Berlinale Review: Céline Sciamma’s ‘Petite Maman’
“Céline Sciamma’s ‘Petite Maman’ is a luminous ghost story that succeeds in knitting together the themes of empathy, identity and imagination.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘There Is No Evil’
“There Is No Evil’s artistry is inconsistent, but its argument is undeniable.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Min-Ho Woo’s ‘The Man Standing Next’
“Both emotionally and narratively, ‘The Man Standing Next’ is an easy story to get lost in.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Eui-Jeong Hong’s ‘Voice of Silence’
“Rather than using the violence itself as a punchline, ‘Voice of Silence’ builds a comedy of manners out of Chang-bok and his colleagues’ sensibilities.”
A Wild Ride in the Bullpen: How a Young Pedro Almodóvar Upended Genre and Gender
“For all the praise showered on Almodóvar’s later work, it lacks the wildness, freshness and exuberance of his 80s filmography, which often feels unfairly overlooked as a result.”
Nuns and ‘Dark Habits’: Spoiling God’s Servants
“By spoiling God’s servants with sex, drugs and doubt, films like Almodóvar’s ‘Dark Habits’ show that earnestly criticising the Catholic Church’s crimes is not the only way to weaken centuries of unchecked supremacy.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Lili Horvát’s ‘Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time’
“It’s a delight to watch Stork think in ‘Preparations to Be Together.’ Her cogitations are signalled by the darting actions of her piercing blue eyes, the slight flex of an eyebrow or the raising of a subtle and pursed smirk.”
Black Gold: Cinema, Wealth and Blackness
Brian Brems on ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, ‘Da 5 Bloods’ and ‘Trespass’
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Kevin Macdonald’s ‘The Mauritanian’
“The foregrounding of Mohamedou’s experiences and perspective — and, by extension, all those subjected to Guantánamo’s purpose — is the fuel in The Mauritanian’s engine.”
Strength, Solidarity and Grace: Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Volver’ Is an Ode to Womanhood
“Pedro Almodóvar adores women, and he’s a champion of feminism. In no other film is the Spanish filmmaker’s reverence for the female gender more evident than in the 2006 drama ‘Volver.'”
Antonio and Almodóvar
Fedor Tot on Pedro Almodóvar’s Collaborations with Antonio Banderas
Fargo Film Festival Review: Sabrina Doyle’s ‘Lorelei’
“Good onscreen chemistry between Jena Malone and Pablo Schreiber lifts the filmmaker’s debut feature out of traps set by occasionally mundane dialogue and predictable complications.”
Director on the Verge of Change: The Controlled Chaos of Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Julieta’
“One of the great pleasures of watching any Almodóvar film, but especially ‘Julieta,’ is studying its expressionistic textures…”
Review: John Swab’s ‘Body Brokers’
“Swab’s personal experience bleeds into every frame of ‘Body Brokers,’ making it a taxing watch at times, but its true power lies in the details…”
A Quest for Companionship: On Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s ‘Labour of Love’
“What comes to the fore in ‘Labour of Love’ is the difference between hearing and listening.”
Review: Ben Hozie’s ‘PVT Chat’
“In ‘PVT Chat,’ the half-baked attempts to create thematic through lines and symbolism prove to be the greatest flaws.”
Review: Predrag Antonijevic’s ‘Dara of Jasenovac’
“Where Pier Paolo Pasolini pushed the obscenity of fascism to levels that go beyond cinema, to something further back into the subconscious history of art and complicity in aesthetics of evil, ‘Dara of Jasenovac’ merely rubs the audience’s noses in misery.”
Review: Rose Glass’ ‘Saint Maud’
“‘Saint Maud’ proves, once again, that horror, and particularly indie horror, provides the opportunity for first timers to take real risks.”
Sundance Review: Jakub Piatek’s ‘Prime Time’
“‘Prime Time’ is at its most energetic and engaging during the early scenes; a setup familiar enough for any viewer of Sidney Lumet’s ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ or the many films he inspired.”
Sundance Review: Robin Wright’s ‘Land’
“‘Land’ is positioned as an exploration of grief and survivor’s guilt — a crowded celluloid space – but the lack of distinctive figures renders Wright’s film picturesque but fallow.”