Or (My Treasure) – Israel, 2004
Head over to Fandor to watch this incredible Israeli film. You’ll need a membership ($10 per month) to view it, but it’s worth it.

Head over to Fandor to watch this incredible Israeli film. You’ll need a membership ($10 per month) to view it, but it’s worth it.

Brian Murnion is a filmmaker, creative director, poet, and self-proclaimed intellectual scrub from Billings, Montana. He spends an unreasonable amount of time obsessing over the connective tissue between music, film, literature, and whatever else seems culturally or aesthetically significant at any given moment. His curation process is equal parts curiosity, fixation, and blind luck, driven by the irrational hope that brilliance is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the chaos.
The “beauty” of the title refers to many things, but, above all, to Rome. That is where Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a writer known for producing a single book and attending innumerable parties, has lived for decades. Clearly, he never tires of the place; the happiest moments in this long and indulgent film, directed by…
Criterion is releasing a box set of three films by the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini and starring Hollywood’s Ingrid Bergman, Stromboli, Europe ’51, and Journey to Italy. These are remarkable films–highly recommend Journey to Italy, a film about a husband and wife whose marriage begins to disintegrate while traveling near Naples. A masterpiece film in Italian cinema.
I love this time of year—when Cannes is in full swing, and a slate of new films are competing for the coveted Palme d’Or! There are many promising films this year to keep your eye out for (just to name a few):
120 Beats per Minute (France) dir. Robin Campillo
The Beguiled (USA) dir. Sofia Coppola
Happy End (France, Germany, Austria) dir. Michael Haneke
Redoubtable (France) dir. Michel Hazanavicius
L’amant double (France) dir. Francois Ozon
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (UK, Ireland) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
The Dust Bowl, a film by Ken Burns, is as heartbreaking as it is intriguing. A documentary about one of the worst man-made disasters in American history. I’m researching and writing a few treatments for documentaries I want to produce in 2014, and of all the docs I’ve seen recently, The Dust Bowl is a…
Redoubtable is a film we’re very much looking forward to this year! It’s premiering at Cannes and competing for the Palme d’Or. For fans of La Nouvelle Vague (The New Wave), films of the 50s and 60s, and Jean-Luc Godard’s work, you’ll want to keep your eye out for this one.Michel Hazanavicius directed 2011’s Best Picture winner, The Artist. Director Michel…
Watch the trailer for Asghar Farhadi‘s latest film, “The Past“. If you haven’t already, you should watch his Academy Award-winning film, “A Separation” (Iran, 2011). Also, check this out. Magnum Photographer Abbas spent some time on the set, shooting behind the scenes still images, and they’re beautiful. Click the photo to see the gallery.