Dheepan Directed by Jacques Audiard France, 2015 Philadelphia Film Festival Dheepan (Jesuthasan Antonythasan) is a Tamil fighter. He flees war-torn Sri Lanka with Yalini (Kalieaswari Srinivasan) and Illayaal (Claudine Vinasithamby), posing as his wife and daughter. The makeshift family arrives in France and Dheepan finds work as a caretaker for an apartment building that is …
Our “Son of Saul” movie reviews. Review #1 Son of Saul Written by László Nemes and Clara Royer Directed by László Nemes Hungary, 2015 Hungarian director László Nemes’ first feature Son of Saul plunges us into a pit of despair through the eyes of a member of the Sonderkommando, a group of prisoners forced to …
Pink hair, silver nails, green eyes. Smoke rises from a rolled cigarette and from nearby work in the field. These impressions, whispers of a time and a place, fuel Catch Me Daddy the debut feature of Daniel Wolfe. The film is undeniably beautiful, a minimalist ode to the underside of Yorkshire life. The surfaces of image, sound and performance craft a poetic illusion that is impenetrable thematically and emotionally. The overall experience is intensely frustrating and incredibly empty.
The entwined subjects of time passing and landscapes changing have always been synonymous with the work of Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke; his latest feature, Mountains May Depart, expands these ideas to a point that exists beyond any previously established horizon. The film may well be Jia’s most ambitious to date, in this respect: it spans three decades …
It was interesting to note the reaction, head bowed in a pained half-smile, of Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda when hit with his first Cannes press conference question this year: “Is this an homage to Ozu?” or at least something to that extent. In fairness, it’s probably a question the man is sick of hearing at this point, …
Back when Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos first clambered barefaced upon the international stage with his daring Dogtooth, quite a few hastened to mention its striking resemblance to Arturo Ripstein’s similarly self-contained The Castle of Purity, made some 35 years earlier. In the wake of his first English-language effort The Lobster, one might even go further and compare all that Lanthimos has done thus far to Ripstein’s film: the …
To celebrate their 65th anniversary UniFrance, an organization charged with the promotion of French Cinema around the world, has created a short documentary about the extended and powerful influence of French cinema in the world today. Bringing together stories from filmmakers across the world, this short 12 minute documentary is a sharp and clever look …
Last May with the announcement of Bruno Dumont’s television debut, I wrote an article outlining accessibility issues when it comes to International television. With television becoming as increasingly artistically rich medium, demands for accessibility to international content is in greater demand. Certain shows have broken the threshold, most obviously those from the UK that found …
Blue Ruin Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier USA, 2013 Stories of revenge aren’t hard to find in American cinema; most are grim shoot-‘em-ups with less interest in the aftermath than in pushing their ultra-determined heroes to pull the trigger and reach a bloody catharsis. So the new independent picture Blue Ruin stands apart from …
Omar Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad Palestine, 2013 Within its first scene, Omar recalls the romantic actions of Shakespeare’s Romeo, as our title character climbs up one wall and jumps down another, both via rope, to approach the shy and reserved girl he’s got his eyes on. But as star-crossed as these lovers may be, …
Simultaneously distant and distinct, unfamiliar and knowing, Blue is the Warmest Color is an emotionally raw yet mildly troublesome epic drama. This year’s winner of the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival is but two chapters in the life of its lead character, Adèle, spanning years, houses, life changes, and relationships, all of which pile up like cigarettes worn down to the nub.
Sundance Selects has picked up the U.S. rights to Venus in Furs (La Vénus à la fourrure), a French drama directed by Roman Polanski and starring Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric. The film premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and is an adaptation of a play by David Ives …
Poetry Directed by Lee Chang-dong Written by Lee Chang-dong South Korea, 2010 The most recent edition of Montréal’s AmérAsia film festival had as part of its lineup the ‘We Distribute’ section, which highlighted both some of the more recent successful Asian films but also the local film companies who willingly distributed them. Among such movies …
L’arbre Directed by Julie Bertucelli Written by Julie Bertucelli France, 2010 Strong characterizations can’t quite save Julie Bertucelli’s new effort, L’Arbre. After the death of her husband, Charlotte Gainsbourg struggles to readjust, while her daughter believes that her father’s spirit continues to live on in the ancient tree that grows right outside of their home. …
L’arbre Directed by Julie Bertucelli Strong characterizations can’t quite save Julie Bertucelli’s new effort, L’Arbre. After the death of her husband, Charlotte Gainsbourg struggles to readjust, while her daughter believes that her father’s spirit continues to live on in the ancient tree that grows right outside of their home. Most of the film’s failings lie …
And the Palme d’Or goes to… The Cannes film festival continues their love affair with Michael Haneke. His latest in competition film, The White Ribbon, won the coveted top prize this year. But that has come to really no surprise by those who follow Cannes history. Heneke has always been a favorite with the festival. …