Glasgow Film Festival Review: Peter Hedges’ ‘Ben Is Back’
“Even if ‘Ben is Back’ tries a little too hard to ramp up the stakes, the fact remains that Hedges and Roberts’ performances make for an incredibly powerful on-screen relationship.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Kei Chikaura’s ‘Complicity’
“A rare co-production between China and Japan, ‘Complicity’ is a timely feature that fits perfectly in our current political climate, especially as Chikaura urges viewers to lend a helping hand despite the most unfavourable circumstances.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Li Cheng’s ‘José’
“‘José’ depicts a toxic environment where no one can love freely, where relationships are doomed to sink and where looking at the sky can only offer a fickle joy lasting as briefly as fireworks during a hot summer night.”
Review: Camille Vidal-Naquet’s ‘Sauvage / Wild’
“‘Sauvage’ emerges in the context of ‘BPM (Beats Per Minute)’ as a darker, grittier cousin. Both tell physically intimate stories, but where ‘BPM (Beats Per Minute)’ brims with romance, anger and sheer joy, ‘Sauvage’ has a harder edge and leaves more of a bitter taste.”
IFFR 2019 Bright Future Review: Virgil Vernier’s ‘Sophia Antipolis’
“‘Sophia Antipolis’ is not a movie that will be easily digested outside of movie theaters, as it goes mostly for an aesthetic experience rather than a plot-driven story.”
IFFR 2019 Bright Future Review: Brian Follmer’s ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’
“‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ finds a solidly affecting balance of lightheartedness, satire and true, resonant emotion in its final 20 minutes…”
Berlinale 2019 Review: Agnieszka Holland’s ‘Mr. Jones’
“A worthy tale of a pivotal figure, ‘Mr. Jones’ deserves consideration, even if it is to be met with confusion and scorn.”
Berlinale 2019 Review: Alejandro Landes’ ‘Monos’
“‘Monos’ is a powerhouse of mood and aesthetic, weaponising every element of the form in service of a nightmarish descent into hell in the vein of ‘Lord of the Flies’ or ‘Heart of Darkness.’”
Berlinale 2019 Review: Joanna Hogg’s ‘The Souvenir’
“‘The Souvenir’ is an infuriating but ultimately rewarding experience set to inspire deep criticism and analysis.”
IFFR 2019 Bright Future Review: Ivan Salatić’s ‘You Have the Night’
“Waves are dark in Salatić’s sea, and the sound of a constant, unavoidable motor seems to be heard within every character.”
IFFR 2019 Bright Future Review: Simona Kostova’s ‘Dreissig’
“By suggesting that this 24-hour period is a milestone, or page, of an ongoing story, Kostova creates an insightful portrait crafted from carefully-observed scraps and shards. The result is strangely dazzling, like a mosaic.”
Man on Fire: ‘White Heat’ and the Dynamic James Cagney
“Cagney’s sadistic lead in ‘White Heat,’ a searing 1949 crime drama from director Raoul Walsh, is something well past the norms of a conventional male protagonist — or antagonist, for that matter.”
Review: Jihane Chouaib’s ‘Go Home’
“‘Go Home’ is quite a modest film in its wider intentions and cultural implications, and that often works to its advantage from a technical perspective.”
Review: Jonas Åkerlund’s ‘Lords of Chaos’
“‘Lords of Chaos’ is a nasty little treat: involving, fascinating and often shocking.”
IFFR 2019 Review: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s ‘Asako I & II’
“With surprising poignancy, ‘Asako I and II’ channels the humbling smallness of life’s journey, and the human tendency to resist this banal, often disappointing reality with self-delusion.”
Two Hearts: The Love and Loss of Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’
“Another stunning work of perfectly placed ellipses and calculated restraint, Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’ is a film filled with images as iconic and austere as its blunt title.”
On ‘The House That Jack Built,’ Art Monsters and Not-So-Guilty Pleasures
“Perhaps dismissing von Trier’s work is the right course of action for those that have never found anything to connect to in his films. As for the rest of us (women)… the relationship will only continue to take warped, strained forms.”
A Heavenly Juliette Binoche ‘Lets the Sunshine In’ for Claire Denis
“The presence of Binoche in ‘Let the Sunshine In’ is a bit of brilliance that taunts and challenges the viewer; if Isabelle can’t find lasting, fulfilling tenderness and companionship, what chance do the rest of us have?”
This Is This: The Manifold Masculinity of Michael Cimino’s ‘The Deer Hunter’
“‘The Deer Hunter’ encapsulates a commanding representation of a precise period in American history, a precise location and precise types of men — somewhat clichéd, yes, but remarkably representative.”
‘Zama’: Lucrecia Martel Gets Delirious
“Liminality is the coin of Martel’s realm in ‘Zama,’ and she manages to make the excruciating uncertainty of the long pause an engrossing experience for the audience…”