There are many words one can use to describe Yukio Mishima. On one side, you’ll have people calling him a patriot, a traditionalist, and a hero. Others will also call him a fanatic, lunatic, and a fascist. Being one of the most prolific Japanese authors of the post-WWII days, it’s hard to get a clear reading on what exactly did Mishima himself stood for through his life, given the fact that he also represented the defiance of taboos while sticking…

Here is a film that understands the real cost of pride during wartime, coming from a nation who suffered massive losses during World War II. Kon Ichikawa’s The Burmese Harp is a film which seeks to ask difficult questions from those watching, especially in light of the wounds carried following the defeat of the Japanese Army. What will it take for such a nation to bite its own pride, and accept that they’ve lost? This lingering sadness is key to…

Maybe the single most audacious porn film that I've seen in some time. At the very least, I feel sure about this because I don't know any other porn film that approaches the idea of intimacy being a means of collecting data on the population. Everything about I.K.U. feels incredibly visceral, with how closely Shu Lea Cheang brings you to the sexual acts as they're being performed. It's blunt, but it reflects the extent to which human surveillance can be…

35mm print

Not many guns present in a film called Men with Guns, but you're also feeling them looming around. Couldn't help but find myself completely taken in with how Sayles observes the lingering shadows of colonialism across the Americas. That he doesn't explicitly name the country where this film takes place only emphasizes this point all the more: we're seeing Indigenous populations who have been terrorized by men with guns as an entity, or a boogeyman of sorts. We're…