Love as a Force in Francis Lee’s ‘God’s Own Country’
“What a beautiful gem of a film, one that’s carved so effectively by Francis Lee in his debut feature.”
Real Blood, Fake News: Dan Gilroy’s ‘Nightcrawler’
“Like a modern-day Machiavelli, his amoral world-view doesn’t see the ethical shades of his actions, only the gains and losses they might occur.”
The Boundary-Pushing Comedy in Frank Henenlotter’s Films
“Frank Henenlotter and his films have the demeanor of a naughty uncle making wild, dirty jokes while telling a campfire ghost story. He wants you to take the material seriously, but he’s mostly concerned with you having a great time.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Alexander Mackendrick’s ‘Sweet Smell of Success’
“‘Sweet Smell of Success’ seems to exist somewhere beyond auteurist canonization or even the traditional Hollywood studio stock.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’
“Garrone is more sorry for Marcello’s corruption than he is frustrated by his naivety.”
On Familiar Ground: Paul Schrader and the Death Impulse
Michael J. Casey on Paul Schrader’s thematic links in ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters’ and ‘First Reformed’
Cannes Film Festival Review: David Robert Mitchell’s ‘Under the Silver Lake’
“It’ll take more than a surface-level appreciation of ‘Under the Silver Lake’ to grasp what lies beneath real threats, instinctive desire and a swilling indebtment to the world that has shaped who we are.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Asghar Farhadi’s ‘Everybody Knows’
“Though it’s not one of Farhadi’s best films, ‘Everybody Knows’ is still an effective, impactful thriller.”
Walking Contradiction: The Double Life of Cisco Pike
“‘Cisco Pike’ is a meditation on failure at all levels; defeat was in the air and no stratum of society was exempt.”
An Indictment of the Responsible Adult: Ruben Östlund’s ‘The Square’
“This isn’t simple hypocrisy. It’s a reversal of expected roles. Children in ‘The Square’ are equated with a moral courage that has been stripped from the film’s adults.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Wanuri Kahiu’s ‘Rafiki’
“Without being didactic or simplistic, Kahiu shows the widely different ways in which the people around the girls react to their affection to suggest that, although not all Kenyans are homophobic today, lives are still ruined by a pervasive intolerance.”
The Journey of Evolution and Liberation in ‘Disobedience’
“Through its moving journey of evolution, truth and desire, ‘Disobedience’ displays that liberation makes life richer, and that it’s necessary to feel truly alive.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s ‘Birds of Passage’
“Guerra and Gallego may not have reproduced the surreal images from ‘Embrace of the Serpent,’ but their determination to preserve the history of those who capitalism has destroyed remains as strong and necessary as ever.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Bornila Chatterjee’s ‘The Hungry’
“For a play that is so much about macho-ness and the male code of honor, it is refreshing to watch Chatterjee give it a somewhat feminist tweak.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stefen Styrsky on John Huston’s ‘Reflections in a Golden Eye’
“Lending the story a rarefied patina is the cinematography.”
New York Indian Film Festival Review: Ravi Jadhav’s ‘Nude’
“‘Nude’ is a caveat to our times; a warning that we are driving arts education to a point of redundancy with our politics…”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Ioana Uricaru’s ‘Lemonade’
“‘Lemonade’ makes palpable the psychological experience of immigration and the constant, self-effacing guardedness it encourages.”
Review: Janus Metz’s ‘Borg vs McEnroe’
“‘Borg vs McEnroe’ loses momentum during its tennis sequences, but that’s just a minor complaint. Advantage LaBeouf.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Sebastián Lelio’s ‘Disobedience’
“Given the meticulousness Lelio affords to form in ‘Disobedience,’ there’s something a bit schematic about his characters.”
Inherited Trauma and Jewish Themes in ‘Ghost Stories’
“Finally facing the ghost actually releases the tension. And so, it is only by facing a trauma like the Holocaust that future generations can begin to relieve its effects.”