Edinburgh International Film Festival - 2024
Reviews are divided based on categories as per the festival. Please check back for more reviews.
All films with images and ratings have reviews posted.
Note: While I tried to view every film at the festival, there were some I was unable to see, however my friends and faithful followers…I am working on it!!!
Interviews
Suzanne Smith and Sylvia Solf of
Joy Dancer (2024)
Kit & Arran of
King Baby (2024)
Kate Dickie of
Timestalker (2024)
Alice Lowe of
Timestalker (2024)
Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel of
Armand (2024)
Daniel Reisinger of
And Mrs (2024)
Nina Conti of
Sunlight (2024)
Shenoah Allen of
Sunlight (2024)
Kelsey Taylor and Adam Lee of
To Kill a Wolf (2024)
Tanya Reynolds of
Timestalker (2024)
Opening and Closing Film
CLOSING NIGHT
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
OPENING NIGHT
The Outrun
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Competition Features
Fugue (Fuga)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lilies Not For Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All the Mountains Give
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Shrine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*smiles and kisses you*
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lollipop
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Ceremony
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunlight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To Kill a Wolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out of Competition Features
Acting
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Armand
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And Mrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Between the Temples
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Black Dog
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gala & Kiwi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blue Sun Palace
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Mountain Within Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Radleys
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Joy Dancer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sing Sing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steppenwolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Timestalker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Midnight Madness
OPENING NIGHT
Alien: Romulus
⭐️⭐️⭐️
CLOSING NIGHT
The Substance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Birdeater
⭐️⭐️⭐️
King Baby
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunray: Fallen Soldier
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oddity
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Acting
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Unknown
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 145 minutes
Language: English
Director: Sophie Fiennes
Writer: Sophie Fiennes
Starring: Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod
“When you’re acting, you have to bow down to the predicament.”
Director Sophie Fiennes gives us a true fly on the wall experience showing the process of what goes on behind the scenes. Traditionally, when we sit to watch a play, or a film, we see the finished product. In the case of films, we may see some behind the scenes featurettes where actors talk a bit about what was going on, or we see some spy footage of scenes being shot, but what happens before the cameras roll or the curtain rises. In a rare experiment, Fiennes does just that. Twyford Abbey, an uninhabited and collapsing castle in London servesd as the setting for eight actors, on full display, working on Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth. Four men and four women are learning the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth under the direction of famed film and theatre director Declan Donnellan as part of the Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company’s workshop. Stripped of any protection, we see an uncensored view of the rehearsal process. As the film cuts from one pair to another, we see them stopped every few lines either to ask clarifying questions or being stopped by Donnellan to question them. We see the pairs of actors, all unidentified until the end credits, move through different rooms as they rehearse such scenes as the preparation and aftermath of Duncan’s death, discussion of the prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s prayers. We are never quite sure if we are seeing these performers work towards a final product, or if this is just a class, and this is totally fine.
Fiennes recorded over 64 hours of footage over about a week and a half and has edited together a true “process” film. We do not glean a deeper understanding of the text of Macbeth per se, but we see the different actors get more comfortable with the text. Not just that, we see them doing warm ups, playing theatre games outside on the lawn and laughing with one another, and often see Donnellan providing his feedback. The castle where this was shot provides such a unique setting for this that when during certain rehearsals, seeing and hearing the rain beat down on the windows adds an atmosphere akin to the text being worked on. Such unfiltered access will provide non-performers a chance to see how intense the work can be, and make performers reflect on their work. There isn’t too much else to say because this isn’t so much a narrative documentary with an end result to be reached, but to show a slice of life and the fact that Fiennes doesn’t rely on talking head interviews or archival footage of the company only strengthens what you spend over two hours watching.
All in all, those interested in the craft of acting will take a lot from this process, however, those not interested in the craft per se may not feel as engaged.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Alien : Romulus
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Scott Free Productions, Brandywine
Distributor: 20th Century Studios
Rating: R (UK Cert. 18 / Run Time: 120 minutes
Language: English
Director: Fede Alvarez
Writer(s): Fede Alvarez and Royo Sayagues
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu
“I have a new directive, to do what’s best for the company.”
