Jan Olsson

Comments

North by Northwest

An outstanding take on love and politics crammed with iconic Americana.

Touch of Evil

Welles in formidable form behind and in front of the camera. A border crossing still rife with meanings.

Battleship Potemkin

A truly revolutionary film with some of film history's most memorable sequences.

Vertigo

A mind-probing tale following the protagonist deep into a labyrint of fear and desire. An uncanny road movie with stops at unfathomable locales blending multiple time-layers.

DODES'KA-DEN

A universe of its own. Compassionate and moving.

The Searchers

Repression beyond belief. Wayne as both enigma and utterly legible. Can 'we' live together in spite of differences and scars? A quintessential American genre mediation with an array of masterfully directed scenes.

Rear Window

Paranoia of confinement. An intense take on the modern sensory landscape in contrast to the hectic inventory of sites in North by Northwest.

INGEBORG HOLM

Hopes for a better life brutally thwarted by 'fate'. The plot adds one defeat after another for the protagonist. The film's stylistic economy adds to this tragedy of everyday life.

La Règle du jeu

A merry-go-round of love and sorrow. A masterful comedy of manners replete with unexpected twists and turns.

The Godfather

A modern classic. A fresco of the cultural crossover between Sicily and America. Riveting dialog and topnotch acting.

Further remarks

I would like to have been able to include Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction and Le Samouraï.