Category Archives: film essay

Waiting for the Barbarians, a film of missed opportunities

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Mark Kerstetter

In all of us, deep down, there seems to be something granite and unteachable.—J. M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians By now fans of J. M. Coetzee are aware that a film version of arguably his best novel has been … Continue reading →

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A note on Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Mark Kerstetter

Buñuel is more comfortable with the so-called subconscious (or dreaming mind) than any other artist in any genre that I am aware of. In film only Lynch and Tarkovsky come close. Everyone else is light years away. In flavor however … Continue reading →

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Tarkovsky and Buñuel

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Mark Kerstetter

I’m new to the films of Tarkovsky, and have become obsessed with them. Yet with the peculiar itch typical of my mind my thoughts on his work keep slipping into thoughts on my favorite filmmaker, Luis Buñuel.

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Nature Is Cruel, Staros

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Mark Kerstetter

In terms of fashion, the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever is fixed in time and place. Its disco beats, big collar polyester shirts, bellbottoms and platform shoes place it squarely in late 1970’s big-city America. The economic milieu of the … Continue reading →

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An Exhortation to Silence: Comparing Mulholland Drive to The Blind Owl

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Mark Kerstetter

David lynch’s film Mulholland Drive and Sadegh Hedayat’s novel The Blind Owl are essentially the same story.

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Jerry Lewis as Mockingbird

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Mark Kerstetter

The Lewis character is always potentially anybody —Chris Fujiwara There is no easy way to shake that schmuck you sleep with at night. No matter how you toss and turn he’s always there. —Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis, love him or … Continue reading →

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