there are only two kinds of people in the world, ‘good’ people and ‘bad’ people. The only result of hatred and intolerance is, we learn, many mothers’ tears.

Embracing the inner Madonna-whore

Women, directed by Vanessa Engle, beginning on the BBC 8 March 2010

Indeed, it’s this ambiguous legacy, seen most clearly in the superficial tension between choice and moral prescription, especially around the family, which points towards a deeper lack of direction that comes through in the present day – where it seems there’s been a return to more conservative gender roles albeit updated - the ‘yummy mummy’, the WAG, even Michelle Obama is considered a sort of fashion icon.

Hamlet rewritten for Mills and Boon

Letter from an unknown woman, directed by Max Ophüls (1948)

Theses have been written about how subversive she is as a character, how her refusal to adopt a conventional role as either seductress or respectable wife is a kind of revolt against social expectations. But if you had a friend who behaved as Lisa does, you would start with a serious talking-to and work your way towards having her sectioned.

A disarming perspective on war

The Burmese Harp , directed by Kon Ichikawa (1956)

This film, while political, is not a slice of realism. It has symbolism and allegory throughout. British racism, as example, towards natives and Indians, is never shown, but it existed. Ichikawa’s aim was to clearly demonstrate the quest for humanity, embodied in Mizushima, but aimed at the viewers.

Film and social change

An exploration of film and social change, along with a personal top 101 films that inspire social change

Films use allegory through symbolic representation to convey a meaning other than the literal. In Charlie Chaplin films, the literal is the story of a tramp and the comedy arising from everyday events. The allegorical is the reflection on the times from the effects of automation to the class difference between rich and poor in films like Modern Times

Is anyone in charge any more?

In Treatment, Season 1, HBO

When it comes to relationship problems, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. The clash is made stark between a traditional institution like marriage, based on taken-for-granted expectations and obligations, and a therapy culture based on constant reflection and the quest for individual self-realisation.

The man who almost wasn’t

Garbo: the man who saved the world, directed by Edmon Roch (2009)

Whatever the true reasons may be, Juan Pujol walked away from a comfortable life in a neutral country, and, acting entirely on his own, for no discernable personal motive, and certainly without being asked, convinced German military intelligence that he was not only anxious to hasten the Axis victory in Europe, but also in a position to do so.