Review: Marianne Métivier’s ‘She Who Wears the Rain’
“‘She Who Wears the Rain’ shows how lucid dreaming engagement can help people cope with mental health issues.”
Narcissus’ Pink Mirror: On Fantasy and Queer Desire
“Fantasy exists to create a place of greater safety, a rejection of the real world in favour of one that allows for an open, unapologetic queerness.”
A Long Time Ago, in Northern California: When David Lynch Met George Lucas
“Both Lucas and Lynch’s world views allow for the possibility of personal atonement, and for external peace emerging from inner peace.”
Sergio Caballero’s ‘Je te tiens’: The Many Machinations of a Movie
“‘Je te tiens’ connotes a representation of the conversation that exists between the inner contextual world of a film and the overarching art of filmmaking itself.”
La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Review: Ariane Labed’s ‘Olla’
“Through sharp sound design and awkward moments of situational comedy, ‘Olla’ highlights the inner fire of a young woman; a charismatic vagabond. Like her frequent collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos, Labed uses tonally offbeat situations to hilariously explore perceptions of logical and illogical behavior.”
La Semaine de la Critique Review: Valentina Maurel’s ‘Lucia en el limbo’
“Maurel allows Arenas’ body language to speak for her, rather than relying upon cliché teenage dialogue found in many Hollywood films.”
La Semaine de la Critique Review: Moin Hussain’s ‘Naptha’
“Moin Hussain’s ‘Naptha’ is a classic, compact portrait of a strained father-son relationship that addresses the angst of aging and the pain that familial relationships can bring.”
Some Kind of Connection: Loss and Technology in the Films of Sophy Romvari
Mike Thorn Interviews Filmmaker Sophy Romvari
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2019 Review: George Gounezos’ ‘Outer Space Kids’
“The film itself doesn’t have a clear narrative structure, but that’s not at all a detriment. ‘Outer Space Kids’ is more so an experience, a glimpse into a world of art that exists beyond socially constructed borders.”
Clermont-Ferrand 2019 Short Film Review: Chien-Yu Lin’s ‘The Sound of Falling’
“‘The Sound of Falling’ is beguiling and a handsome work by a promising filmmaker. Whether Chien-Yu Lin’s future work lands on either writing, directing or production design, she’s one to keep an eye on.”
Clermont-Ferrand 2019 Short Film Review: Carlos Abascal Peiro’s ‘Jupiter!’
“Oftentimes, shorts will hammer home their endings, but Peiro executes his conclusion quickly, and with full confidence.”
Clermont-Ferrand 2019 Short Film Review: Kitao Sakurai’s ‘The Passage’
“With a gorgeous vintage sheen across its 4:3 aspect ratio, Sakurai’s short establishes a magical realist land that magnifies the burgeoning diversity of America today – along with all the confusion, preposterousness and sudden violence that comes with it.”
NoBudge Breakdown: June 25 – July 8, 2018
NoBudge Breakdown is a weekly round-up of featured films at NoBudge. For this installment, Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough examined two weeks of short films (before NB’s summer break) and picked a few that stood out the most.
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.”
Review: Kazik Radwanski’s ‘Scaffold’
“Out of a fractured, tentative world, Kazik Radwanski created a strong and whole short film.”
A Musical Necropic: Todd Haynes’ ‘Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story’
“It’s done critically, sympathetically and with a demand from the viewer to take responsibility for their role in the story, too.”
Éric Rohmer’s Battle of the Sexes
“Rohmer cares more about posing questions than providing the comfort of a conclusion.”
What I Learned from Martin Scorsese’s ‘Life Lessons’
“Martin Scorsese’s ‘Life Lessons’ benefits more from analysis as a self-standing artistic expression than as a counterpoint to the other installments of ‘New York Stories.'”
Streamless – Off the Subscription Grid: ‘Film’ Starring 1965 Buster Keaton
“How are we doing here, folks? Does any of this make a lick of sense?”
Streamless – Off the Subscription Grid: ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’
“This is L-I-V-I-N in the moment at its best.”