“Roger Ebert once wrote ‘it’s not what a film is about, it’s how it is about it,’ and it’s this phrase that I usually return to when thinking about cinema that deals with humanity’s worst impulses.”
“Both emotionally and narratively, ‘The Man Standing Next’ is an easy story to get lost in.”
“It may seem strange to qualify Mertens’ audaciously original production as ‘horror’ when it has no gory set pieces, jump scares, monsters or special effects. Yet, despite a lack of these things, ‘Time of Moulting’ is very much a horror film.”
“As much as I love a good story, the best movies always transport me, in an intangible sense, through the base elements.”
“Greyhound’s inability to venture further into the depths of wartime psychology leaves it susceptible to being forgotten just as quickly as it emerged.”
“In my hatred for the Bond franchise, I feel I may have done a disservice to its star. I have always had a tendency to discount Sean Connery as an exquisitely sculpted statue, capable of filling out a tuxedo very nicely but little else.”
“Jened’s real-life teen angst and its participants’ hopes and dreams — from endless makeout sessions to the hysterical aftermath of a crab outbreak — are as horny, heartfelt and human as it gets.”
“There is a danger and dynamism to 20s cinema which was gradually eradicated by the standardisation of production processes.”
“‘Dark Waters’ may have a downbeat climax, to the degree that may not be considered a climax at all, yet it’s a film made to inspire action, to underline the idea that this crisis is a modern one — it’s still happening, and it’s not resolved.”
“In Malick’s effort to capture the alienation that accompanies modernity, in his contemporary-set films, he ultimately achieves a similar alienation cinematically.”
“Today, what survives is a film of exquisite poise, of fleshly tenderness against concrete cruelty, an evocative warmth against the coldness of Joan’s formidable suffering.”
“Not everyone, and not even every Dylan fan, will go along with the tall tales, but amidst the japes are several of the most riveting live performances of Dylan’s career.”
“Through film, people can step outside the bounds of space and time to revisit the past, to see something old from a new vantage point.”
“‘Happy Death Day 2U’ is a light sci-fi movie with the thinnest veneer of horror, and your enjoyment of the film will depend on your willingness to accept its geeky premise and nonexistent scare factor.”
“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.”
“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…”
“‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’ presents Bowers as a credible authority, but the breadth and depth of the anecdotes leaves it all up to the viewer to accept or reject.”
“‘First Man’ expresses no interest in probing the complexities of space race mythologizing…”
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
Jaime Grijalba on Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine