Zareef Daian

If it could break free of tropes, anime could soar even higher
Reliance on formulaic storylines is holding the industry back from even greater heights
Love Scenes: ‘Fallen Leaves’ is a romance for stoics
Aki Kaurismäki’s return blends his usual dry and deadpan wit with a poignant romantic comedy
Love Scenes: Love as metamorphosis in ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’
The classic pairing of an artist and their muse is reinterpreted through the lens of myth in this sweeping, passionate modern masterpiece
Love Scenes: Levity and romance battle existentialism in "The Worst Person in the World”
The sharp, unflinching movie asks – should we reimagine the meaning of love in the modern world?
Love Scenes: ‘Ghuddi’, a great, grounded romance about growing up
The classic Bangla film’s realistic approach to romance still resonates 40 years later
Love Scenes: The serendipity of ‘Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy’
A movie recommendation for Valentine's Day - an anthology film with a tantalising exploration of the role of coincidence in love
'Killers of the Flower Moon': The anti-Western epic Scorsese was destined to make
The great American director plumbs the depths of a dark chapter in the country's history in a complex, iconoclastic opus
Stripe’s Song of the Day: Sufjan Stevens – Auld Lang Syne
The old Scottish standard is a fixture on New Year’s Eve for good reason