Tag: Drama
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The Black Stallion. Dir. Carroll Ballard. Twentieth Century Fox. 1979.
The Black Stallion (1979) Dir. Carroll Ballard Pulled to the tropical shores of a desert island by a wild Arabian horse following a shipwreck, The Black Stallion follows the narrative of an unbreakable bond between boy and horse, man and beast. The only remnants of the shipwreck that remain are the black stallion (The Black), the boy (Alec)…
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Ring of Bright Water. Dir. Jack Couffer. Cinerama Releasing Corp. 1969.
“He was boneless, mercurial, sinuous, wonderful… he was an otter in his own element and the most beautiful thing in nature I had ever seen.” [1] The 1960s seems littered with autobiographical accounts of human and animal relations which are, as a result of the popularity of the novel, projected upon the platform of film.…
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A Cat’s Life (‘Une Vie de Chat’). Dir. Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli. Gebeka Films. 2010.
A Cat in Paris (‘Une Vie de Chat’, 2010) is a charmingly funny, aesthetically beautiful and surprisingly thrilling French animated film, directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli. [1] The film tells the story of Dino, a Parisian cat who leads a double life. By day he is a comforting and playful pet to a…
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White Fang. Dir. Randal Kleiser. Buena Vista Studios. 1991.
Baring his teeth to a Grizzly Bear on its hind legs, White Fang- a hybridised wolf-dog, forsakes his life to defend a young boy, Jack Conroy. Jack’s endures a perilous journey across Alaskan terrain to discover his Father’s claim during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, and an orphaned wolf-dog puppy whose trust renders him a…
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Stalker. Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky. Mosfilm. 1979.
Andrei Tarkovsky’s science-fiction film, Stalker (1979), is marked by depression, desolation and barren wastelands.[1] The film’s loose narrative follows three men into The Zone, a disturbingly conscious and supernatural area of nuclear disaster. Whilst there, the eponymous Stalker encounters a black dog at various points on the journey. As the Stalker waits for his wife in the bar,…
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Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Dir. Stephen Dunn. LDFM Films. 2012.
Stephen Dunn’s 2012 Canadian short film, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, presents viewers with a campy peek into the life of thirteen-year old Esther as she embarks upon her journey into womanhood. Taking place over the course of her thirteenth birthday, the film primarily revolves around Esther’s apprehensive feelings towards her imperfect appearance and her newly…
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The Lobster. Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos. Picturehouse Entertainment. 2015.
The Lobster is a modern parable in which societal norms are completely called into question by absurdity of form. In the not too distant, or not too past, world of The Lobster, single people are sent to a hotel in which they must find a mate in 45 days or otherwise be turned into an animal of…
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The Lion King. Dir. Roger Allens and Rob Minkoff. Buena Vista Pictures. 1994.
The Lion King[i] tells the story of Simba, a lion cub born into the monarchy and heir to his father Mufasa, ruler of all the animals in the Pride Lands. From learning how to pounce, to going on adventures with his best friend Nala, Simba has the perfect life, up until Mufasa is killed by Scar,…
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Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. 20th Century Fox. 1999.
One of the most important scenes in David Fincher’s Fight Club[1] is when The Narrator meets his ‘power animal’ in the cave whilst in meditation. Although it’s only a very short sequence, the penguin represents changes we see in The Narrator’s character throughout the film, which are relevant to the dramatic plot twist near the end. The…