Set between the first and second films in the saga, Romulus introduces us to our new Ridley, Rain (Spaeny), and her “brother,” the synthetic human Andy (Jonsson). Living in the colony of Jackson’s Star, Rain’s one goal is to return to the planet Yvaga III, an Earth variant so she can start anew. However, this becomes problematic as her visa has been denied and her work contract extended for another 12 years. However, there is a plot brewing. Rain’s ex Tyler (Renaux) has learned of a decommissioned spacecraft with the cryostasis technology they would need in order to make the trip and escape Jackson’s colony. So, Rain and Andy agree to go, as we will see one of them serves a greater purpose in this mission, with Tyler and the rest of our new crew of potential Xenomorph victims, Tyler’s pregnant sister Kay (Merced), their cousin Bjorn (Fearn) and his girlfriend Navarro (Wu). As they journey to said spacecraft, once onboard, they see that this ship was maybe not quite so decommissioned as they thought when they meet another certain individual from the first film. Before you know it, they will be on a mission to find the cryostasis materials they need, and they will have to fight a Xenomorph and all of its offspring as they try to escape the Romulus. As alliances change, and the stakes are raised, not everyone will make it back to the initial ship.
Director Fede Alvarez has made a name for himself in horror film culture with such visual fright fests as the Evil Dead remake and Don’t Breathe, and he does the same here with the visuals in Alien: Romulus. The film has some incredible imagery and the blood, gross out moments and gore one wants from these films is all here. He is also able to embed some nice jump scares for the horror fans within quiet moments (even if some are predictable to true aficionados). There is even just the right amount (alright maybe too much) of fan service to engage the audience of die-hard Alien fans, however, this is a film that can be watched separate from the other films if you have not seen any others. Despite this, the film still trips over itself a bit. While not as convoluted in plot as previous entries Prometheus and Covenant were, it was a little formulaic and relied more on circumstance than character development. Also, and I won’t spoil how, but, for me there were one too many endings. After one of the epic fight sequences with a nod to the first film, it seems like we can move on, but no, you want more fights and running, you got them. This is not to say the film isn’t unwatchable. Spaeny is a worthy enough successor to Sigourney Weaver and her performance is able to toggle nicely between the angst needed for the action sequences, but also can play up the somewhat emotional arcs Alvarez and his co-writer Rodo Sayagues give her. Unfortunately, as so much of the time is spent on getting to the next Xenomorph sighting, fight, or blood explosion, that the rest of the cast becomes a bit forgettable, and completely sidelining Merced is unfortunate because she has been a bright light in previous work.
All in all, fans of the franchise will delight in the fan service and for the uninitiated, if you are looking for some good screams and horror delights, you won’t be disappointed, but for a deep science fiction film, not quite here.
Review by Cinephile Mike
All the Mountains Give
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Big Indie Pictures
Distributor: TBD
Rating: Cert. 15 / Run Time: 92 minutes
Language: Farsi and Kurdish with English subtitles
Director: Arash Rakhsha
Writer(s): Arash Rakhsha|
Starring: Hamid Alimohamadi and Yasser Dadrast
”Kolbari takes everything away from you.”
Kolbars are the people who everyone else relies on. In middle eastern countries, especially for the cities and towns in Iran, the kolbars are the ones who engage in kolbari, the act of transporting the goods people need to live in various places. However, in order to get these, the kolbars needs to trek back and forth between the borders of Iran and Iraq to get these goods and the journey is not always easy. This is done on foot and the kolbars make almost nothing. They make approximately $40 for carrying about 90 pounds on their backs across mountain trails, across lakes and whatever else they have to do, and there is no extra compensation if they have to deal with inclement weather or other conditions. Additionally, while there is nothing completely illegal about the act…though there is some gray area, it is dangerous work, and historically, many kolbars have been shot and killed by border guards, preventing citizens from getting the materials they need. All of this is what Rakhsha hopes to showcase in his feature film debut, as he follows two kolbars, Hamid and Yasser. These men walk a fine line between balancing their lives with their families and their rough work as kolbars.
