Tag: Foreign Film Review
Bang Bang Baby | 2014 TIFF Review
Campy Histrionics at Their Most Mediocre
Canadian director Jeffrey St. Jules has demonstrated an aptitude for experimenting with the cinematic form and creating hyper-realized, wildly...
In the Crosswind | 2014 TIFF Review
Capturing History Through the Art of Tableau
Despite only having a couple of short films under his belt, Estonian director Martti Helde’s feature film debut,...
They Have Escaped | 2014 TIFF Review
Running on Empty: Valkeapaa’s Vicious Road Trip
We may have seen similar iterations of outcast, adolescent misfits refusing to conform to the world’s expectations many...
High Society | 2014 TIFF Review
Is There More to this Coming-of-Age Parable Than Meets the Eye?
One of the key specificities about the production of Julie Lopes Curval’s latest exploration...
The Vanished Elephant | 2014 TIFF Review
A Puzzle within a Puzzle within a Puzzle
Initially, The Vanished Elephant, Javier Fuentes-León’s follow-up to the well-received ghost story, Undertow, has a surprisingly unpolished...
Bird People | Review
Tweets and FaceTimes: Pascale Ferran Returns with Uneven But Adventurous Realist-Fantasy
There are a number of films scattered throughout that are intent on depicting how...
Red Rose | 2014 TIFF Review
Beware the Beauty of the Single Red Rose
Though she’s lived in France for more than three decades, Sepideh Farsi has carved out a career...
Waste Land | 2014 TIFF Review
Fear in a Handful of Dust: Van Hees Completes Trilogy with Dark Metaphor
Belgian director Pieter Van Hees completes his thematically connected "Anatomy of Love and...
Return to Ithaca | 2014 TIFF Review
Shared Tendencies: McGowan’s Debut an Understated Navigation
Palme d’Or winning director Laurent Cantet continues a tour outside of France with his latest feature, the carefully...
Out of Nature | 2014 TIFF Review
A Hollow World of Obligations
Ole Giæver’s sophomore feature, Out of Nature, very much resembles—in setting, structure and thematic preoccupation—his short film work and prior,...
H. | 2014 Venice Film Festival Review
What’s the Matter with Helen?: Attieh & Garcia’s Bizarre Parable Goes Over Heads
Generally, one would assume that a concise understanding of something would be...
The President | 2014 Venice Film Festival Review
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Makhmalbaf’s Conspicuous Allegory
Early on in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s grimly steadfast The President, you may start by racking your brain for specific...
Cut Snake | 2014 TIFF Review
Out of the Past: Ayres’ Neo-noir is a Pulpy Brood
With a little luck, Australian director Tony Ayres’ latest film, Cut Snake will evolve beyond...
The Great Man | 2014 TIFF Review
A More Accurate Title Might Have Been The “Good” or “Serviceable” Man
Much like Kathryn Bigelow does with many of her works or like Jasmine...
Wetlands | Review
Soggy Bottoms: Wnendt’s Latest an Extravaganza of Delightful Perversity
German director David Wnendt’s adaptation of Charlotte Roche’s novel, Wetlands, is a bildungsroman unlike any other;...
God Help the Girl | Review
Girl From Ipecac: Murdoch’s Musical a Flimsy Masquerade
The directorial debut of Scottish musician Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer and songwriter of famed indie pop...
The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears | Review
A Woman in Trouble and a Man in Need: Forzani & Cattet Return Prove a Force to Reckon With
Directing duo Helene Cattet and Bruno...
The Notebook | Review
Behind Every Great War Is a Great Story: Szasz’s Captivating, Grotesque Portrait of Life During Wartime
World War II takes on the ambience of an...
Salvo | Review
Miracle Worker: Italian Duo’s Debut a Cold Rumination on Tenuous Connection
Though its initial setup holds considerable promise, due mostly to subdued visual cues that...
Metro Manila | Review
A Better Life: Ellis’ Latest a Masterful Drama of Sacrifice
British director Sean Ellis brings us to the Philippines with his third feature film, Metro...
14 Blades | Review
Blades of Glory: Lee Brings the Old West to the Ming Dynasty
Hong Kong filmmaker Daniel Lee’s 2010 film, 14 Blades is at last making...
Jealousy | Review
Cold Day in the Park: Garrel’s Green Monster in Black and White
Director Philippe Garrel returns to his prized black and white format for a...
Moebius | Review
Freudian Slip: Ki-duk Gets to the Greek
South Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk outdoes himself with his latest theatrical release, Moebius, so named for the continuous...
Abuse of Weakness | Review
My Afternoon With Maud’s Money: Breillat’s Most Personal Film Showcases Huppert
Catherine Breillat leaves behind the series of Grimm’s fairy tales she was adapting and...
What If | Review
The C Word: Dowse’s Latest a Joy Despite Censor Scramble
Don’t let the marketing snafu and the hopelessly generic title fool you into thinking...
