By James Slaymaker. In its intricate tapestry of storytelling modes and its profound engagement with the ethics of representation, “Aurora’s Sunrise” stands as a cinematic work that dares to confront the complexities of historical memory. It forces us to re-examine the role of cinema in shaping and distorting the past….” […]
The “Idiot Trier” Redux: The Kingdom Exodus
By Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. Undeniably clunky plotpoint aside – and it is, admittedly, a pretty major one that’s hard to miss – The Kingdom Exodus is otherwise a playful, spooky and at times genuinely moving return.” With the passing of legendary Swedish actor Ernst-Hugo Järegård in 1998, Lars von Trier said […]
Tom Mix Rides Again: Sky High (1922) and The Big Diamond Robbery (1929)
By Jeremy Carr. Although many Mix pictures are lost, these illustrative entries showcase his customary assurance, his virtue, and his penchant for showmanship.” If Hollywood’s classic Western heroes are generally given little positive thought these days, the cowboy celebrities of the silent era in particular are even less familiar. In […]
Life During Wartime: Maryna Er Gorbach’s Klondike (2022)
By Thomas Puhr. This film about the Donbas region of Ukraine that borders Russia, set in 2014, features images that are hauntingly beautiful as often as they are simply haunting.” Maryna Er Gorbach’s searing Klondike (2022) takes place in 2014 Ukraine, in the Donbas area that borders Russia. Although the […]
Living Through Hell on Wheels: Yuval Adler’s Sympathy for the Devil (2023)
By Thomas M. Puhr. Cage enthusiasts might get a kick out of this film’s meager offerings (if you managed to make it through Willy’s Wonderland, then this one should be a cinch). Others may find themselves daydreaming about Collateral or The Hitcher. If you’re going to set your film almost […]
An Outcast of the Islands: Albert Serra’s Pacifiction (2023)
By James Slaymaker. Pacifiction paints a portrait of French Polynesia as a land suspended between indigenous agency and external mechanisms of control and dehumanisation, an area still overcoming the trauma of its brutal colonial past and looking towards an uncertain future….” The first shot of Albert Serra’s Pacifiction (2022) – […]
Barbie: Greta Gerwig’s Unboxing
By Elias Savada. Gerwig leaves a personal imprint on her film, as a boldly painted battle cry for womanhood and subversive social satire about misguided male perceptions.” In a refreshingly anarchistic, pink-pastel manner, Greta Gerwig, the actor (Frances Ha) turned writer (here with her partner – in business and in […]
I Wanna Hold Your Hand: Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me (2022)
By Thomas M. Puhr. Talk to Me’s crisp runtime has its perks (there’s not an ounce of fat on this thing), but it also feels oddly truncated.” Like the most effective urban legends, Talk to Me (2022) revolves around a deliciously simple conceit – or, in this case, a deliciously simple object: […]
A Literal Battle of the Sexes: Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night (2023)
By Thomas M. Puhr. It’s fun to watch the former enfant terrible explore his obsessions through low stakes genre fare. Sign me up for more.” At first glance, Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night (2023) seems like a far cry from his early films, let alone from his theater work. You’d […]
The Paradox of Peace: The Miracle Club (2023)
By Jonathan Monovich. What makes The Miracle Club work is the film’s deliberate choice in including four very talented actresses from four different generations for its core cast. Each character brings a diverse perspective on life and a varying level of surliness that gradually increases with age.” The Miracle Club […]