This is a very interesting premise for a documentary, and while it was shot over several years, there seems to be an imbalance in the final product. Rakhsa follows this during some treacherous journey points, including one particularly uncomfortable moment where many had to swim across the water to get the goods because the truck could not cross the border, and many kolbars couldn’t swim. These moments make for the engaging documentary, however, more of the story is spent on their lives outside of the journey. While this is important information to have, there is a bit more than necessary, and also, more of the story is dedicated to Hamid than Yasser, so you are left wondering a bit more about the latter. That point aside, Rakhsa does an excellent job at the start framing the knowledge of kolbars so as to focus on the story, and also, when we are able to see interactions between Hamid and Yasser, you can feel the respect and support they have for one another. Primarily focusing on the use of spy shot cinematography, we are the fly on the wall as we follow the action playing out before us.
All in all, this is an important story to be made aware of, you just may feel a bit empty, and not just because of the topic, heavy as it is, but for the lack of additional content.
Review by Cinephile Mike
And Mrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Who's On First Films, FirstGen Content, Paterson James Ltd,
Vertigo Releasing
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 113 minutes
Language: English
Director: Daniel Reisinger
Writer: Melissa Bubnic
Starring: Aisling Bea, Colin Hanks, Billie Lourd, Susan Wokoma, Harriet Walter,
Sinéad Cusack, and Elizabeth McGovern
“Love makes us do mad things, doesn’t it.”
Gemma (Bea) and Nathan (Hanks) are living in London, happy in life, love and getting ready for their big day! The gifts have started to arrive, final alterations are being made, and then tragically, when Gemma comes home from her morning yoga, she sees Nathan not moving on the bed. Tragically, Nathan has passed away from a paradoxical embolism. Gemma’s world begins to fall apart. Instead of a wedding, there is a funeral. Shortly after, Nathan’s sister, Audrey (Lourde) shows up from the states for the wedding and Gemma has to tell her what has happened. Despite this tragedy, Gemma decides that she wants to marry Nathan anyway. She doesn’t want to run from this relationship as she has in the past, and it was important to Nathan and she loved him. She is going to do this. Audrey, Nathan’s primary family contact, is on board, and despite being seven months pregnant, is going to stay by Gemma’s side as they set out to accomplish this. They learn there is a loophole to posthumous marriage, that goes back to the Napoleonic War, if they can get the London Chief of Justice (Walter) to sign off on this. However, and this is a comedy, that will not be as easy as it seems. The Chief of Justice states that there must be approval by the family of the deceased and more evidence that the marriage would have occurred. Despite the concerns by Gemma’s mother (Cusack) and her best friend Ruth (Wokoma), Gemma plows forward with Audrey at her side, and they will go on the journey to get this approval, even though they learn it will take them back across the pond and into the path of Nathan and Audrey’s estranged mother, Margaret (a pleasantly steely McGovern) before they are able to see if Gemma can find her way to her happy ending. As the quote said, “Love makes us do mad things, doesn’t it.” As they go, it will become a whirlwind of publicity between those who believe this is either romantic, or against the natural order.
Bubnic has crafted a clever, non-traditional romantic comedy here. There is a lot that the screenplay asks us to follow, and as a first time screenwriter, there maybe needed to be a few more edits, however, she fills the story with characters and circumstances that seem so lived in that you forgive this, as this chaos is, real life. Even some of the more extreme antics that she puts Gemma and Audrey in, see one very entertaining scene where they sneak into a hearing with the chief justice, they are fully committed to the bit. As Gemma and Adurey, Bea and Lourde have excellent chemistry in this duo. Bea plays things down more at times allowing Lourde to swing for the fences, continuing to show she is a comedic force. Like the antics she brought to Ticket to Paradise and Scream Queens, you can’t not give her the attention she commands on the screen. More so than a comedy about one woman setting out to marry her beloved, this film is also about grief and feeling lost. It’s a theme that could have been delved into a little bit more, but the pieces we get in Gemma and Audrey act as any two people in grief would. Maybe their actions don’t present normal at first, but they are justified. While some scenes veer into the unbelievable, there are moments of realization that will neatly tug at the heartstrings, and anyone who has lost someone, whoever they may be, will recognize themselves here. First time feature film director Reisinger, moving away from shorts and TV, works well with his cast and makes sense of Bubnic’s screenplay, holes and all, to give a throughline.
