Young Boy, Old Soul

|Terry Serres| The 1969 film Boy (Shonen) by Nagisa Ōshima is something of a minor masterpiece, a work that is undeniably moving but still hard to crack, as inscrutable as its young protagonist’s impassive gaze. The boy in question is Toshio Omura, played by Tetsuo Abe… Continue reading

Hardcore: A Neo-Noir Powered by Calvinism 

Jake sits in a darkened theater, his head resting on his hand.

|Sophie Durbin| “You wanna hire a choir boy, you go back to Grand Rapids.” – Peter Boyle as Andy Mast, private detective. The opening credits of Paul Schrader’s Hardcore are set against a holiday scene in Grand Rapids, Michigan, filled with children sledding and snow-dusted corner… Continue reading