Manohla Dargis

she had two columns on avant-garde cinema ("CounterCurrents" and "Shock Corridor").

The Village Voice serves as a foundational American news and culture publication, rooted in the creative landscape of Greenwich Village, New York City. Established as the country’s first alternative newsweekly, the publication defines its sensibility through a countercultural lens, prioritizing investigative journalism, arts criticism, and hyper-local urban reporting. Its aesthetic is characterized by a gritty, intellectual, and authentically independent voice that champions non-conformity and the examination of social undercurrents outside of mainstream editorial structures. By operating from the epicenter of New York’s bohemian history, the magazine maintains a tone of sharp, inquisitive skepticism, consistently focusing on the intersection of progressive politics and the evolving cultural pulse of the city. It functions as a record of urban change and artistic upheaval, offering a medium that favors depth, stylistic boldness, and a refusal to cater to conventional media narratives. The publication is specifically tailored for readers who appreciate investigative rigor, unfiltered commentary, and deep dives into the complexities of city life, making it a critical touchstone for those aligned with alternative journalism and the distinct, ever-shifting identity of the New York arts and literary scene.

Founded in 1978 by Jay Levin and a group of contributors, LA Weekly serves as a free weekly alternative newspaper rooted in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles, California. The publication functions as a comprehensive observer of the city’s creative pulse, maintaining a consistent focus on music, arts, film, and theater. Beyond its editorial coverage of local news and arts, the paper acts as an active participant in regional life by sponsoring various community events. Its sensibility aligns with the independent spirit of alternative journalism, prioritizing local narratives and the specific happenings of the Southern California area. The publication provides a structured, recurring look at the city’s evolving cultural scene, maintaining a role as a fixture of the Los Angeles media ecosystem since the late 1970s. Its content is designed for residents and enthusiasts interested in the intersection of urban culture, artistic developments, and the ongoing trajectory of the arts and entertainment sectors within the Los Angeles metropolitan region.

L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American neo-noir crime thriller directed by Curtis Hanson and based on the 1990 novel by James Ellroy. Set in 1953 Los Angeles, the film explores the dark overlap between LAPD institutional corruption and the high-stakes world of Hollywood celebrity, drawing thematic inspiration from the era of scandal-mongering tabloid magazines. The narrative follows a group of police officers whose personal ambitions and moral compromises intersect amidst a backdrop of systemic deceit. Characterized by a meticulously layered screenplay and a pervasive sense of mid-century cynicism, the film utilizes a taut, atmospheric aesthetic to mirror the friction between institutional order and moral decay. The production is distinguished by Jerry Goldsmith’s score, precise editing, and an ensemble cast that prominently features Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe alongside Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and Danny DeVito. As a quintessential entry in the neo-noir genre, it subverts traditional portrayals of mid-century law enforcement, opting for a gritty, complex examination of systemic rot beneath a glamorous facade. The film is recognized for its authentic period reconstruction and narrative depth, eventually earning selection for the United States National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Curtis Lee Hanson was an American filmmaker whose career was characterized by a transition from low-budget genre exploitation to sophisticated, narratively layered craftsmanship. Beginning his career as a photographer and editor for Cinema magazine, he cut his teeth in the 1970s horror circuit and the B-movie landscape, often grappling with the constraints of studio authorship. His directorial identity solidified through his commitment to the thriller genre, where he perfected a clinical, tense style that favored intricate pacing and atmospheric dread. This culminated in his neo-noir masterpiece L.A. Confidential, which solidified his reputation for structural precision and thematic depth. Hanson was distinguished by his versatility; he moved fluidly between the high-stakes tension of crime dramas like The River Wild and the intimate character studies seen in Wonder Boys. His work frequently explored the intersections of artifice and reality, whether through the gritty socio-cultural lens of 8 Mile or the polished, systemic realism of Too Big to Fail. His sensibility was defined by an acute understanding of how to translate screenplay structure into cohesive visual narratives, balancing commercial viability with a distinct directorial voice that maintained critical resonance across decades. Though his later years were marked by fluctuating production outcomes, his body of work remains anchored in his ability to elevate mid-budget storytelling into culturally significant genre cinema.

Directed by Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep presents a stark, neo-realist portrait of life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles during the late 1970s. The film captures the internal malaise of a slaughterhouse worker as he struggles to maintain his domestic life and personal dignity amidst the encroaching systemic pressures of industrial poverty. Characterized by its episodic structure and non-linear narrative, the film eschews traditional melodramatic arcs in favor of a lyrical, observational style that mirrors the fragmented nature of ordinary existence. Its grainy, black-and-white cinematography evokes a sense of timelessness, grounding the story in the textures of daily routine and human resilience. By focusing on the quiet, lingering moments between labor and family, Burnett offers a deeply influential study of African American community life. Its aesthetic sensibility is defined by a melancholic yet empathetic register, prioritizing authentic cultural milieu over expository plot mechanics, ultimately serving as a foundational work of independent American cinema that captures the intersection of exhaustion, family obligation, and the pursuit of meaning within the working class.

Voted for it in the Sight & Sound 2022 Greatest Films of All Time poll; she has long praised Chantal Akerman's 'unwavering' gaze.

