Kino's Collective Thoughts

Ever since the chilling day of the 25th May 2020, the death of George Floyd, the streets filled with the words “Black Lives Matter”. This phrase has started a global movement from the scorching sun of Sydney, Australia to the green hills of Bogotá, Colombia. Every contemporary culture can relate to the overuse of authority and racial inequality. However these chants have been running through the speakers of cinemas decades before the creation of the BLM movement in 2013. With groundbreaking films such as Kassovitz’s ‘La Haine’ (1995) and Spike Lee’s ‘Do the right thing’ (1989) with the aims to educate, reform and bring justice to victims of police brutality.  In 1993, Mathieu Kassovitz attended a riot in Paris, similar to the protests seen this year, on the police killing of Makome M'Bowole, a 17 student shot in the head in a police station. It was here he decided to create his film ‘La Haine’ which followed three characters around an estate after a riot. The film created a movemen...

Hi, it’s Josh again. Dark, brooding and mysterious, crime thrillers of the post-war period were a new kind of film; ones where the heroes were flawed and the stories hardboiled and cynical.  Film Noir doesn’t have a set structure but is instead a mood, a state of mind that categorises a series of related films in the 1940s and 50s. Typical features include stylised, low-key lighting, complex narratives and an emphasis on outsiders and loners. Whether they be about detectives, gangsters or unlucky innocents, these films all share a dark, uncompromising view of the world and a thrillingly modern outlook that continues to fascinate audiences worldwide and influence filmmakers now. The films of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino owe a huge debt to the stylish and fascinating works of the time, proving their continued influence even in the present day. I adore these films; many have barely dated when watched today.  With all of this in mind, I have chosen ten of the best exam...

Michael here. I'm 17 years old, live in Brighton and am a part of Kino Collective. My favourite film (at the moment) is Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', 1990.  In my articles here, I will be analysing individual scenes in as much excessive detail as possible - wringing them out for every last morsel of meaning. Enjoy. --- The opening scene of Sergio Leone's 1968 spagetti-Western, 'Once Upon A Time In The West', goes for a strong seven-and-a-half minutes without dialogue. In fact, until Charles Bronson materialises from behind the black steam engine, the scene contains no plot-relevant action or information. For seven-and-a-half minutes, Leone and cinematographer Delli Colli present to us a few vignettes of apathy between the three hired gunmen, as they silently await the arrival of their target. These gunmen eventually prove to be little more than cannon fodder for Bronson's starring role - or so it would seem, had you experienced the ...

  Hello again, reader, this is Jay. As we are nearing the year's epicentre for spooks and things that go bump in the night, people will often be gathering to watch horror movies from all over the globe. I always notice that these films tend to be the same few. Like Christmas films, everyone has their go-to, whether that be the classic Alien , The Blair Witch Project , or one of the plethora of tacky slasher films that have tainted the horror genre. I don't want to shame anyone for their choices, but I'd definitely like to suggest that whilst gatherings aren't necessarily too safe, trying to refresh yourself with one of the following horror films may just make your Halloween that much better. So, here are ten great horror films that you maybe haven't seen!  Also, a small disclaimer before we start: this list, very disappointingly, does not feature any films directed by women. This makes me rather ashamed, as I'd like to be encouraging diversity. However, this doe...

Hi, this is Josh. Recently, I watched the 1985 Western “Silverado” and was blown away. It was so engaging and fun, despite taking place in a mythic west that probably never existed. There seemed to be something otherworldly about it, featuring noble drifters, crooked lawmen and engaging gunfighters.  It started me thinking; why do we watch films? Well, there are many answers to that question. Films can educate, entertain and astound us in all sorts of ways, but a key reason people have for coming back again and again is escapism. Watching a film can transport you out of your own life and into someone else’s, for a couple of hours at least. Whether it be to find out about other cultures, to imagine places beyond our own or just to feel part of the world the filmmaker has created, escapism can create magical experiences that make us feel special even in the most trying times.  One of the best examples of this is “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964), a romance entirely sung throug...