Tag Archive: escape

Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (Day 96)

My Opinion: 8.1 || Exciting gangster biopic dominated by Vincent Cassel as the title character. Thrilling performance. Vibrant writing and direction. Engrossing from start to finish.

Woman in the Dunes (Day 68)

My Opinion: 7.6 || Unique film tha’s a kind of horror parable – no blood or chills, just growing existential dread. The story is subtly surreal, but it’s filmed with a deep-focus naturalism that… Continue reading

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Day 67)

My Opinion: 6.8 || Good gangster biopic, but the direction and acting are more interesting than the subject matter. It’s the first part of a two-film set, and has a to-be-continued ending that (unavoidably)… Continue reading

A Man Escaped (Day 60)

My Opinion: 7.2 || Intellectually absorbing prison film that ignores the usual genre elements to focus on the mechanics of escape. The minimalist approach means that although we spend every minute with the protagonist… Continue reading

King of Devil’s Island (Day 40)

  MY OPINION: 6.1 || A story of resistance to institutionalized cruelty that’s engaging but also very familiar. We’ve seen this storyline before, from Cool Hand Luke to Papillon to every film that’s ever been… Continue reading

  • About Me


    I'm an author and consultant in Portland, Oregon. My novel 'Beheld' will be published this June.

  • The Mission

    To watch and write about one new foreign film a day for 100 days. It's a cinematic world tour -- with an emphasis on diversity of language, era, and style.

    In addition to the daily commentaries, I'll post weekly and monthly wrap-ups. And explore cool ways of graphing the films and my responses to them.