The Strange Little Cat | Review
In a Word: Pulchritude
Buried in Cannes' most unassuming and roundly ignored sidebar, ACID (an acronym for what translates to "The Association for the Distribution...
The Almost Man | Review
Growing Pains: Lund’s Debut a Gem of Behavioral Regression
The long hard road to growing up and accepting responsibility takes the center stage in Martin...
Calvary | Review
Trials of Faith Without Error; Glesson’s Good Priest Suffers for Sins of the Fathers
Two years after The Guard, the most commercially successful Irish film...
A Five Star Life | Review
Perks of Using the Star System: Tognazzi’s Tale a Tad Too Familiar
Maria Sole Tognazzi, daughter of famed actor/director Ugo Tognazzi, visits the mid-life crisis...
Le Chef | Review
Chef Mate: Cohen’s Poke at the Restaurant World Written for Fast Food Mentality
Connoisseurs of world food porn will perhaps take keen interest in the...
Fanny | Review
Fanny Feast: Auteuil’s Underwhelming Trilogy Continues
The mid-section of his Pagnol tribute, Fanny promises to give us the female perspective in the crossed lover’s situation...
Marius | Review
You’re Horrible, Marius: Auteuil’s Next Stop on the Pagnol Train
At the very least, actor Daniel Auteuil’s return to the director’s seat with the first...
Me and You | Review
Unhappy Together: Bertolucci’s Muted Return to the Director’s Seat
Seemingly against the odds, wheelchair bound Bernardo Bertolucci arrives with his first directorial effort, Me and...
Snowpiercer | Review
Hell Frozen Over: Joon-Ho’s Dystopic Thrill Ride an Arresting Examination of Cold Humanity
His first feature film since 2009’s Mother, as well as his English...
Nothing Bad Can Happen | Review
Book of Job 2: Gebbe’s Divisive Debut High Brow Torture Porn
The only German entry in 2013’s Cannes film festival also happened to be one...
Norte, the End of History | Review
Crime & Punishment: Diaz’s Latest Epic Examines the Banality of Evil
For those accustomed to the cinema of Lav Diaz, the four hour running time...
Siddharth | Review
In a Child’s Name: Mehta’s Sophomore Film a Gripping Ordeal
Following up on his 2007 debut, Amal, Toronto based filmmaker Richie Mehta returns to Delhi...
The Last Sentence | Review
Scenes From a Marriage: Troell’s Latest an Engrossing Character Study
Swedish auteur Jan Troell, at 81, is thankfully still making films, and his latest, The...
Venus in Fur | Review
Mighty Aphrodite: Polanski Returns With Spirited Adaptation
The once quite reticent Roman Polanski quickly returns with yet another adaptation of a popular Broadway play, Venus...
Policeman | Review
Israeli vs. Israeli terrorist drama is a timely, thrilling provocation
The opening scene of Israeli writer-director Nadav Lapid’s subversive, original terrorist drama Policeman is a...
A Summer’s Tale (1996) | Review
Summer Shanty: Rohmer’s Breezy Contemplation a Welcome Resurrection
Never before released in the US, Eric Rohmer’s 1996 title, A Summer’s Tale, which is part of...
The Two Faces of January | Review
Winter of Our Discontent: Amini’s Problem with Narrative Pabulum
Few crime writers can boast such a weighty lineage of cinematic adaptation as that of Patricia...
Violette | 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival Review
Portrait of an Artist: Provost’s Examination a Showcase for Devos
Continuing with the resuscitation of another female artist, which was the subject of his 2008...
Third Person | Review
World Crash: Haggis Overextends His Usual Formula
Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Or so the saying goes. Further beating the interrelated/intersecting characters and multiple storyline...
Borgman | Review
White Child Above the Clouds: Warmerdam’s Dark Classist Comedy a Winner
Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman has to be the steadily working director’s most accomplished work...
Heli | Review
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: Escalante’s Mexico Still Suffering
Amat Escalante doesn’t fall far from his own tree with Heli, graphic violence once again...
Gebo and the Shadow | Review
The Shadow Knows: Oliveira’s latest a Stringent Meditation on Sacrifice
Inevitably, any discussion pertaining to recent work from Portuguese director Manoel de Oliviera will make...
Burning Bush | Review
Time to Burn: Holland’s Magnificent Mini-Series Event Well Worthy of Big Screen Treatment
Realized as a three part mini-series for television, Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s...
Dormant Beauty | Review
Sleepytime Drama: Bellocchio Messy Message Movie
After yet another career peak with his 2009 film Vincere, Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio continues his examination of Italian...
The Love Punch | Review
Love Paunch: Hopkins’ Latest a Predictable Bore
Though its cast members seem to game for a good, silly romp, Joel Hopkins’ latest film, The Love...