All in all, this is an enjoyable film that will make you laugh, cry and feel seen.
Check out my interview with Executive Producer and Director Daniel Reisinger by clicking here.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Armand
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Eye Eye Pictures, Keplerfilm, Prolaps, One Two Films, Zefyr, Film i Väst
Distributor: Norsk Filmdistribusjon
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 113 minutes
Language: Norwegian with English subtitles
Director: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
Writer: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
Starring: Renate Reinsve, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Endre Hellestveit, Øystein Røger,
Thea Lambrechts Vaulen and Vera Veljovic
“Tolerance isn’t the same as irresponsibility.”
Elisabeth (Reinsve), a well known actress, has arrived on a stormy day for a meeting at her son Armand’s school. Unsure why she has been called in, she is met by Sunna (Vaulen), a new teacher, and brought to her classroom. Shortly after Sarah (Petersen) and Anders (Hellestveit), the parents of another boy, Jon, arrive. Jon’s parents allege that their son Jon was hit and sexually assaulted by Armand in the boys bathroom of the school. Elisabeth has been brought to hear these allegations and discuss potential next steps. Floored, Elisabeth doesn’t know how to address this at first. Reacting very angrily, this begins a back and forth of he said, he said, although it is between the parents and the teacher. Ultimately, the school’s administration, Jarle (Røger) and Ajsa (Veljovic) come in to assist Sunna in the conversation, which proceeds in several rounds of conversation with various breaks within. As we engage with this trio, we see that this allegation is not as simple as it is made out to be. Connections between the parents, the children and even the school begin to come to the surface, and we go on a journey from a parent-teacher conference to a full psychological deep dive into the psyches of several of the people in the room.
It is hard to say anymore without spoiling the film, but Tøndel in his feature film debut has woven a very intricate web that you think might be too much, but he actually threads these needles very well, and ultimately brings the film to a somewhat ambiguous, but satisfying ending. Choosing to shoot the majority of the film in a confined classroom in an empty school on a stormy day adds an uncomfortable level of claustrophobia is an excellent choice, and Pål Ulvik Rokseth’s cinematography only adds to the claustrophobic setting with a series of close ups on characters as opposed to mid shots capturing the majority. We often have the camera on characters listening to what others are saying as opposed to seeing the speaker, and this gives his very talented cast multiple opportunities to shine. The standout, without question, is Reinsve. Her Elisabeth has to go through so much that when she ultimately reaches a breaking point, it feels natural and earned for the circumstances she is put in. As she did in 2021’s The Worst Person in the World, she commands the screen and demands that you hear what she has to say. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that some of the content of Tøndel’s script is a little hard to hear, especially given that, and I hadn’t mentioned this yet, the two boys in question in this story are only 8 years old, so, when you hear some of the language that was allegedly used by the children, you can’t help but wonder what is at play here, and the adults are so interconnected, that you will be left to wonder what is true and what isn’t, which leads to a fascinating mystery to follow. While there is a third act sequence that feels a little out of place involving a group of parents and a custodian, without saying too much, it leads to Elisabeth’s psyche and you can only hope everyone makes it out of this meeting unscathed.
All in all, Armand is an excellent character study of the way adults behave and often use whatever means available to survive. Tøndel presents a unique voice that will excite for what comes next.
Check out my interview with Writer and Director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel by clicking here.
Review by Cinephile Mike
A Shrine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Ark Gate Films, Chelifilms, Niva Art
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 85 minutes
Language: Persian (Farsi) with English Subtitles
Director: Abdolreza Kahani
Writer: Abdolreza Kahani
Starring: Nima Sadr, Mojan Safari, Keyvan Safari, Farhad Zarei and Masoud Motehaver
“Lying is good and truth is awful. Every development in the world is based on lies.”
