The Cold Formalism and Corrupted Purity

Haneke’s The White Ribbon announces its intentions not with a bang, but with a glacial, unnerving quiet. Subtitled "A German Children’s Story," the film opens on the eve of World War I in the fictional Protestant village.

Karim Liu|March 1, 2026

Sun-scorched ruin above the Mediterranean; leather, steel, gold, and blood framed in fetishistic close-ups—*Let the Corpses Tan* (2017).

Review

The Abstract Brutality and Sun-Scored Fetish of 'Let the Corpses Tan'

In Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s brutalist Western, character and plot are incinerated by the Mediterranean sun, leaving behind a pure, fetishistic spectacle of surfaces.

February 5, 2026

Christian (Claes Bang) before the illuminated “Square” installation in Stockholm—trust framed as art, and a satire of the gap between concept and conduct (*The Square*, 2017).

Review

The Sanctity of the Void: The Uncomfortable Art of Watching Us Fail in The Square

Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner is a savagely intelligent satire of the art world’s moral vacuum, but its relentless catalogue of human failure sometimes mistakes spectacle.

November 4, 2025