There are few writers who are as infamously cruel to their characters as Franz Kafka.

Two bleak and philosophical films centering around mysterious animals provide us with a prism through which to view our own human world.

Sasho Pshenko explores Spencer and how its depiction of Princess Diana bears a striking resemblance to the Kafkaesque world.

Elliot Jordan revisits the Hannibal Lecter series and argues for it as not only great literature but the ultimate modern fairytale.

Valdimar Jóhannsson’s debut thriller Lamb (2021) has been hailed by critics for its bleak cinematography and strange, dreadful suspense.

Sasho Pshenko revisits The Master and Margarita and finds in it a guide, of sorts, to an unexpected form of resistance: passivity.

Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a revelry of cinematic styles and innovation.

Sasho Pshenko dives into Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up and shows us why any attempt to separate truth from deception is missing the point.

What does it mean for experimental film, differentiated from its commercial counterpart by its ability to break rules, to go “too far”?

Dive into seven of Egyptian director Youssef Chahine's quintessential films to understand this most enigmatic of filmmakers.

Ed Simon’s new book, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh, takes an idiosyncratic and fresh look at the origins of the Steel City.

Explore Phoenix’s undeniable links to Hitchcock’s Vertigo and the kinetic and psychic movement of characters through the worlds of both.

The weather is finally warmer and the days finally longer; with summer upon us, Elliot Jordan compiles a list of eight incredible novels.

Sasho Pshenko examines The Father from the perspective of its narrative structure and tries to determine if critical praise has misplaced.

Elliot Jordan reads the Wolf Hall trilogy and grows to sympathize with the unexpectedly progressive and otherwise unsavory Thomas Cromwell.

Tony Buba spent his career filming his hometown of Braddock, PA. Lily Ekimian looks back at Lightning Over Braddock and its brutal honesty.

Explore György Lukács’ assertion that irony is the highest freedom in a world without God through an examination of Madame Bovary.

While food has long been a potent conveyor of nostalgia, explore how the work of N. K. Jemisin may turn our gaze towards the future.

Explore the politics of fantasy novels in exploring Strange Evil and War for the Oaks, and how both have been overshadowed by Tolkien.

From Nietzsche to Schopenhauer, Raphaël Duhamel explores the philosophical discourse in Charlie Kaufman’s latest film.

Hope Mirrlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist, a novel often overlooked in modernist literature, gets an in-depth revisit from Victor Rees.

Elliot Jordan revisits Douglas Dunn’s extraordinary novel-in-verse, The Donkey’s Ears, and one of history’s most oft-overlooked odysseys.

Elliot Jordan explores themes of Catholicism present throughout the work of Robert Browning.

Hollywood has a racism problem – that much is clear. But is it beyond repair?

Lily Ekimian explores the feminist reading of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion.

Lily Ekimian argues that William Greaves’ 1968 documentary, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is the perfect example of performance art.

Elliot Jordan discusses Francis Spufford’s bold historical novel Red Plenty and its retelling of a pivotal and hopeful moment in the history

Have you been experiencing strange dreams? Read Ahmed Ragheb’s take on dreams in film and the strange realities of David Lynch’s work.

Elliot Jordan looks back at the dark, disturbing and prescient worlds detailed in the work of Joseph Conrad.

Antonioni, the prolific hero of Italian cinema, seems to have fallen out of focus in recent times but is he the exact filmmaker we need now?

Lily Ekimian argues that technical blunders are one of her favorite aspects of moviegoing and why Jeanne Dielman is her favorite film.

The limits of sanity and sexual desire are tested in Robert Eggers’ latest feature film.

How much can a film truly influence policy and opinion? Ahmed Ragheb reexamines The Battle of Algiers and its continuing relevance.

What we talk about when we talk about literary minimalism.

Lily Ekimian explores the anatomy and charm of a David Sedaris book signing.

Dreams and reality clash in these two films directed by legendary filmmaker Luis Buñuel.

Raphaël Duhamel gives us an in-depth look back at the elaborate career of director Paul Thomas Anderson.

What’s so scary about being average? Lily Ekimian reexamines John Cheever’s 1947 short story, "The Enormous Radio."