Nima (Sadr) is a man of a certain age who does just enough to get by and believes that because he only speaks the truth, and lives an honest life, his life is hard. An Iranian immigrant living in Canada, he manages a shop that washes and details cars, spends time with friends and goes about his days living his vagabond life in his RV, eating melons upon melons (they have many health benefits) and going to everyone’s house parties, though he never invites them to the RV. As he is getting older, he's looking for an easy job, meanwhile, his mother would like him to settle down, perhaps with Marjon (Safari), the one woman who cares for him, but he doesn't want to settle down. One day, one of his employees requests time off. His 90 year old mother has requested he take her on a pilgrimage to Iran to make an offering at the Shrine. All of a sudden, a bell goes off in Nima's head. People spend thousands of dollars to travel to Iran to worship, so why not bring the shrine to them. Working with his friend Farhad (Zarei), they build a shrine that incorporates a few pieces of wood and a green cloth that has been blessed back from Iran. Although Farhad and his mother don’t believe he will go through with the plan and keep the money, he is too honest after all, Nima moves on with his plan. He makes fliers to advertise, thoroughly cleans his RV, and begins to drive around Canada allowing people to worship and leave their cash offerings with the shrine. He believes he has found his new easy job, however, this lie does begin to take its toll. One day, he responds to a call for a worshiper. He goes, and the woman confronts him and questions the validity of the shrine. Nima tries to shake it off, but these words stay with him. Maybe he has taken this too far. The lie was easy enough at first, but now maybe not so much. And when he tries to abandon this plot, it may not be as easy as he thought it would be.
In A Shrine, Kahani has crafted a unique story that does go to the center of lying and what toll it takes. The film, entirely shot on a mobile phone, is shot in a documentary style. Sadr, the one veteran actor in the cast, plays a character with his name, and is surrounded by a supporting cast of non-performers playing characters also with their own name. When I had a chance to speak with Kahani, he explained that since he wanted this film to show the honesty of the human condition, he used non-performers and the simple technology as it was the most honest way to portray this. As a result, it is very effective. In fact, if you were to walk in blind, you would think you were watching a spyshot documentary, until you see what Nima is planning and your eyebrows would raise. The inexperience of the cast actually helps support the realness of what we are watching, and Kahani challenges us to look within to see the consequences of our actions. Sadr is excellent as Nima. He makes you feel the conflict he is in with pointed looks and subtlety. While he is engaging in this act, it is easy to want to not like him for the con he is playing, but Kahani guides him on a fine line that makes him understandable in the actions he takes. Serving as his one-man crew, Kahani puts the story front and center and it is a journey to go on.
All in all, this is a strong film that raises issues or morality and character without beating you over the head and will make you feel you are experiencing the whole act right along with the characters.
Review by Cinephile Mike
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Bofa Productions
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert.12A / Run Time: 89 minutes
Language: English
Director: Mark Cousins
Writer: Mark Cousins
Starring: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
“You’re happier than I am, but I’m a better painter. I’ve seen more.”
Thus the quote from the prolific, but not so well known artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, the subject of this new documentary by Mark Cousins that in some ways, has been percolating for approximately 30+ years. Documentarian Mark Cousins was first exposed to Barns-Graham in the 1980s when he saw her work at a gallery and has been fascinated. Not just by her work as an artist, but the fact that she was an artist who worked well into her later life and damn the fact that she was a woman in a predominantly male field at the time. Tragically, as many female artists, we are not as aware of them in the general populous, and this is what Cousins seeks to correct. He posits that Barns-Graham is an artist to revisit and bring to the forefront. While he focuses on her life, and we get information from all facets, he predominantly focuses on the period of time when she had a life changing experience. In 1949, Barns-Graham visited the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland. Upon the visit, she was inspired to create a whole set of paintings related to these glaciers from all different angles. Not just looking at the landscapes, but looking down and into them, seeing the slight color changes from reflections, the chips and angles, all things that began to influence her work from that point on. We then see how this began to shape her work until she passed, still doing what she loved.
