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...