Tag: Foreign Film Review
The Dead Lands | Review
Dead and Buried: Fraser’s Sumptuously Filmed, Familiar Revenge Drama
Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and snagging the distinction of representing New Zealand as the...
Tangerines | Review
Fruit of the Land: Urushadze’s Straightforward Anti-War Sentiment
The horrors of war are quietly examined in Tangerines, a period situational drama from Georgian director Zaza...
The Passionate Thief (1960) | Review
Miracolo!: Monicelli’s Exuberant, Digitally Restored Classic
There hasn’t been a performer that’s come close to equaling the vibrant energy of Italian actress Anna Magnani, that...
That Man From Rio & Up To His Ears | Blu-ray Review
Two of director Philippe de Broca’s earliest renowned titles get new restorations and are available for the first time on Blu-ray, That Man From...
The Babadook | Blu-ray Review
Jennifer Kent’s disturbing directorial debut The Babadook arrives on Blu-ray this week, scoring some of the most critically acclaimed notices ever for a recent...
Félix et Meira | Review
What’s Under the Hat?: Giroux Proposes Unorthodox Paradox
Confectioned with a what makes us different makes us the same counterargument, Maxime Giroux’s third feature is...
Kill Me Three Times | Review
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kill Me: Stenders’ Comedy Noir a Blend of Standard Tricks
Australian filmmaker Kriv Stenders lands his highest profile project yet with...
Black Souls | Review
Now I Lay Me Down to Kill: Munzi’s Enjoyably Reserved Mafia Film
Premiering last fall at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, where it picked up...
Ex Machina | Review
Imitation Game: Garland’ s Compelling Debut Explores Human’s Technological Hubris
Excitingly presented and intelligently written, screenwriter Alex Garland’s directorial debut Ex Machina is certainly one...
52 Tuesdays | Review
Tuesday’s Child: Hyde’s Attentive Examination of Transition
Belonging to a growing number of films taking place over real time, Australian director Sophie Hyde’s directorial debut,...
Effie Gray | Review
Portrait of a Lady: Laxton’s Mannered Version of Victoria Era Repression
There’s well-meaningness to Effie Gray that makes it worthy of discussion, at least for...
Woman in Gold | Review
All that Glitters: Curtis Traps Compelling Kernel in Avalanche of Schmaltz
British television alum Simon Curtis graduated to feature filmmaking in 2011 with the incredibly...
White God | Review
All Dogs Go To: Mundruczo’s Sad Trumpet Ballad an Allegory of Inhumanity
Terminology is key to deciphering the shaggy subtext of Kornel Mundruczo’s allegorical film,...
A Wolf at the Door | Review
Suffer the Children: Coimbra’s Dark Debut is an Affair to Remember
Kidnapping and abduction often make for unsettling cinematic subjects, especially when involving small children....
La Sapienza | Review #2
Spaces Between: Green’s Controlled, Heavily Stylized Metaphor
Eugène Green is an American born filmmaker who has been steadily making foreign films over the past decade...
La Sapienza | Review #1
Style-Over-Substance in a Fancy Baroque Package
French “artiste” Eugène Green’s latest work is further evidence that his overriding career trajectory of indulgent reminiscence, has a deliberately...
Amour Fou | Review
Love Fool: Hausner’s Latest an Exquisitely Shot, Humorous Exploration of Love and Death
With her fourth feature film, Amour Fou, Austrian director Jessica Hausner reveals...
Portrait of the Artist | 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Review
On My Skin: Barraud Explores the Essence of Monstrosity
There are moments within Antoine Barraud’s sophomore feature Portrait of the Artist that tend to feel...
3 Hearts | Review
Heart to Heart to Heart: Jacquot’s Romantic Drama Can’t Cover Every Angle
Despite sporting the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Catherine Deneuve, 3 Hearts, the...
The Connection | 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Review
Le Chapitre Français: Jimenez’s Satisfactory Take on Famed Drug Smuggling Operation
Within the glut of cinematic dramas and thrillers contending with drug smuggling operations and...
Of Horses and Men | Review
A Horse is a Horse, Of Course: Erlingsson’s Debut Visually Striking, Episodic
Iceland’s 2013 submission for Best Foreign Language film was the directorial debut of Benedikt...
Eat Your Bones | 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Review
Family Matters: Hue’s Continued Fascination With Yenish Community
Director Jean-Charles Hue continues with the exploration of the Yenich community, a nomadic group of people that...
The Mafia Only Kills in Summer | Review
Il Sciocco: Pif’s Mafia Tinged Broad Comedy Revels in Pedestrian Frivolity
Apparently partially based on a true story, for whatever that statement is worth, The...
These Final Hours | Review
The Final Countdown: Hilditch Fails to Impress with Aussie Apocalypse
Australian director Zak Hilditch tackles the swiftly encroaching apocalypse in his latest effort, These Final...
Two Men in Town | Review
The Town That Dreaded Showdown: Bouchareb Returns to New Mexican Landscape with Mixed Results
French director Rachid Bouchareb’s long celebrated filmography has garnered two of...
