Jonathan Kiefer on ‘Around the Sun’ and the Plurality of Unknowns
Yoana Pavlova Interviews ‘Around the Sun’ Screenwriter Jonathan Kiefer
‘The Assistant’: Kitty Green’s Important Workplace Drama
“Green’s skillful direction is a master class in strategic elision.”
Review: Grímur Hákonarson’s ‘The County’
“Filled with powerful female-led moments, laid on the backdrop of the Icelandic countryside, Hákonarson’s crowd-pleasing humanist creation strengthens Iceland’s reputation within the international film circuit.”
The Disaster Area: From ‘Airport’ to ‘Airplane!’ – Part Two
Part Two of a Four-Part Disaster Movie Series by Bill Bria
World Cinema Project: The Sights and Sounds of a Nation – ‘Trances’ and ‘Redes’
“As with the underlying creed of Trances, the unambiguous intent of Redes’ communal message resonates in its country of origin and around the world, communicating the pleas for justice, egalitarianism and independence that are vital facets of life and are so often central to the best of all cinematic documentaries.”
Alike in Their Way: (Un)happy Families in ‘Teorema’ and ‘Visitor Q’
“While ‘Teorema’ and ‘Visitor Q’ share a common DNA, what’s most striking is the way each film uses The Stranger. Both figures bring with them a kind of new order, as if they were missing puzzle pieces for the families that they integrate themselves into.”
12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #11 – ‘Night Falls on Manhattan’
“In ‘Night Falls on Manhattan,’ Lumet arrives at acceptance — the system is what it is. He is resigned to his inability to chronicle any meaningful change through his work.”
Review: Marc Collin’s ‘Le choc du futur’
“One of the most accomplished elements of ‘Le choc du futur,’ which is Collin’s feature debut (he is better known as covers project Nouvelle Vague’s co-founder), is the way the film engages in an ongoing conversation on the nature of art and how we consume it as well as create it.”
Review: Jeff Barnaby’s ‘Blood Quantum’
“Politically motivated but never preachy, ‘Blood Quantum’ is a zombie movie for the ages that honors the grandest traditions of the genre while remaining true to its own unique essence.”
Edward Yang’s ‘Yi Yi’ in the Era of Social Distancing
“‘Yi Yi’ is a film for grown ups in the sense that the characters have lived long enough to understand how memories of people can stay with them over the course of their lives. Keeping your distance from people is not the same as giving up on them.”
Review: Pablo Larraín’s ‘Ema’
“‘Ema’ is a challenge to the walls we build around ourselves, to the baggage we leave behind for our children and the folly of the damage we can do to each other.”
Review: Rachel Harrison Gordon’s ‘Broken Bird’
“‘Broken Bird’ may be only 10 minutes long, but the rhythms, characterizations and thematic interests make it feel like a richly detailed feature-length accomplishment.”
Interview with ‘Moffie’ Filmmaker Oliver Hermanus
Alistair Ryder Interviews South African Filmmaker Oliver Hermanus About ‘Moffie’
Foreign Objects: ‘Swallow’ Is a Convincing Feature Debut for Director Carlo Mirabella-Davis
“Haley Bennett’s central performance is career-best work.”
Review: Kirill Sokolov’s ‘Why Don’t You Just Die!’
“Revolving around an encounter in a single Russian apartment, Kirill Sokolov’s ‘Why Don’t You Just Die?’ is an electrifyingly-kinetic black comedy with densely-packed homages to international action cinema and a satirical commentary about Russian society.”
The Disaster Area: From ‘Airport’ to ‘Airplane!’ – Part One
“It is during the 70s that the disaster film’s most pure and admirable entries were made, bookended by two significantly different stories involving air travel fiascos.”
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.”
World Cinema Project: Beyond the Bounds of Narrative – ‘Limite’ and ‘Mysterious Object at Noon’
“Abstract and disjointed, the narrative of ‘Mysterious Object at Noon’ is progressively piecemeal, and what occurs in ‘Limite’ is even more inconclusive.”
Movement and Melancholy in Michael Mann’s ‘Miami Vice’
“In the cinema of Michael Mann, romance comes fast or not at all, often smothered by the anonymous network of mankind itself or maybe just your job.”
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.”