Ard Vijn

Netherlands

Market IT Operations Manager during the day, masquerading as a Movie Reviewer for https://t.co/z8wk0lB7Hn and Schokkend Nieuws magazine at night...

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screenanarchy.com

Articles

Pretty Packaging: ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS VOL. 2 Haunts Harder

1 month ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Back in 2021, writer-director Kier-La Janisse released Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, a great 3-hours-(and-14-minutes)-long documentary about witchcraft and mysticism around the world, especially as seen in films. That documentary didn't just get a special release on Blu-ray, it basically got THE MOST SPECIAL release on Blu-ray: a magnificent boxset with not just the documentary, but also 19 other films about folk magic, and tons and tons of extras. All curated by Kier-La herself.
Rotterdam 2025: What The Audiences Liked Best

1 month ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Three weeks ago, Rotterdam wrapped up its International Film Festival, and a few days after that they published the final results of their audience ratings, which is always a highlight for me. As the saying goes, everybody is a critic, and at film festivals that is especially true. People who are paid to watch films may have a different definition of 'time well spent' than people who actually PAY to watch films, so I hold the audience ratings in high esteem.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: MEMOIR OF A SNAIL Gets You, Pacing Be Damned

2 months ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Back in 2009 we were treated to one of the best films ever made about autism, and it was, surprise surprise, an animated puppet feature. That was Mary and Max, directed by Adam Elliot, who had previously won an Academy Award for his short Harvie Krumpet. A filmmaker with the storytelling ability to make you root for the outsider stuck in an uncaring environment, and with a gloomy visual eye to match Tim Burton's.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: I'M STILL HERE Will Not Fade From Your Memory

2 months ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

In 1970, Brazil was suffering under a military dictatorship. Political opponents and critics were arrested, tortured and murdered. As much as 20,000 people were "disappeared" under the regime. One of them was Rubens Pavia, an architect who had been a left-wing member of congress. Years later, Pavia's son became a famous writer who wrote a book about his father's disappearance and his mother's struggle to make the authorities confess the truth.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: LILIM Makes You Look Under The Bed

2 months ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has a healthy relationship with Asian genre cinema. In the past it was basically the go-to place for fans to check it out, and the (in)famous "Rotterdämmerung" part of the festival provided anime, horror and fantasy.
Ard's Dozen Of Musings About 2024

Jan 15, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Normally around this time of January I give an overview of impressions I got in the previous year. Why me? What makes me so special? Well... sometimes, in the past, I actually hadn't seen enough films to properly participate in the regular "Top 10" list but still wanted to talk about a few. So I started writing about six things, which made me remember eight, then I realized I could actually do ten anyway, and then decided to add two things I wanted to say as well.
Screen Anarchists On NOSFERATU

Jan 12, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Last week we posted an article listing our favorite films from 2024, and one entry in it was Robert Eggers' new take on Nosferatu. It was notable for at least two reasons. One: it only premièred at Christmas so not many people had seen it yet and STILL it made it into the list. And two: the official review here on our site, by J. Hurtado, was pretty negative. So what to do, when we see such different views on the same topic?
Imagine 2024 Review: MI BESTIA

Dec 11, 2024 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

It's almost funny how well puberty and horror mix, especially for women. It's not just bodies and moods that change with hormones, but also the behavior of everyone else. Some see an innocent cherub changing into a possible sexual conquest, to be pursued or protected, or even a sudden rival for attention. For everyone in puberty, their place in society changes, but again, this is especially true for women.
Pretty Packaging: The UK MACROSS PLUS Release May Make You Sing

Nov 28, 2024 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

It's been a while since I featured Anime Limited in this category (the last one was Belle two years ago...), but that doesn't mean the Scottish distributor has been quiet. In fact, the company got itself slightly reorganized and joined forces with several other distributors to streamline their ordering processes. Thankfully, what didn't change is that now and again they release an Ultimate Edition. Here is their newest, and it's...
MEANWHILE ON EARTH Review: How Far Would You Go

Nov 6, 2024 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Fantastic genres like science fiction, fantasy and horror lend themselves for hiding a message in your entertainment. Throw in monsters, aliens or revolting transformations and you can make the most difficult ethical dilemmas palatable for a larger audience. But some films do away with the 'hiding' part and go straight for the dilemma. One of those is French director Jérémy Clapin's new film Meanwhile on Earth (released in its home country as Pendant ce Temps sur Terre).