October Gale | Review
Perfect Storm: Mystery Tinged Romance from Nadda Gets Blown Away in Gusts
There’s much to admire in Montreal-born director Ruba Nadda’s latest film, October Gale,...
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Review
The First Best Loser: Madden’s Wholly Unnecessary Sequel an Exercise in Nothingness
Pandering is the word that best describes the tone of The Second Best...
Maps to the Stars | Review
What’s the Matter with Havana?: Cronenberg’s L.A. Story a Hot Mess of Tangled Ideas
Couched within its episodic instances of harpooning Hollywood stereotypes, there is...
Queen and Country | Review
Tour of Duty: Boorman Returns to Autobiographical Elements
Now at 82 years of age, British auteur John Boorman returns with Queen and Country his first...
Cloro | 2015 Sundance Film Festival Review
From Twirls to Breaststrokes: Sanfelice's Debut Retains Rhythm but Keeps Distance
Utilizing the seldomly spotlighted sport of synchronized swimming as the backdrop, Cloro serves as...
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem | Review
Horse & Carriage: The Elkabetzs’ Kafkaesque Interpretation of So-Called Sacred Institution
The third film in a trilogy examining the relationship between a husband and wife...
What We Do in the Shadows | Review
Friends Forever: Clement & Waititi’s Pleasantly Charming Vampiric Mock-Doc
That immortal cinematic archetype, the vampire, has once again been commandeered into the periphery of independent...
Les Gazelles | 2015 My French Film Festival Review
Girls Just Wanna Have: Achache’s Breezy Sophomore Feature
After adapting Muriel Barbery’s celebrated novel The Hedgehog for her 2009 debut, director Mona Achache returns with...
Chuck Norris vs Communism | 2015 Sundance Film Festival Review
VHS Revolution: Calugareanu Shoots For Docu-Thrills
Much of the time, American imperialism is a culture destroying force that denigrates through sheer, unwieldy bloat, but in the case...
City of Gold | 2015 Sundance Film Festival Review
Eating One's Way To Enlightenment: Gabbert Follows Gold Down A Rabbit-Hole Of Crucial Cultural Cuisine
Everyone in Los Angeles knows that Jonathan Gold is the...
Killers | Review
The Killers Inside Me: The Mo Bros’ International Serial Spree
Directing duo Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, better known as the Mo Brothers, team for the slice...
The Duke of Burgundy | Review
The Body and the Whip: Strickland’s Sublime Homage to Erotic Cinema
Beginning like something that should have been called Exploits of a Chambermaid, replete with...
Black Sea | Review
Lower Depths: MacDonald’s Latest a Tense Deep Sea Treasure Hunt
While it’s being treated to a December release in his native UK, director Kevin MacDonald’s...
R100 | Review
Joy Pain Club: Matsumoto’s Latest Insistent Weirdness Uneven
After his delightful if belabored 2007 debut Big Man Japan put him on the map, director Hitoshi...
Son of a Gun | Review
Gunsmoke: Avery’s Able-bodied Debut Dulled by Familiar Tropes
The less familiar you are with the dramatic crime genre, perhaps the more engaged you’ll be with...
Involuntary | Review
Cold Cuts: Östlund Examines Behavior Unawares in Astute Sophomore Feature
While Ruben Östlund’s 2004 feature debut The Guitar Mongoloid first played with examinations of human...
Human Capital | Review
For What It’s Worth: Virzi’s Leftist Neo-Noir a Capitalistic Parable
Receiving its North American premiere last spring at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it...
The Guitar Mongoloid | Review
People Are Strange: Östlund’s Debut a Curio Set of Characters
Premiering domestically in late 2004 before snagging festival play at a handful of festivals, including...
It’s All So Quiet | Review
I Need a Lover with a Farmhand: Leopold’s Understated Portrait of Desire Deferred
Loneliness and resentment are the dueling, omnipresent emotions on screen in virtually...
Fidelio: Alice’s Journey | Palm Springs International Film Festival Review
Go Ask Alice: Borleteau’s Debut Examines Desire, Gender, and Maturity
Sure to be described as “European,” seemingly in the sense that it relays a familiar...
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death | Review
Blitzkrieg Bop: Harper’s Demurely Serviceable Horror Sequel Revels in Cheap Thrills
Director James Watkins scored a sleeper hit with his 2012 sophomore film, The Woman...
Li’l Quinquin | Review
Life of Quinquin: Dumont’s Foray into Miniseries Format Filled with His Brand of Peculiar Humor
Provocative auteur Bruno Dumont lets loose his comedic side with...
Rec 4: Apocalypse | Review
Wreckollect: Balaguero Returns to Famed Franchise for Gasping Final Chapter
The good news is that we’ve probably seen the last creative juice finally squeezed out...
Tip Top | Review
Vive La France!: Bozon Returns With a Strangeness
Actor turned director Serge Bozon is the most visible member of a small coterie of filmmakers operating...
Song of the Sea | Review
Of Myth and Men: Moore Dons Skin of the Irish Selkies To Craft Stunning Children's Tale of Family Heritage
You can probably count the number...
