Category / Movies & TV / Notes / On People / Reviews
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![Portrait of Krzysztof Kieslowski]()
On the work of Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski was a Polish director and screenwriter most popular for his films of the 1990s. Given he usually collaborated with the trial lawyer Krzysztof Piesiewicz, it might be warranted to address ‘him’ as The Krzysztofs, but I’ll stick to hagiographical third person singular common in the auteur sphere. Kieslowski’s movies have a timeless, often…
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![A photo of an iPad, featuring the MUBI subpage of Herzog's movie Grizzly Man.]()
Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man
An existential portrait of Timothy Treadwell, an outcast living with grizzlies—until they killed him.
Rating: ★★★★☆ -
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2022: Best books and films
The books, movies, and TV series I enjoyed most in 2022.
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Film: Alison Klayman, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
A remarkable portrait of the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) by American director Alison Klayman, documenting his main creative period between 2008 and 2011.
Rating: ★★★★★ -
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Book: Egon Friedell, Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit
The Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit is Friedell’s main work, capturing him for the better part of his last 15-or-so years. It is a wild ride through European history from the Black Death in 1348 until World War I, playing homage to many of the geniuses, kings, and lost souls of what he calls the Neuzeit, the pre-modern and early modern age.
Rating: ★★★★★ -
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Book: John Grant Ross, Taiwan in 100 Books
Ross‘ book was among the first I read on Taiwan and is still among my favourites. It reads like a kind of reading journal, or rather, like going to your dry-humoured neighbour (the one with shelves up every wall) to borrow a book and not leaving for the afternoon because both of you can’t really decide which one to pick.
Rating: ★★★★★
