Sundance Review: Hanna Bergholm’s ‘Hatching’
“An old-fashioned tale given a wonderfully disgusting makeover, ‘Hatching’ is a promising feature debut from Bergholm.”
“An old-fashioned tale given a wonderfully disgusting makeover, ‘Hatching’ is a promising feature debut from Bergholm.”
“‘Living’ translates wonderfully to post-war Britain, but it never gives the audience time to explore the full depths of sadness like Kurosawa’s source material.”
“‘Red Rocket’ is Baker’s strongest work to date, a film much smarter (and far funnier) than its provocative synopsis would suggest.”
“There is a general sense of otherworldliness that feels enrapturing in ‘Spencer,’ even if Larraín stumbles while addressing the heavier themes.”
“‘Sundown’ is in the curious position of being a step backwards, while at least not plumbing to the ideological depths of ‘New Order’ to quite the same extent.”
“‘The Mad Women’s Ball’ is a squandered opportunity when considering the richness of both the source material and the many stories encapsulated within the asylum walls.”
“‘Moneyboys’ is the first of a planned thematic trilogy from Yi, which is good news — this is the kind of promising debut that will make audiences eager to see what he does next.”
“‘Unclenching the Fists’ is a haunting watch, but a substantial one; a movie that will move Kovalenko up to the next tier of filmmakers in the arthouse and festival circuit.”
“‘La Civil’ excels as a character study of a woman putting herself in considerable danger to find her daughter — but when viewed as a crime procedural, the necessity of relying on various tropes does the film a disservice.”
“‘In the Heights’ is far from a smooth transition from stage to screen, but the film remains an infectiously charming tale of community, and a far more incisive piece of social commentary than one might expect from the creator of ‘Hamilton.'”
“The way ‘Sweetheart’ approaches the topic of AJ’s sexuality isn’t groundbreaking, but in a world where queer coming of age stories are still defined by the “coming out” part, it feels refreshing all the same.”
“‘Enfant Terrible’ is one of the more successful examples of a director biopic, but the familiar conventions of the genre eventually do a disservice to such a talented filmmaker.”
“Many of us may miss the drama of awards season, but there are untold benefits to criticism if it continues to evolve away from its current state.”
VVoices #2: Film Critics Discuss Gatekeeping
“The most surprising thing about ‘In the Earth’ may be just how much of a return it is to the pitch black humour that characterised Wheatley’s earliest films.”
“‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ would’ve benefitted from leaning more into the ambiguous lines between documentation and constructed fiction, but it remains a fascinating fiction debut nevertheless.”
“‘One for the Road’ feels like a filmmaker trying to capture another director’s voice to the extent that they lose their own in the process.”
“‘Funny Boy’ may seem groundbreaking on paper, but there’s nothing particularly original about this overly familiar and largely reductive adaptation of an acclaimed novel.”
“‘Minari’ might be the best example to date of a film that understands the romantic appeal of a country that claims to pride itself on its immigrant population, and why millions of people worldwide still follow that ideal…”
“There’s a lot to admire about ‘Pieces of a Woman,’ but Mundruczó’s film loses its way as it continues to untether itself from the opening’s grounded realism.”