This isn’t the easiest film to like. A quasi documentary based on the memoir by writer director Bill Bennett about his pilgrimage along ‘the way’ to Santiago de Compostela.
Continue readingThe Way, My Way (2024)
StandardTag Archives: 3 stars
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
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Having seen two exemplary films exploring war and the nature of evil just the day before (Civil War and Zone of Interest), I felt unprepared for the kaleidoscopic onslaught of the latest iteration of the Mad Max saga.
Continue readingVulcanizadora (2024)
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It’s quite possible that I should’ve given this film a miss. It started at 11:45 pm and I knew I had a morning film the next day. I kind of got caught up in the rush to get there and enthusiasm to see something a little bit weird late at night, something that I would never have the chance to see elsewhere.
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 readingMalu (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 readingMatt and Mara (2024)
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Matt Johnson is like Mark Duplass’s goofy cousin. This gently diverting, stream of consciousness, white middle class angst movie reminded me a bit of films like Lynn Shelton’s Hump Day (2009) or an early Kelly Reichardt film but without the social weight.
Continue readingI Saw the TV Glow (2024)
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I really didn’t enjoy this film. It felt like a drama camp improv piece with funding. Having spoken to a queer friend afterward though, they have given me lots of links to articles on how it is a trans metaphor and groundbreaking in a lot of ways.
Continue readingMoving (1993)
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Perhaps my emotional engagement, or struggle with it, with this film about a young girl coming to terms with her parents divorce says something about the distance I have from childhood compared to motherhood.
Continue readingThe Rye Horn (2023)
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I feel like there should be a single word or term for films like this, that provoke intense emotion and are beautiful but are telling you something fundamentally tragic and melancholic about the world. I’ve seen a few MIFF films that would fit this. Maybe bittersweet, but it feels more profound than that. Tristesse. Dolorous.
Continue readingArmand (2024)
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Armand starts out with a good and interesting premise. A single mother, Elizabeth (Renate Reinsve who was in The Worst Person in the World which has a similar vibe to this film) is called into her six-year-old son Armand’s primary school for a meeting.
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