This stunning first feature by Ángeles Cruz interweaves the stories of three indigenous women across one festival day in a small village in the Cerro Nudo Mixteco mountainous region between Puebla and Oaxaca in Mexico.
Continue reading
Image via miff.com.au
“He is my son. This is my love.” says a mother as she carries her young son, killed by an air strike. He was taken by his brothers to the makeshift hospital that Hamza, the husband of journalist and a writer/director Waad Al-Khateab has established in Aleppo during the siege of 2016. Continue reading
Image via http://www.lonelyplanet.com
The film that should have won the best picture Oscar, Alfonso Cuarón’s sublime meditation on the life of an indigenous maid in 1970s Mexico city is filmmaking at its best. Continue reading
Image via miff.com.au
Glory grabbed me from its first realistic scenes to its devastating ending. Described as Capra-esque and a black comedy, this is anything but; intense, understated and bleak, it is a powerful drama about what is lost when corruption and greed win out over humanity. Continue reading
Image via miff.com.au
Naina Sen’s radiant documentary about the funny and spirited women (and a few men) of the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir stole my heart. Continue reading
Image via miff.com.au
More akin to Dogtooth than The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer takes time to show its hand but when it does, it slowly and surely builds to a devastating conclusion. Continue reading
Alex (Elena Mandalis) is now one of my favourite characters ever. She’s the kind of tough girl I would have been scared of at school. Greek, working class and a misfit, her only choice is to push back. Continue reading
Image via http://www.slashfilm.com
Every now and then a film changes the way I see the world. I went into Raw, the stunning first feature by French director Julia Ducournau, expecting horror but instead experienced an intense metaphorical drama about female power and desire. Best suited to those who like their cinema challenging, Raw refuses to let you look away. Continue reading
Image via http://www.rottentomatoes.com
If you have yet to see a Farhadi film, please go out and see one. He is a master at deftly weaving a story that propels you into a world both foreign and heart-breakingly familiar. About Elly, like A Separation and The Past, drops you into the middle of the ordinary dramas of a group of middle class Iranians. Continue reading
Image via motherboard.vice.com
I loved this film (thanks for the recommendation Kari). Sci-fi is not my favourite genre but this was directed by French-Canadian Dennis Villeneuve, who also made the superlative Incendies, so it is not your average US film. Stunningly beautiful, atmospheric, complex and emotional, it won’t be for everyone but I was clutched tight in its grasp and now, hours and days later, it still hasn’t let go. Continue reading
fillums 