Film Review by Franco Ferrarini, gastroenterologist, and film reviewer ‘Empire of Light’, Sam Mendes, UK, 2022 Set in the early 80’s, Hilary (Olivia Colman) is a middle-aged woman working as a duty-manager at the “Empire”, a movie theatre in Margate, Kent. ‘’Find where light in darkness lies’’ is the caption from Shakespeare’s ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ […]
Category: Film and Media
Listen to Me
Film Review by Robert Abrams Buzz (short film, Sudan 2022, directed by Mohamed Fawi, produced by Amjad Abu Alala, distributed by Mad Solutions), world Premiere at the 2022 Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) Buzz, a new short film created by the visionary director Mohamed Fawi, presents, in just under 20 minutes, several different themes that […]
Giuseppe Tornatore, A Master of Italian Cinema Constantly Reflecting on the Past
Film Review by Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer ‘Film Legends Among Us’ series There is no future, Salvatore: only the past exists. (Quote from “Cinema Paradiso”) Giuseppe Tornatore is an Italian film director and screenwriter who, after the Golden era from the ‘50s to the ‘70’s led by Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, restored […]
With or Without Antidepressants, An Ongoing Dilemma
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Farah’ (Hassiba Freiha, Kenton Oxley, Lebanon, 2022), released in Lebanese cinemas on 24th November 2022, Winner of Jury Award at Chelsea Film Festival, New York A recent systematic review postulated that the serotonin theory as an underlying biochemical basis for depression is not substantiated by robust […]
How Condors Die
Film Review by Professor Robert Abrams, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York ‘Utama’ (Directed by Alejandro Loayza Grisi, produced by Alma Films/La Mayor Cine, Bolivia, 2022), Winner of the Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, in general release in UK cinemas on 25th November 2022 Utama (“our home” in the Quechua language), written and directed by […]
Abuse of Trust: A Psychiatrist Eroding Professional Boundaries
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘The Shrink Next Door’ (TV miniseries directed by Michael Showalter and Jesse Peretz, USA, 2021, available on Apple TV). Caution: this review contains plot spoilers Psychiatrist-patient stories have been a prominent theme in American cinema; ‘Analyze This’ (Harold Ramis, USA, 1999), ‘Side Effects’ (Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2013), and ‘To the Bone’ (Marti […]
A Fantastic Voyage into the Human Body and Soul
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ (Lucien Giles Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel, France, 2022), showing on 14th and 16th of October 2022 at the London Film Festival. The human body and soul have always been an enigma for creative artists to decode in their work. Lucien Giles Castaing-Taylor and […]
Dehumanising Old Age, Devaluing Care, and Dismantling the NHS
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Allelujah’ (Richard Eyre, UK, 2022) showing at the London Film Festival on 9th and 11th October Alan Bennett’s 2018 play ‘Allelujah’ was an insightful reflection on the big challenges currently facing the UK: an expanding population of octo and nonagenarians, limited health and social care resources, […]
Elham Shahin’s Recipe for Women’s Welfare and Social Reform
Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Film Legends Among Us’ series The Arts Council of England’s model for measuring the impact of creative people encompasses three fundamental principles: actions, themes, and outcomes. Applying this model to the artistic career of the eminent Egyptian actress and producer, Elham Shahin, one can appreciate her influential position in […]
The Impostor Nurse and the Charlatan Doctor
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Face and Back’ (Weish wa Dhahr) TV mini-series (directed by Mariam Abou Ouf, Egypt, 2022) available on https://shahid.mbc.net/ar (Arabic with English subtitles) The health of any society is strongly influenced by the socioeconomic status, and cultural, and spiritual beliefs of its population. These factors inform the […]