Breaking free from heritage: ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ and ‘Trainspotting’

   The British film industry of the 1980s and 1990s was dominated by the ‘heritage’ film, to an extent where such films often overshadowed examples of different types of filmmaking. The 1980s in particular where characterised by the success of such films as Chariots of Fire (1981) and A Room With a View (1985), and this was a pattern which continued into the 1990s, with … Continue reading Breaking free from heritage: ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ and ‘Trainspotting’

‘Britishness’ and British Film in the 1980s and ‘90s

   The 1980s and 1990s were a time of rapid social change; as class barriers shifted, attitudes evolved – towards class, but also towards the different nationalities that make up Britain. Devolution of power to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in the late 1990s was an important step in undermining what Peter J. Taylor called ‘the English presumption’ – the automatic equation of ‘British’ … Continue reading ‘Britishness’ and British Film in the 1980s and ‘90s

Shifting and Uncertain Identity in the Films of Wong Kar-Wai

   Since his 1988 debut with As Tears Go By, Wong Kar-Wai has established himself as one of Hong Kong’s premier filmmakers, both locally and internationally. He is one of the major success stories to come out of the region’s ‘Second Wave’ of art cinema, courting huge international interest with his enigmatic and individual film style. Wong’s unique approach to filmmaking could be viewed as … Continue reading Shifting and Uncertain Identity in the Films of Wong Kar-Wai