This could have been a direct documentary with narration, but Cousins seeks to do more. He inserts himself as a character into the film as the primary narrator, and even includes a scene when he gets a tattoo of the artist’s likeness done. A bit self-indulgent, yes, however, he never shies away from the message he wants us to get which is the deeper appreciation of Barns-Graham’s work. While he incorporates traditional documentary tropes, some talking head interviews, voiceovers and photo montages, he also adds a bit of flavor in the form of Tilda Swinton who offers several readings of journals written by Barns-Graham. Additionally, there are several sequences where the audience is not treated to any context at all, but invited to sit and stare at the screen at the gorgeous slideshows and animations of Barns-Graham’s work animated by Danny Carr. These montages are perfectly underscored by a beautiful and haunting melody composed by Linda Buckley. Cousins also includes input from Lynne Green, Barns-Graham’s biographer and the woman in charge of her trust. She provides additional insight to the artist that is unknown and welcome to Cousins.
All in all Cousins paints a portrait of Barns-Graham and those true art lovers will enjoy getting a glimpse of this artist and hopefully reintroduce her into the conversation.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Between the Temples
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Ley Line Entertainment, Fusion Entertainment
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Rating: R (UK Cert. 15) / Run Time: 111 minutes
Language: English
Director: Nathan Silver
Writer(s): Nathan Silver and C. Mason Wells
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly De Leon, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel and Madeline Weinstein
“I want you to be happy, but sometimes I don’t know how to do it.”
Meet Ben Gottlieb (Schwartzman). Cantor. Widower. Man in midlife crisis in his roughly late 30s, and he can’t find the voice he once had that is now preventing him from fulfilling his cantor responsibilities at his temple. So much so, Rabbi Bruce (Smigel) needs to step in, although he doesn’t mind. Living in the basement with his mothers, Judith (De Leon) and Meira (Aaron), whose only intention is to get him partnered up again, he goes through the paces while teaching B’nai Mitzvah classes. One night, at a particularly low moment drinking it away at a bar, he is reunited with Carla (Kane), or as he knew her better when he was a child, Ms. Kessler, his music teacher. She helps him get home and Ben thinks that is the end of it, until Carla shows up for a B’nai class. She was born Jewish, but never had her bat mitzvah, and now she wants it. So Ben takes her into the class, and as the studies begin, the two begin to grow closer. Ben begins to feel alive again. He even considers dating Rabbi Bruce’s daughter, Gabby (Weinstein), a young woman who has a slightly unconventional interest in Ben’s deceased wife. As Ben continues to rebuild his life, the path to rebirth is not going to be very easy to accomplish, and challenges in the form of Carla’s son and his overly domineering mother Judith, will definitely cause some obstacles as we build towards quite an interesting shabbat dinner on the eve before Carla’s bat mitzvah.
This is a film about a May December romance that almost shouldn’t work, but in the hands of Schwartzman and Kane, it magically does. Silver and Wells’ screenplay plays into some of the traditional comedy tropes, but there is an honesty in this in that these characters, and some of the supporting ones are all fractured in some way. This story really is the tale of not one person saving another, but allowing two lost souls to find new meaning with the support of one another, and it builds to a quite satisfying if somewhat ambiguous ending. As stated, Schwartzman and Kane have an easy chemistry with one another and regardless of what happens after the credits role, you are rooting for both of them. As the mothers, Aaron is a delight but is played down a bit more than we often see in some of her roles which allows De Leon to have another outstanding, strong presence as she did in Ghostlight earlier this year. The woman can stop you with a glare or a cutting remark. All this said though, the breakout in the film is Weinstein as Gabby. She has incredible comic timing and has some moments that are just so genuine that you may walk out of the film only thinking about her performance, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It also needs to be said that the clever use of the grainy 16mm footage captured by cinematographer Sean Price Willliams gives a lived in feel as you follow the zany antics that are rolling out on the screen.
All in all, this is a feel good comedy the likes of which we don’t often see where everyone is genuinely good, and just wants the best for all involved.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Birdeater
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Breathless Films, Stephanie Troost
Distributor: Umbrella Entertainment
Rating: UK Cert. 18 / Run Time: 115 minutes
Language: English
Director(s): Jack Clark and Jim Weir
Writer(s): Jack Clark and Jim Weir
Starring: Mackenzie Fearnley, Shabana Azeez, Ben Hunter, Jack Bannister, Clementine Anderson,
Alfie Gledhill and Harley Wilson
“Tell her you deserve a second chance. We all deserve a second chance.”
