Such great promise that founders on the central character’s relentless awfulness.
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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.
Continue readingThe Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)
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It’s been a day for hard hitting films. This was one film I was really looking forward to as it’s by one of my favourite directors, Mohammed Rasoulof (Manuscripts Don’t Burn, A Man of Integrity, There is No Evil). He has a tendency to explore morals and actions within corrupt systems in Iran and this one follows those themes.
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 readingI Shall Not Hate (2024)
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I had a bit of a revelation after watching this documentary about a Palestinian doctor working in Gaza and Israel, that if you want to understand situations like this, conflicts that are happening all over the world, the best way is to watch a documentary about it.
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.
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