Open Spaces, Solid Foundations: ‘The American Sector’ and ‘The Building’ at Open City Documentary Festival
“While ‘The American Sector’ outstays its welcome, I’m not sure if ‘The Building’ wants to be invited in to begin with.”
Ben Flanagan
Shorts Without Borders: Assessing the National Competition at Locarno 2020
“Given that documentaries are being pushed into hybrid spaces, and that many modern animators are covering morbid subject matter, these 12 short films give an example of contemporary moving image work pushing at cinema’s comfort zones.”
One Tough Nun: Spiritual Awakening in Isabel Sandoval’s ‘Aparisyon’
“It’s a fascinating experience to see ‘Aparisyon’ via Locarno’s ‘Open Doors’ strand, where it is presented as a key work in understanding contemporary Filipino cinema.”
Local Heroes: Ben Flanagan on Odeon Chelmsford
“Local Heroes” is a Vague Visages column dedicated to movie theater memories and the theatrical experience.
Uneasy Recognition: On Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Yourself and Yours’
“A lager-frothy comedy, ‘Yourself and Yours’ is a perfect balance of Hong’s output, an ideal entry point for new viewers while delivering variations of the filmmaker’s recurrent themes.”
Review: Alex Lee Moyer’s ‘TFW NO GF’
“By the time ‘TFW NO GF’ lets the viewer up for air, faith in the facts will have dissipated. It may feel like time to get offline, and stay there.”
Why Criticism: Brian De Palma and Film as Film Criticism
“If the point of criticism is to bring the reader closer to the artwork, then Schrader’s reviews of other films are as important as his own to understanding his perspective.”
Review: Brandon Christensen’s ‘Z’
“As a genre exercise, ‘Z’ shows promise for what Christensen might do with a higher budget.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Philippe Garrel’s ‘The Salt of Tears’
“The continual resistance to progressivism by French film culture at large is up to them to figure out, from Cannes’ inability to put more than four women in competition in a given year to Cahiers du cinéma being sacrificed in the name of quality French cinema…”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Alexandre Rockwell’s ‘Sweet Thing’
“‘Sweet Thing’ is creatively shot and bursting with energy, but Rockwell’s biggest ambition is seemingly to replicate a bunch of ideas from other films, to put visuals to his favourite songs and to showcase his talented family.”