The Romanian film puts the relatively minor sin of consensual sex in its proper perspective.
John Seal
Freelancer John Seal is Berkeleyside’s film critic. A movie connoisseur with a penchant for natty hats who lives in Oakland, John writes a weekly film recommendation column at Box Office Prophets, as well as a column in The Phantom of the Movie’s Videoscope, an old-fashioned paper magazine, published quarterly. He also writes regular film reviews for IMDB, which can be read here.
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F.W. Murnau’s film of infidelity, redemption is set to live piano music at Pacific Film Archive
‘Sunrise,’ a perfect film for the new year from the director of ‘Nosferatu,’ is screening at the Pacific Film Archive on Jan. 8 and Feb. 18.
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Our movie critic’s favorite films of 2021
Here are Berkeleyside movie writer John Seal’s 15 favorite films of the year. He makes no claims on picking the “best.”
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Lovesick cops of ‘Chungking Express’ bring psychological pick-me-up at Pacific Film Archive
True love saves the day in Wong Kar Wai’s classic ‘Chungking Express,’ scheduled to screen 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pacific Film Archive.
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‘Leda and the Swan’ adaptation is a captivating fever dream at SF film festival
‘Leda’ is a must-see film, but much other fantastic cinema is on offer at this year’s Another Hole in the Head festival.
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‘Chess of the Wind,’ lost film found in Tehran junk shop, to air at Pacific Film Archive Sunday
Unavailable for over 40 years before its rediscovery in 2015, the gothic drama details bourgeois decay and features a brief lesbian scene.
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Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s final film, suffused with trick photography, has a humanist soul
Labyrinth of Cinema, opening at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater on Friday, is a fitting finale to an underappreciated auteur’s career.
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Kenny G’s curly locks, acid-tongued critics get double billing in new documentary
“Listening to Kenny G” is the opening feature Wednesday night at SF Indiefest’s new music-themed festival Decibels.
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Film follows The Velvet Underground’s long journey to hipness
Todd Haynes’ documentary is, surprisingly, the first feature length cinematic examination of the band. It’s screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival at noon on Sunday.
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Film grants rare look at Boris Karloff, ‘the man behind the monster’
The documentary is a fabulous tribute to Boris Karloff, the man who played Frankenstein’s creature.
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Chattering teeth and a hapless bear at SF Short Film Festival
The San Francisco Short Film Festival will be held from Sept. 17-26, with selected films also screening in person this weekend at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater.
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Icelandic grandma chats it up with invisible elves in ‘The Seer and the Unseen’
The film makes clear the parallels between the invisible elves and the invisible hand of the marketplace that sent the Icelandic economy into a disastrous tailspin during the 2008 financial crisis.