Has there ever been in all of literature a more despicable and pitiable pair of lovers as Cathy and Heathcliff? My only explanation of why Emily Brontë's novel has been so popular for almost 200 years lies in the author's ability to so ably present such a dysfunctional relationship in such a finely shaped gothic setting. What this umpteenth film version does well is its emphasis on the former and not the latter. Filmed in almost total sunlight and daytime,…

For a film from the director of the sexually graphic In the Realm of the Senses, you would think Nagisa Ōshima's last film, Gohatto, would do the same. You'd be wrong. Despite some early plot concerns about a rivalry between the Shinsengumi and another clan, the narrative of the film revolves around homosexuality within the special force (don't call them samurai since its members come from all classes in Kyoto society.) The sex in this film is almost entirely hinted…

Every once in a while, actually quite rarely, a new film comes along that reminds me just how powerful the art of cinema can be. Yes, movies can be entertaining, or they can distract you from your worries for a couple of hours. Or films can be a window to a world you don't know or a mirror to one that you're all too familiar with. They can speak to universal truths and connect you emotionally to the lives of…