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Klute – 1970


Kicking off the paranoid 70s and their obsession with surveillance, the eponymous P.I. Klute (Donald Sutherland) goes to the big city and teams up with call girl Bree (Jane Fonda) to lure out a murderous stalker. Roy Scheider (of Jaws fame) spices things up as a devious pimp, the whole thing lenses by lighting prodige Gordon Willis (just google the guy’s credits…). It’s definitely one of the better thrillers of its kind, and it endures through its cunningly crafted mood, daring cinematography and handling of its characters. Klute is never who you expect him to be, and, as in the much later parings seen in Larsson’s Millenium novels, the female heroin brings more than her share of grit to the proceedings.

Sansho The Bailiff – 1954


3 filmmakers dominated Japanese cinema in the 50s: the quintessentially-Japanese Ozu, international darling Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi. For three enduring masters to make such enduring work from the same country in the same decade is one thing. For their styles to be so different and distinct is quite another. Mizoguchi’s is less showy on the surface, often staging scenes in cleverly crafter « oners », with a floating camera. That it feels so natural and effortless masks the incredible mastery underpinning it all. What unifies the 3 aforementioned filmmakers is their profound empathy for their characters, and in Sansho the Bailiff, Mizoguchi takes a story of family separation, servitude and hardship that could have felt exploitative and, through technical wizardry and sheer pathos, elevates it to one of the pillars of Japanese cinema. Watch it. Open yourself to it. And weep.

Red Cliff – 2008


Cinema’s supreme choreographer of mayhem returns to his native tongue for what is, without a doubt, one of the most gargantuan epic spectacles in cinematic history. All 5 hours of this glorious adventure are painted in big, bold stroked, like pop art, but that belies the intelligence of the script. Red Cliff’s war is very tactical in nature, its characters resourceful, its respect for its audience and relish to entertain evident in every twist and turn of the narrative. It’s anchored by effortlessly charismatic turns from Wong Kar Way darlings Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, a host of very memorable supporting characters, and a magnetic villain in Zhang Fengyi. This is a diptych in its original version, truncated to 3 hours for the international market, but trust us, you really need to see the whole thing in its full glory. Crowd-pleasing cinema of the highest order!

L’Argent – 1983


Master cinéaste (and misanthrope) Robert Bresson reaches the pinnacle of his art in this almost forensic examination in the destructive power of money. Whether it is lusted after, earned, misplaced, lacking or stolen, it leads to absurdity, flashes of violence and, often, tragedy. Bresson’s typical method: actors performing as if in a trance, precise framing, emotional detachment, create a suffocating atmosphere where each burst of energy is made all the more jarring, and the result is hypnotic. One-of-a-kind, masterful cinema.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? – 1962


Grand guignol thrillers are a niche genre at best, and unless you commit, you end up in a weird no-man’s land. What better way to commit than to unleash superstars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford against each other, as two former child actress siblings with a bitter history of rivalry, and watch them chew the scenery. The story is pure pulp, but the two legends play off each other in virtuoso fashion and it’s a joy to behold, culminating in an ending with serious Sunset Boulevard vibes.

Kelly’s Heroes – 1970


Few conflicts have created a mythological landscape as suited to adventure films as WW2. From The Dirty Dozen to Where Eagles Dare, the number of thrilling capers set during this period is quite the anomaly. Where to begin? Maybe with this one: Clint Eastwood’s Kelly hears of a huge stash of gold behind enemy lines, and enlists a growing posse of disgruntled soldiers to retrieve it. Eastwood is at his stoic best, but what makes this a classic are the varied action set-pieces, the hilarious script and the wild assortment of characters, including Telly Savalas as a jaded non-commissioned officer on his last ropes, and especially Donald Sutherland as a stoned tank commander. They don’t quite make them like this anymore, and what a shame it is.

Happy New Year!


Dear friends, colleagues and clients,

We wish you an amazing 2023. This past year saw us reuniting with our partners at the World Economic Forum for their first in-person event since the pandemic, experiment with animation styles for the Chamber of Commerce, explore the snow-bound wonders of Schloss Elmau, and more. We look forward to the many great adventures the coming year holds, and wish you all good health, happiness and success!

All Quiet on The Western Front – 1930


There are times when, against all odds, a work in the very early stages of its medium manages to come close to being the definitive word on the subject it explores. Such a case can be made for 1931’s M and the thriller. One is tempted to make the same case for Western Front and the war film. Released near the dawn of sound-synched filmmaking, and with a devastating world war on the horizon, Lewis Milestone’s epic is notable not just for its technical achievements but for its sheer empathy. The naive enthusiasm with which our cast of schoolboys volunteer is treated with as much sympathy and honesty as the utter emotional devastation with which the survivors return… There have been more spectacular war films made in the near-century since its release, but few have had as meaningful and as lasting an impact.

Pinocchio – 2022


Imagine if all the stories Disney had regaled you with as a child were adapted again by master-filmmakers, given extremely personal treatments, and treated with genuine care and affection… You guessed it. Our title is not the soulless live-action remake of 2022, but Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion marvel of a picture. Like his best work, it mixes his signature visual flair with childlike wonder and fears of totalitarianism. If you watch one a single animated film this year, make it this one.

Calvary – 2014


We open with a shocker. During confession, an unseen parishioner warns Father James (Brendan Gleeson) that he intends to kill him within a week. What follows is James’ attempts to untangle the web of resentment in his small Irish village, and put his affairs in order before the sentence falls. You might think you’d know what to expect given the synopsis. but nothing can prepare you for how touching, unexpectedly funny, and resoundingly true the resulting piece feels. Gleeson is a generous performer, even at the worst of times, but this is the peak of a marvelous career, and every part shines. One of the very best films of this young century.