French Cinema & SubtitlesJan 25

🎬 Antonym pick

Pickpocket (1959), directed by Robert Bresson, feels like the opposite of a song or a poem. No lyrical dialogue, no emotional flourishes, no musical release, only restraint, repetition, and silence. Meaning emerges through absence, making it a perfect embodiment of #antonymasongorpoem.

#antonymasongorpoem
#Pickpocket
#RobertBresson
#FrenchCinema
#MinimalistCinema

jpAug 9, 2025
Unpacking Madrid, 1987: where naked bodies expose power, not passion; aging creatives confront emptiness; and sex is less climax than chore.
#Madrid1987 #DavidTrueba #MinimalistCinema #AntiErotic #FilmAnalysis #CinemaStudies #AgingCreatives #SexOnScreen #ArtAndExistence
https://ninetypercentcrapmoviereviews.wordpress.com/2022/11/10/madrid-1987/
Anti-Eroticism as Cinematic Strategy: The Failed Seduction in Madrid, 1987

Madrid, 1987 (2011) is deliberately anti-erotic despite the leads spending most of the runtime naked. Miguel (JosĂ© SacristĂĄn), an aging columnist, schemes to seduce Ángela (MarĂ­a Valverde), a beaut


90% of Everything is Crap
jpAug 1, 2025
“There is no situation you cannot turn to your advantage.” Unless you're in Redbelt, where Mamet’s stoic fighter navigates a morally rigged system with only dialogue and discipline. A minimalist martial arts parable from cinema’s tersest tactician.
#DavidMamet #Redbelt #ChiwetelEjiofor #MartialArtsCinema #FilmCriticism #MinimalistCinema #NarrativeDesign #FightMovies #PhilosophyInFilm #GenreSubversion #EssayFilm #CinephileThoughts
https://ninetypercentcrapmoviereviews.wordpress.com/2022/11/10/redbelt/
Verbal Jiu-Jitsu: Narrative Austerity in Mamet’s Redbelt

Redbelt (2008) may not be David Mamet’s best, but it is an intriguing showcase of his sharpest traits and, more importantly, demonstrates that a gifted filmmaker can elevate any genre. Mamet doesn’


90% of Everything is Crap
jpJul 31, 2025
Fran Kranz’s Mass is raw, restrained, and resolutely humane. A single room, four wrecked lives, and one unanswerable question—can we forgive those who raised the shooter? Essential viewing for anyone who believes closure isn't a destination but a lifelong reckoning.
#MassMovie #SchoolShootings #GunViolence #AnnDowd #MarthaPlimpton #FranKranz #IndependentFilm #MinimalistCinema #FilmCriticism #PostTrauma #Grief #Cinephile #MoviesThatMatter #OscarsSnubbed
https://ninetypercentcrapmoviereviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/30/no-easy-answers-the-ethics-of-forgiveness-in-fran-kranzs-mass/
No Easy Answers: The Ethics of Forgiveness in Fran Kranz’s Mass

Mass (2021) is a mournful counterpart to Roman Polanski’s Carnage. Both are minimalist films—one set, four characters, real time—in which two sets of parents meet to discuss violence inflicted by o


90% of Everything is Crap