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The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The pursuit of knowledge is nothing more than a path to existential insecurity in The Andromeda Strain, sending a team of scientists deep underground to investigate the terrestrial arrival of a deadly alien organism, and developing a terrifying allegory for widespread nuclear warfare that Robert Wise delineates with methodical, formal precision.
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Vampyr (1932)
Whether Carl Theodor Dreyer’s horror film is to be interpreted as a political allegory, a spiritual fable, or a cryptic, expressionistic nightmare, Vampyr’s supernatural conspiracy is designed to lull us into the same impressionable state as its hypnotised victims, calling upon our subconscious desire to submit to the psychological darkness.
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Fair Play (2023)
The struggle up the corporate ladder has a long list of casualties in Fair Play, so when a promotion comes between secret lovers Luke and Emily, personal relationships and fragile egos are the first to be sacrificed to the vicious battles of sexes in the white-collar workplace.
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Lola (1981)
The image of post-war Germany that Rainer Werner Fassbinder composes in Lola is remarkably distinct from its 1905 source material, and yet its tragic romance between a middle-aged gentleman and young performer carries through with vibrant poignancy, melding social realism and colourfully heightened melodrama in a timeless fable of degraded honour.
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My Darling Clementine (1946)
Through John Ford’s grand cinematic mythologising in My Darling Clementine, lawman Wyatt Earp becomes a guardian of modern civilisation and legendary hero of the American frontier, cultivating seeds of growth in the rural town of Tombstone while challenging those who threaten to spoil its future.
