Film Reviews, Interviews and Articles
Wild, or 50 Shades of Grey Wolf, is Germany’s erotic response to Beauty and the Beast. If the beast were a feral wolf and beauty his captor. Like an anarchistic misinterpretation of To Catch a Predator, the German feature from Berlin-native Nicolette Krebitz finds a dissatisfied Ania (Lillith Stangenberg) serendipitously strike up a relationship with a city-dwelling wolf that develops into an obsession after she traps it in her high-rise apartment. Read More
Jason Lew presents a bleak world of second chances and doomed romance in impact drama The Free World. Lew’s feature gives a Bonnie and Clyde twist to the “Romeo and Juliet” story and those willing to overlook some obvious symbolism will find a feature rich in subtext and striking performances. Featuring the always phenomenal Elisabeth Moss and a breakout performance from Boyd Halbrook as a pair of social outcasts who’ve found each other (and themselves) on the wrong side of the law – one an ex-con, the other the (ex-)wife of a violent cop – The Free World explores the spiritual poetry of redemption and religion through the lens of besting your former shadow. To quote Hemingway, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility to being superior to your former self.” Again, this idea of self-transcendence isn’t necessarily broached with a fistful of subtlety but the thematic elements are bolstered by the two convincing, whirlwind performances at its center. Read More
Other People sets expectations firmly in place early on for its uneven mix of tragedy and comedy. A family huddles in a dark bedroom, some whimpering, some crying out, others silent, all grasping hands, all seeking tendrils of connection, all weeping over a recently departed body. In the midst of this disruptively bleak opening, the landline erupts, echoing through the empty halls. It rings a number of times, awkwardly interrupting the mourning at hand, before clipping to voicemail. Broadcast through the house, a perky female says something to the effect of, “I heard you’re, like, really sick,” and then goes on to sloppily order tacos and Coke at a drive through. Read More
Women He’s Undressed, Gillian Armstrong’s new documentary about Hollywood costume designer Orry Kelly, opens over an unnaturally-saturated view of a blue sky, with a quote from actress Fanny Brice: “Let the world know who you are because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose; then where will you be?” The stage is thus set for a bio-documentary that will reveal some hidden aspect of its subject, guaranteeing an interested viewer who will surely be surprised – and likely touched – by the revelation to come. Read More
Primary Peruvian exports include non-monetary gold powder, cooper ores, concentrates, cathodes and non-crude oil. You can now add to the list supremely compelling cinema as Magallanes, the product of first-time Peruvian director Salvador del Solar, is a true festival stunner. Soaked in a gleeful amount of real world suspense and intensified by rich dramatic character work from its apt principal cast, the slow-but-steady-building drama-thriller is a certifiable symphony of hard-won victories – both from a narrative and practical standpoint. Read More
If you wiggle a pencil fast enough, it appears soft. Rubbery. Made of flesh. It’s only when you reach out and touch the pencil that you realize it’s made of hard wood. In a film, we cannot reach out, we cannot exert force or physical contact, so we rely on cues that the filmmaker plants within the picture; clues that help us distinguish the realm of the real from that of the imaginary. Der Nachtmahr (The Nightmare) is an exercise in distinguishing the real from the imagined through the lens of what is essentially ET’s aborted fetus. Read More
Seattle was in shape to party this Labor Day weekend and the fiercest of lightning storms proved unable to stop the rabid fun at Bumbershoot 2015. Though this year’s lineup seemed short on musical prowess (excluding Cake who absolutely blew the top off their set) and big name comedians, their carefully curated One Reel Short Film Festival arrived in tip-top shape, bringing together a pantheon of shorts spanning both the globe and a bevy of genres. As is customary of our coverage, we’ve carefully curated the scoop on Bumbershoot’s 1 Reel Short Film Festival, weighing which shorts demand to be seen down the line in preparation for Oscar season and best of lists and which you can ultimately skip. Read More
Michael Medaglia’s fantasy/horror/comedy mindscrew Deep Dark updates the classic Monkey’s Paw trope, investigating the source and meaning of real art in the meantime. Have you ever experienced writer’s block? Felt like you had something to say, but just couldn’t quite find the words? Have you ever wanted something so bad you can taste it in the back of your throat? Read More
When most people think of reggae music, they think of Bob Marley; Jamaica; smoking sensamilla; the red, yellow, and green and the Jamaican flag. More informed heads might even think of Jah-on-Earth Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia, or the Lion Of Judah. No matter how into reggae you are, you are not likely to picture two skinny white Israelites from Tel Aviv, the subject matter of Ariel Tagar’s Congo Beat The Drum documentary.
It is the challenge of every young person to find and define their own selves, apart from expectations from society, family, friends, & personal history. This is, unfortunately, exponentially more true for women of all ages, but particularly young women, with everyone having opinions about their bodies, their style, even their mood (you’d be prettier if you smiled more). Birds Of Neptune, director Stephen Richter’s English-language debut after the Portuguese Center Of Gravity, investigates this battle for self-identification, by following two eccentric young sisters, Rachel and Mona, chilling portrayed by Britt Harris and Molly Elizabeth Parker. Read More