Tag: Cannes Film Festival

Lux Æterna | Review

Devil’s Familiars: Noé Stirs a Witches’ Brew in Latest Provocation For those familiar with cult auteur Gaspar Noé, one either has a taste for his...

Sibyl | Review

Doctor Strange: Triet Gets Tricky with Autofiction Affair Reuniting with Virginie Efira, the lead from her 2016 sophomore breakout Victoria (aka In Bed with Victoria),...

Matthias and Maxime | Review

Peas & Carrots: Dolan Gets Caught in a Bad Romance Xavier Dolan devotees will be happy to note his latest feature, the treacly melodrama Matthias...

On a Magical Night | Review

A Room with a Screw: Honoré Waxes Playful on Marital Discord The flexibility (or lack thereof) of fidelity in heteronormative relationships is at the center...

Bull | Review

If There Be Horns: Silverstein Succeeds with Discerning Debut of Rural Desperation Likely to be compared to Chloe Zhao’s 2017 breakout The Rider, director Annie...

Bacurau | Review

It Takes a Village: Filho & Dornelles Smash Art-House into Grindhouse A heady melding of local cultural motifs, morbid politically-minded histories and exploitation slasher vibes,...

The Whistlers | Review

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle: Porumboiu Goes Mainstream with Neo-noir Romanian New Wave alum Corneliu Porumboiu makes a marked departure with his latest...

Young Ahmed | Review

Stabbing Backwards: Dardennes “Beet” Misguided Youth into Submission Up until now, even the most disenfranchised personage in Dardennian cinema had at least a glimmer of...

Interview: Kantemir Balagov – Beanpole

We sat down with director Kantemir Balagov at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival following the premiere of his sophomore film Beanpole in Un Certain...

Beanpole | Review

Life After Wartime: Balagov Crafts Exemplary Portrait of Post-WWII Role of Women In the words of Plato, “Only the dead have seen the end of...

Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Review

Paint it Bright: Sciamma Dazzles with Career-Best, Ardent Period Drama You only need a few seconds to fall in line with Céline Sciamma’s commanding directorial...

Little Joe | Review

Stamen Alive: Hausner Examines the Pursuit of Happiness in Cerebral Sci-Fi It was “the nightmare that threatened the world” and something that came from “deep...

Frankie | Review

A Death in the Family: Sachs Sacks Huppert in Sun Dappled Soap Opera The latest film from American director Ira Sachs is set in the...

The Lighthouse | Review

I Can Hear the Mermaids Singing: Eggers Unleashes a Hyper-Stylized Portrait of Nautical Madness Virginia Woolf (who, having known something about the subject and its...

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | Review

California Dreamin’: Tarantino Dons Nostalgic Pastiche of Doomed Decadence The lurid fascination and mildewed devotion for the transitional glory days of late 1960s Hollywood, informed...

La femme de mon frère | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Is There a Doctorate in the House? Chokri Skids and Skates without Moving Moving from her award-winning short Quelqu'un d’extraordinaire (2013) debut which dealt with...

Yomeddine | Review

Natural Selection: Shawky Shackled by Straight Story   Tackling notions of identity in both a figurative and transfigurative sense, Yomeddine teeters ever so lightly into fable terrain...

Oleg | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Immigrant Song: Kursietis Explores a Modern Slave Trade in Sophomore Film Latvian cinema seems on the verge of an international breakthrough, with various new directors...

The Traitor | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Witness for the Prosecution: Bellocchio Delivers Vigorous Portrait of the Man Who Took Down the Cosa Nostra Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio, on the verge of...

Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Dancing…Yeah: Kechiche Spins Like a Record Round in Vacuous Sequel The French-Tunisian director who won the 2013 Palme d’Or for Blue is the Warmest Color...

Sick, Sick, Sick | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Lover, Come Back: Furtado Hearts Hemoglobin in Sinister Debut The heart is a lonely killer in Brazilian director Alice Furtado’s apprehensive narrative debut Sick, Sick,...

Parasite | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

A Judgement in Stone: Joon ho Tackles Privilege in Black Comedy Strident class disparities in South Korea provide Bong Joon-ho with a novel approach to...

The Orphanage | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Back in the U.S.S.R.: Sadat Goes Back to Soviet-Ruled Afghanistan in Amiable Sophomore Film Following the success of her celebrated 2016 debut, Wolf and Sheep,...

Heroes Don’t Die | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Crimes of the Heart: Rapin Explores Mediums as Remembrance with Inquisitive Debut The idea of reincarnation was once a virulent staple of American genre films,...

Monia Chokri’s La Femme De Mon Frère | 2019 Cannes Film Festival

After dealing with separation necessity in her award-winning short Quelqu'un d'extraordinaire (2013), Monia Chokri's deals in separation anxiety with La Femme de mon frère (A Brother’s...

The Unknown Saint | 2019 Cannes Film Festival Review

Gimme the Loot: Money is the Root of Good and Evil in Aljem’s Debut Love the sinner and not the sin seems to be the...

Annie Silverstein’s Bull | 2019 Cannes Film Festival

Not officially opening the section, but nonetheless the first film out of the Un Certain Regard gate, Annie Silverstein presented her directorial debut Bull...

Under the Silver Lake | Review

Under the Sun of Satan: Mitchell’s Messy Neo Noir Revels in Elitist Superficiality Look no further than David Robert Mitchell’s third feature, the labored neo...