Filmmaker Pablo Larraín has garnered a reputation for his particular use of style as seen in Oscar-nominated films “Jackie“ and “A Fantastic Woman.” His prolific nature, releasing on average two movies a year, combined with such an idiosyncratic vision doesn’t always prove a revelation. Case and point, earlier this year his English remake of “Gloria […]
The film captures an unusual coming-of-age story based in Sri Lanka, where the Tamils and the Sinhalese are at war with one another, a schism that reflects the one in families who firmly believe in dichotomous categorization of sexuality, making any other manifestation illegal. Arjie (played by Nand and Ingram as younger and older) seems to
One of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. It’s so well constructed, suspense is maintained throughout, and all the elements of filmmaking excel. As director, Edoardo Ponti (son of Carlo and Sophia), keeps a moving pace with the action, complemented by the cinematography (Angus Hudson), the music (Gabriel Yared), and above all the acting. It’s been almost
The Czech Republic’s submission to the Academy Awards that was short-listed from over 90 films to one of the ten, was also one of the films that prompted walkouts during Venice and Toronto film festivals. Director Václav Marhoul’s controversial black and white film The Painted Bird is adapted from the equally controversial author Jerzy Kosinski.
The moral ambiguity of “Corpus Christi” is one of it’s most compelling elements. A film I regret missing at TIFF 2019, despite it’s well promoted debut, is among the most provocative of this years International Films submitted for Academy Award consideration. From Poland, Jan Komasa directs the script by 27-year-old first-time feature film screenwriter Mateusz
Director Hans Petter Moland has adapted Per Petterson’s dense novel of the same name into a film that’s cinematically ornamental. Internationally, the film is being sold as a Stellan Skarsgård vehicle, despite the fact he’s a minor character in the story. Narratively framed similar to The Reader, Out Stealing Horses exists almost entirely in flashback.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has a divisive range of films that include an Oscar-nominated performance from Penelope Cruz in “Volver”, to airplane orgies in “I’m So Excited“. His latest “Pain and Glory” premiered at Cannes earlier this year to rave reviews and awards buzz, especially for frequent collaborator Antonio Banderas. Almodóvar turns the
It’s been five years since his Oscar nominated Amour, but acclaimed filmmaker Michael Haneke returns with Happy End. Starring his frequent collaborator, and last years best actress nominee Huppert, marking their fourth collaboration. The opening credits or prologue (Happy End’s version of Snap Chat) is nearly insufferable, as it reintroduces the audience to Haneke’s fascination
Norway’s entry to the 90th Academy Awards shouldn’t be defined by that status. In fact, Thelma has such an ideal blend of science fiction, horror and suspense, it makes it one of the more enjoyable and recommendable genre films of the season. Thelma comes to us from the director of Louder than Bombs, which showcased
Paradise comes from a different perspective on the ending of WWII in Germany, one in which previous leaders and a prisoner reflect on what happened from their viewpoints, why they made the decisions they did, and their regrets. Olga (Vysotskaya) is a Russian noblewoman who joined the French Resistance and got arrested for sheltering Jewish