Japanese writer-director Daigo Matsui’s Just Remembering is a romance told in reverse order that not only acknowledges COVID but incorporates some sense of how it’s changed our lives into the film’s store.
Fantasia Review: Nuno Beato’s My Grandfather’s Demons
The first animated feature out of Portugal, Nuno Beato’s My Grandfather’s Demons, uses digital and stop-motion animation to tell a story of intergenerational trauma on the border between reality and fairytale.
Both Sides of the Blade: Claire Denis explores lies and love
Claire Denis’s Silver Bear Winner Both Sides of the Blade explores the lies we tell the people we love (and ourselves).
Quick Thoughts: Violeta Salama’s sensitive Alegría at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.
Violeta Salama’s warm and sensitive feature debut, Alegría, is exactly the kind of film you look for at a Jewish Film Festival: a travelogue and a story of culture, religion, and family.
Continental Drift (South) is a biting satire and family drama
Lionel Baier’s biting yet heartfelt comedy Continental Drift tackles the migrant crisis and the consequences of personal failures of empathy.
Cannes: Marie Kreutzer’s film Corsage finds the Empress in an existential crisis
Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival, reframes the story of Empress Elisabeth of Australia (Sissi) as one of a woman trying to live up to impossible beauty standards in a patriarchal world.