Category Archives: Film Festivals

Life under a microscope: A Brief History of a Family

Classmates, one rich, one poor, are thrown together by accident. The poor one worms his way into the wealthy family, winning over the parents through deceit and subterfuge. An event changes the lives of all involved. No, it’s not Saltburn, … Continue reading

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Berlinale Panorama review: Betânia

Shot largely in Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses park, Betânia follows a widow as she returns after many years to her ancestral home. The debut feature for writer and director Marcelo Botta, it screened in this year’s Panorama section of the Berlin … Continue reading

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MoMA’s To Save and Project returns for 20th Edition

One of the highlights of the cinematic year is To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, this year in its 20th edition. A collection of preservations and restorations from around the world, the series is a … Continue reading

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You Hurt My Feelings: frustration for laughs

The title is as generic as the humor in You Hurt My Feelings, the latest feature from writer and director Nicole Holofcener. Once again a set of privileged folks teetering between middle and upper class deal with minor slights and … Continue reading

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Kill Boksoon: Jeon Do-yeon showcase treads familiar territory

Style trumps substance in Kill Boksoon, a thriller set in a John Wick universe of corporate killers. Jeon Do-yeon stars as Boksoon, at home a single mom struggling to connect with her teen daughter Gae-yon. On the job she’s a … Continue reading

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Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything: sexual politics behind a falling Iron Curtain

The fall of the Iron Curtain is the backdrop for romance in Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything / Irgendwann werden wir uns alles Erzaehlen. Set in a rural village near the border between East and West Germany, the movie … Continue reading

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OKO Film Festival at the 2022 Camerimage

Tetiana Stanieva and Elena Rubashevska at the 2022 EnergaCAMERIMAGE opening night. Photo: Witek Szydłowski. Opening night ceremonies in the Jordanki Hall at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in Toruń, Poland, are generally upbeat, but those in November, 2022, took a somber turn due to … Continue reading

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The Eight Mountains: how friendships change

Based on a 2016 novel by Paolo Cognetti, The Eight Mountains is memorable more for what it shows than what it means. The novel, vivid descriptions of living and climbing in the mountains near the Aosta Valley alternating with observations … Continue reading

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Little Richard: I Am Everything review

In Little Richard: I Am Everything, Richard Penniman says, “I’m the emancipator, the architect. I’m the one that started it all.” But director Lisa Cortés has a more ambitious agenda. For her, Little Richard is rock’s ultimate victim. A self-professed … Continue reading

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Coast review: Teen friends grow up fast

A coming-of-age story with more bite than expected, Coast follows four young teens as they navigate their way through a summer in the suburbs of Santa Maria. Strong performances and sensitive direction make this stand out from usual genre entries. … Continue reading

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