Social Realism

Bait. Dir. Mark Jenkin. British Film Institute. 2019.

Bait. Dir. Mark Jenkin. British Film Institute. 2019. 1000 702 Lucy Gravil

Core to Mark Jenkin’s 2019 film, Bait, is a narrative depicting the gentrification of the coastal land and community in Cornwall. Following Martin, a local fisherman, Jenkin’s film emphasises how…

read more

An American Tail. Dir. Don Bluth. Universal Pictures.1986

An American Tail. Dir. Don Bluth. Universal Pictures.1986 2560 1440 Carmen Navarro Mateo

“There are no cats in America“ Fig.1. Original Poster by Drew Struzan of Fievel and the rest of the immigrants arriving in New York. The anonymous humans frame Fievel and…

read more

Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion).

Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion). 700 302 Eve Pullen

Hungarian cinema leaves us feeling stuffed! Figure A  – Lajoska Balatony surrounded by stuffed animals. Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion). Pálfi’s 2006 body horror  Taxidermia, follows the story…

read more

God’s Own Country. Dir. Francis Lee. Picturehouse Entertainment. 2017.

God’s Own Country. Dir. Francis Lee. Picturehouse Entertainment. 2017. 150 150 Eden Fowler

As a film which centers around a farming family, God’s Own Country is inseparable from animal life. Francis Lee sets the 2017 rural drama during the lambing season at a…

read more

The Deer Hunter. Dir. Michael Cimino. EMI. 1978.

The Deer Hunter. Dir. Michael Cimino. EMI. 1978. 150 150 Ben Cole

Figure 1: Death of the deer from the first hunt. The Deer Hunter (1978). Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter explores the impact of the Vietnam War on Americans, depicting protagonist…

read more

Come and See. Dir. Elem Klimov. Belarusfilm.1985.

Come and See. Dir. Elem Klimov. Belarusfilm.1985. 150 150 Eve Pullen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHaSQU-4wss Life Elem Klimov’s 1985 pernicious masterpiece Come and See leaves viewers in a state of abject horror. The film depicts the atrocities commited by the Nazi regime in Byelorussia…

read more

Annie. Dir. John Huston. Columbia Pictures. 1982.

Annie. Dir. John Huston. Columbia Pictures. 1982. 150 150 Olivia Calverley

John Huston’s musical comedy-drama Annie follows the life of an orphan and her trusty adopted dog Sandy. The film repeatedly draws parallels between orphaned children with caged animals, inciting audiences…

read more

A Street Cat Named Bob. Dir. Roger Spottiswoode. Sony Pictures Releasing. 2016.

A Street Cat Named Bob. Dir. Roger Spottiswoode. Sony Pictures Releasing. 2016. 150 150 Molly Wareing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s13Fnj8LzD8&t=3s Fig.0.1. Trailer for a Street Cat Named Bob [1]A Street Cat Named Bob is a 2016 biographical drama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The film is based on an memoir…

read more

Ernest and Celestine. Dir. Benjamin Renner. StudioCanal. 2012

Ernest and Celestine. Dir. Benjamin Renner. StudioCanal. 2012 150 150 Maya Thomas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ1rmOYLr2U [1] Ernest and Celestine[2] (2012) is a French animated film that presents the unorthodox relationship between a bear and a mouse. Introduced as a struggling musician, Ernest is starving and on…

read more

American Honey. Dir. Andrea Arnold. British Film Institute. 2016.

American Honey. Dir. Andrea Arnold. British Film Institute. 2016. 150 150 Ellie Parkinson

Figure 1: Film poster Prior to American Honey, Arnold’s filmography was distinctly British, primarily focused upon the harsh reality of poverty in Britain. However, American Honey deviates from this pattern,…

read more