In the opening scene of "The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs" we see an elderly, short Peruvian woman cutting the bark off a mahogany tree. Her name is Sara Flores and the wood is an ingredient she collects to create intricate designs on textiles, following a traditional Peruvian geometrical design system called kené. Flores is unique in becoming internationally famous for her kené artwork; her...
I had never heard of Uppaluri Gopala (or "U.G.") Krishnamurti before seeing the new documentary "The Natural State," which just had its premiere at this month's 2026 Telluride Film Festival. U.G. was famous for being an "anti-guru" who, after a long search for enlightenment, decided that such a mission was misguided and even fatuous. Even so, he was sought out the rest of his...
“Lola” is a remarkable Irish-British science fiction film directed by Andrew Legge. Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini give dazzling performances as two sisters (Thomasina...
(above: Baishô Chieko in “Plan 75”)
Hayakawa Chie’s 2022 film “Plan 75” depicts a dystopian near future Japan in which the growing numbers of elderly...
“RIALTO AT 25” is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Rialto Pictures, a distributor whose re-releases of international classics have been distinguished by...
(above: Sam Harkness in “Sam Now”)
My critical output has been hampered recently by my paying gigs and personal writing projects so here are capsule...
