French-Algerian director Emma Benestan takes a fresh approach to some monster/revenge tropes to give us a dark fable of female power.
Continue readingAnimale (2024)
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Problemista (2023)
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I’m not sure what I was expecting out of Julio Torres’s sweet and quirky almost fairytale about speaking up for yourself. Something easy to watch. I wasn’t expecting to find it so poignant.
Continue readingHeavenly Creatures (1994)
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My Old Ass (2024)
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I needed to see a film like this that would fill up my cup after a MIFF that seems heavy on melancholy.
Continue readingHouse of the Seasons (장손)(2023)
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This was a strong debut from Oh Jung-min and reminded me of some other South Korean films I’ve seen that have a lyrical, pastoral nature and observe family dynamics and traditions without a lot of exposition or judgement (Burning, House of the Hummingbird).
Continue readingAs the Tide Comes In (Før Stormen)(2023)
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This feels like a pretty observation of a unique community that ultimately doesn’t really say anything.
Continue readingLa Cocina (2024)
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Malu (2024)
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Although this is a strong ensemble piece about three generations of women, it felt like it came in a long line of films that I had seen over the last few weeks about women who are essentially damaged.
Continue readingHesitation Wound (2023)
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I’m not sure how I feel about this Turkish film by Selman Nacar. It ended with me feeling that I had missed some political or cultural context, seeing repeated motifs that perhaps had meaning but went over my head.
Continue readingAll Shall Be Well (2024)
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There is nothing really to criticise about the quality of this film. It is a delicate and tender portrait of a lesbian couple in Hong Kong, made tragic by the death of one that then cuts the other adrift with no rights in a heterosexual and patriarchal society.
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