“Relishing in its ability to wrong foot and thrill right to its final moments, ‘Bacurau’ is an unashamedly cinematic experience, with its makers playing in a sandbox of tropes and expectations, subverting them to put forward a radical and wholly essential message.”
“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.”
“Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, ‘System Crasher (Systemsprenger)’ features a tremendous central performance from Helena Zengel, along with superb use of editing and colour.”
“Stories of older women emotionally manipulating younger acquaintances remain commonplace, but Nebbou’s film manages to find something genuinely human beneath tired hagsploitation tropes.”
“In these increasingly confusing times, taking solace anywhere we can is more important than ever, and it’s impressively weird, intelligent movies like ‘Sea Fever’ that offer such comfort.”
“‘Finding Yingying’ doesn’t try to offer answers that it can’t manifest in reality, and instead allows the legacy of its subject to lead the way, through intimate diary entries, by pondering the important questions of who we want to be, for each other and for our communities.”
“‘The Lawyer’ doesn’t fully grapple with its weighty white saviour theme, and ends up becoming as simplified as what it was setting out to subvert.”
“The female gaze is strong here, lovingly capturing Cassidy’s delicate, open features particularly when they begin twisting into something resembling anger…”
“‘Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound’ often turns its ears to previously unheard nooks and crannies that will light a fire in the next generation of world-class film artists.”
“More than ever, it’s crucial to be more cognizant about the complexities of social situations, certainly when speaking to, or speaking about, people with disabilities.”
“‘The Green Fog’ is another shining example of how easy it can be to disappear in the silver screen labyrinth. These mirrors and rhymes of familiar sights, looks, places, actions and themes form the basis of how we experience narrative filmmaking.”
“‘The Truth’ is best viewed as a watered down (but often quite enjoyable) riff on many of Assayas’ recurrent thematic obsessions.”
“‘Transference’ feels like a 13-and-under science fiction-themed board game. The pieces are clearly labeled, the color design fits the genre premise and the directions are confusing.”
“The lack of resolution inherent in the source material sets up an insurmountable task: the solution to the central crime and mystery that puts this particular story in motion.”
“Rowland’s direction throughout is clean and deliberate, rarely showy. He evokes the kind of barren small town where there is almost nothing to fight over, although some still find a way. There’s a bleakness to all of it, a greyness.”
“Sumptuously designed, elegantly appointed and spectacularly costumed and coiffed, de Wilde’s fresh rendition has a piquant flavor complemented as much by self-aware sexiness as the abundant pastel hues on display.”
“‘Jezebel’ is a rallying cry for all black girls trying to figure out who they see in the mirror and on the screen.”
“‘Miss & Mrs. Cops’ is a genuinely light-hearted movie which never strays into the emotional register of real life or real pain.”
“Roinsard is so preoccupied with setting up the next twist that ‘Les traducteurs’ does little to establish why viewers should care.”
“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…”
