This artful satire by writer/director/star Amalia Ulman almost works but I couldn’t help feeling I was missing the point.
Continue readingEl Planeta (2021)
StandardTag Archives: 3 stars
Gaia (2021)
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Jaco Bouwer’s first feature starts with great visuals and effective suspense but gets lost in a a hallucinogenic mess that promises more than it delivers.
Continue readingLittle Tornadoes (2021)
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Despite the authentic feel of rural Australia in the 1970s, Aaron Wilson’s exploration of masculinity and Australian identity is a rather flat and depressing journey.
Continue readingSisters with Transistors (2020)
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An interesting documentary about the female pioneers of electronic music that succeeds in elevating their names without necessarily providing a context for their work within the wider genre or their impact on contemporary music.
Continue readingDays (Rizi) (2020)
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You need to be immersed in slow cinema to really feel its beat and emotion and Tsai Ming-Liang’s mood piece about urban loneliness was lost on me on a small screen.
Continue readingPreparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020)
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Full of slow twists and turns and existential ruminations on the intersections of physiology, memory and personality, Lili Horvát’s enigmatic drama gives us no easy answers.
Continue readingMadalena (2021)
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A worthy but meandering elegy to the many transgender people murdered in Brazil, the highest per capita in the world, according to the end credits.
Continue readingSweet Thing (2020)
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A low-budget family affair with a crew made up of director Alexandre Rockwell’s film students, Sweet Thing feels like a home movie as seen through the eyes of children.
Continue readingCoded Bias (2020)
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At first, this look at the inherent bias of algorithms in our daily lives made me uneasy and tempted to ditch all my technology. I stuck with it, though it nearly had me nodding off with its ambling pace, and was rewarded with some third act gems,
Continue readingShe Dies Tomorrow (2020)
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Flashing coloured lights, an ominous score and an intense and tear-stained performance by a small ensemble cast make Amy Seimetz’s second feature a frustrating and memorable experience. Its seemingly prescient exploration of a pandemic of belief has many nuances that reflect current social crises.
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