Review: Nora Fingscheidt’s ‘System Crasher’
“Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, ‘System Crasher (Systemsprenger)’ features a tremendous central performance from Helena Zengel, along with superb use of editing and colour.”
Review: Safy Nebbou’s ‘Who You Think I Am’
“Stories of older women emotionally manipulating younger acquaintances remain commonplace, but Nebbou’s film manages to find something genuinely human beneath tired hagsploitation tropes.”
Review: Neasa Hardiman’s ‘Sea Fever’
“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’: A Search for Answers to an Unanswerable Situation
“‘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.”
Eliza Hittman’s ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ Releases Digitally
“Hittman’s third feature continues to demonstrate the talents, sensibilities and cinematic evolution of a first-rate writer-director…”
Review: Romas Zabarauskas’ ‘The Lawyer’
“‘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.”
Review: Malgorzata Szumowska’s ‘The Other Lamb’
“The female gaze is strong in ‘The Other Lamb,’ lovingly capturing Cassidy’s delicate, open features particularly when they begin twisting into something resembling anger…”
Review: Midge Costin’s ‘Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound’
“‘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.”
Review: Ashley Eakin’s ‘Single’
“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’: Guy Maddin and the Johnsons Visit Alfred Hitchcock
“‘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.”
Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘The Truth’
“‘The Truth’ is best viewed as a watered down (but often quite enjoyable) riff on many of Assayas’ recurrent thematic obsessions.”
Review: Matthew Ninaber’s ‘Transference’
“‘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.”
Review: Liz Garbus’ ‘Lost Girls’
“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.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Nick Rowland’s ‘Calm with Horses’
“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.”
Review: Autumn de Wilde’s ‘Emma.’
“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.”
Review: Numa Perrier’s ‘Jezebel’
“‘Jezebel’ is a rallying cry for all black girls trying to figure out who they see in the mirror and on the screen.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Jung Da-won’s ‘Miss & Mrs. Cops’
“‘Miss & Mrs. Cops’ is a genuinely light-hearted movie which never strays into the emotional register of real life or real pain.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Régis Roinsard’s ‘Les traducteurs’
“Roinsard is so preoccupied with setting up the next twist that ‘Les traducteurs’ does little to establish why viewers should care.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Philippe Garrel’s ‘The Salt of Tears’
“‘The Salt of Tears’ hovers around repulsive aspects of society without fully committing to its own unpleasantness…”
Review: ‘Dark Whispers: Volume 1’
“The problem with ‘Dark Whispers: Volume 1’ is the same as with any horror anthology — the stories are only as good as what’s come before.”