L'Avventura is a seminal 1960 drama directed by Michelangelo Antonioni that fundamentally altered the landscape of arthouse cinema. Set against the stark, evocative Mediterranean landscapes of the Aeolian Islands and Sicily, the narrative centers on the mysterious disappearance of a woman during a yachting trip and the subsequent, languid search conducted by her lover and best friend. Rather than adhering to traditional mystery or thriller tropes, the film systematically subverts conventional storytelling, favoring an experimental approach focused on psychological interiority, existential malaise, and the interplay between characters and their environments. The film is characterized by its deliberate, meditative pacing, emphasizing visual composition and atmospheric mood over linear plot progression. As the first installment in Antonioni’s informal trilogy—preceding La Notte and L'Eclisse—the work serves as a foundational study in modern alienation. Through its restraint and refusal to provide easy resolutions, L'Avventura creates a haunting, aestheticized exploration of human detachment and the breakdown of communication. It remains a cornerstone of world cinema, recognized for its profound influence on subsequent generations of filmmakers who prioritize subjectivity and visual language in the cinematic medium.

Jean-Luc Godard was a seminal French-Swiss filmmaker, screenwriter, and critic whose work remains a touchstone of the French New Wave. Rising to international prominence in the late 1950s, he fundamentally altered the syntax of cinema by challenging traditional narrative structures and technical conventions. His directorial style is characterized by radical experimentation, including the frequent use of jump cuts, non-diegetic sound, and a reflexive approach that draws attention to the medium of film itself. Godard’s thematic interests often intersected with existential philosophy, political radicalism, and the deconstruction of popular culture, resulting in a body of work that is cerebral, confrontational, and deeply intellectual. His sensibility balances a profound reverence for classical cinematic history with a relentless drive toward modernist iconoclasm. By shifting from his early, kinetic explorations of genre to more austere, essayistic works, Godard maintained an aesthetic trajectory defined by constant reinvention and a refusal to adhere to commercial filmmaking standards. He remains an essential figure for those drawn to avant-garde sensibilities, formalist rigor, and the theoretical exploration of how moving images shape political and social perception.

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun is a 2021 anthology comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson. Structured as an homage to the world of journalism, the film presents a series of stories published in the final issue of an eponymous fictional American magazine based in a twentieth-century French city. Each segment within the anthology reflects Anderson’s signature aesthetic, characterized by meticulous symmetry, highly stylized color palettes, and a whimsical yet precise production design that imbues the onscreen world with the feel of a living diorama. The film operates as a multi-layered narrative tapestry, blending dry wit, melancholic observations, and theatrical staging to explore the intersection of human eccentricity and editorial passion. The tone is deliberate and mannered, prioritizing visual artifice and rhythmic, deadpan delivery over traditional linear pacing. It functions as a meta-textual love letter to the staff and subculture of mid-century print media, capturing a distinct, curated sensibility that balances absurdity with sentimental reverence. By weaving together disparate episodic tales, the work establishes a dense, clockwork-like atmosphere that rewards viewers who appreciate highly disciplined composition, quirky character studies, and an uncompromising, idiosyncratic directorial vision.

This individual is defined by a relentless drive for novelty and the vanguard of contemporary culture. They possess an orientation toward the future, valuing disruption and the excitement of the undiscovered over established tradition. Such a person is likely an early adopter who prioritizes intellectual and aesthetic stimulation, constantly scanning the horizon for the next shift in the zeitgeist.

FilmStruck was a specialized video-on-demand streaming service tailored specifically for the dedicated cinephile, positioning itself as a curated digital destination rather than a broad-market platform. Developed through the collaboration between Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection, the service functioned as the exclusive streaming home for the Criterion catalog during its existence. Its content library prioritized aesthetic depth and historical significance, focusing heavily on rare, classic, arthouse, foreign, and independent motion pictures. By emphasizing discovery and education, the platform maintained a tone of scholarly exploration, framing films through the lens of preservation and intellectual appreciation. Its aesthetic reflected a commitment to the medium’s legacy, catering to viewers interested in the formal qualities, stylistic evolution, and cultural impact of cinema history. From its launch in November 2016 until its closure in November 2018, the service served as a high-fidelity archive for those who view film as an essential art form rather than mere entertainment, distinguishing itself from mainstream competitors through a refusal to compromise on artistic merit in favor of accessibility.

Los Angeles stands as the expansive commercial, financial, and cultural epicentre of Southern California. As the most populous city in the state and the second-most populous in the United States, it serves as a sprawling, multifaceted metropolis defined by its massive scale and diverse urban landscape. Positioned as a global hub, the city integrates complex economic systems with a profound influence on international media, culture, and industry. Its identity is forged through a distinct interplay of metropolitan density and the vast, sun-drenched geography of the Pacific coast, creating a unique environment where traditional municipal governance meets the rapid, shifting currents of modern American enterprise. The city functions as both a tectonic centre of regional activity and a primary gateway for cultural exchange, characterized by a persistent, high-energy dynamism that continues to drive its trajectory as an influential global landmark.

Touching the Void is a 2003 survival documentary directed by Kevin Macdonald that dramatizes the harrowing true story of mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. The film blends traditional documentary interview segments with staged reenactments to chronicle a disastrous expedition on Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. It explores the psychological and physical extremes of human survival, focusing on the brutal consequences of an accident that leaves one climber dangling off a cliffside with a broken leg, forcing his partner into an impossible, split-second decision about his own survival. The film maintains a tense, somber, and visceral tone, prioritizing the raw reality of the ordeal over spectacle. By alternating between the retrospective narration of the actual survivors and the immersive, claustrophobic atmosphere of the high-altitude Andes, it captures the stark isolation and sheer agony inherent in extreme high-stakes mountaineering. The aesthetic is grounded and methodical, stripping away romanticized notions of alpinism to reveal a stark portrait of human endurance, guilt, and the thin line between life and death. It is a rigorous examination of the grit required to navigate catastrophe when all conventional support systems vanish, appealing to viewers drawn to true-life stories of extraordinary resilience and the minimalist, unforgiving nature of mountain exploration.