Gaspar Noé always aims to divide. Enter the Void, Irreversible, Climax… The dividing line for these films lies between people who are frustrated by them and hate being frustrated by them, and those who are frustrated by them but seem to enjoy being frustrated by them. Vortex, however, will push one of these sides to…
This year’s Palme d’Or winner didn’t just “premiere” at Cannes – it burst into the festival ecosystem like a thousand barrels of renegade crude, polluting everyone and everything around it. Centering around sleaze, sex, metal, blood, and fire, Titane is almost pornography for cars. Or maybe it’s just a porno, I’m still not entirely sure….
Censorship is a scary thing, but it could be particularly dangerous when it involves assimilation and heritage. Nadav Lapid has been tackling these subjects for ten years now, straddling the line between sensitivity, morality, and justice. Ahed’s Knee is his latest, confronting the subject of censorship head on. Winner of this year’s Jury Prize at…
A Hero begins with a long-tilting shot as our lead Rahim (Amir Jadidi) climbs a rickety set of construction stairs that look like they could collapse at any moment. This image, in essence, encapsulates A Hero, the newest film from acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. Having been granted leave from prison in order to relieve…
Bergman Island begins with our characters Chris (Vicky Krieps) and her husband Tony (Tim Roth) arriving in Fålo, Sweden. The couple’s plan is to go to Ingmar Bergman’s old home, where he wrote most of his films, in order to draw some inspiration for their next scripts. They plug in their coordinates on a GPS….
Biorhythms are an essential part to how humans move. It’s passed on through genetics, generations, and nurtured by the environment we’re born into. Clara Sola explores such a subject matter. Premiering in the Director’s Fortnight sidebar category at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Clara Sola follows Clara – a rural Costa Rican woman who’s an…
Flag Day is…
Benedetta is a testament to uncompromising vision. Much like George Miller, Paul Verhoeven’s stamina to continually appease himself is remarkable. Having started out producing films in the Netherlands, to his 80’s blockbuster stint in the U.S., he now conquers France with his diabolical taste. The film centers around Benedetta, a nun in a convent who…
Rounding off his “Oslo Trilogy,” Joachim Trier introduces The Worst Person in the World, a film about steadiness and vulnerability. It follows Julie (Renate Reinsve), an indecisive woman in her 20’s, as she struggles to find her purpose and place in the world. She goes from med-school dropout, to psychology student, to mediocre photographer, and…