The time has come. Louie (Fearnley) and Irene (Azeez) are getting married, and even before this, they have fallen into a very specific routine almost every night. They have dinner, he gives her an anxiety pill (she suffers from separation anxiety and doesn’t like to be away from Louie for long periods, which will come to fruition later), he goes to play golf, he comes home, they consummate their relationship, and then the next day goes on. The time has come for Louie’s stag party. Going along with him are his friends Dylan (Hunter), the goof off, Murph (Gledhill), the happy-go-lucky friend, Charlie (Bannister) the jock type, and he has also invited Irene to come along. He has other plans in mind. To assist her in feeling comfortable, he has Charlie bring his fiancée Grace (Anderson) so Irene doesn’t feel so isolated, and Irene’s friend Sam (Wilson), who believes he should be with Irene, despite his current two girlfriends and two boyfriends. Quite the motley crew that heads to a cabin in the Australian outback for said party. As we engage with each of the males, it is quite simply put, they are of a mindset that they are always correct, and despite them telling one another they should not be rude or crass, they can’t help it. Snide comments are made and through an uncomfortable dinner, true feelings are expressed, and not everyone believes this wedding, save the relationship, is actually healthy for either person involved. As the drugs and alcohol flow, and an uncomfortable game of Paranoia is played around the campfire, the lives of almost everyone here are going to be changed, and maybe not for the better.
I skirt the issue in the summary because it is hard to not fully spoil, but, first time feature writer and directors Jack Clark and Jim Weir are now taking their chance to dissect and exploit a series of characters who are all the archetypes of almost every facet of toxic masculinity you can put on display. From the way the male characters speak not just to the females (and it is interesting that we have a five to two ratio), but even in how they talk to one another. Attacking each other for religious beliefs, the frequency or lack thereof of sexual encounters and drug use, you can’t help but want to throttle each of them. They think they are correcting the behaviors by calling out one another, but then they turn around and do it to someone else. Anderson’s Grace has some opportunities to push back against this, as does Azeez’ Irene, but it feels fraught. Let me be clear, I am not saying that Clark and Weir are endorsing this behavior, but, at times it feels almost satirical at how much it is beating you over the head, and as a result, you can’t fully engage with the narrative, and when we get to the drawn out, ambiguous ending, it may leave you feeling a little empty. When the ultimate deeper intentions of select characters come to the front, it doesn’t land because we have been going in circles with everyone. A bit more subtlety and a sharper edit would have served the film, although, it does provide some moments for Fearnley to shine. At first glance, he acts like the last person who would engage in such behavior, but as he does, you are shocked and realize, these tropes are easy to fall into.
All in all, we have seen these topics delved into in previous films with more satisfying results, but, for a first time project, Clark and Weir present two with a voice and a story to tell.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Black Dog
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: The Seventh Art Pictures
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 110 minutes
Language: Mandarin with English Subtitles
Director: Hu Guan
Writer(s): Hu Guan and Rui Ge
Starring: Eddie Peng, Tong Liya, Jia Zhang-ke and Xin the dog
“Life and death are determined by fate.”
In 2008, as China prepares to host the Olympics, we see Lang (Peng), a man who has returned from prison having been incarcerated for 10 years. As he returns home, what he once knew is gone. In his town outside of the Gobi Desert, many buildings are being demolished as part of the plan to reinvigorate the city as they prepare for the Olympics. Lang’s town has become overrun with animals that they are trying to round up. Amongst them is a very skinny, black dog (Xin) that has been identified as a potentially rabid animal as one of the dog’s victims claimed he was. As a means to rid the town of this animal, a bounty is offered, and Lang, whose father is ill due to alcoholism and his sister is elsewhere raising her family, he decides to take a stab at the bounty, however, this will not be without risk as he ends up cornering said dog, and being bitten. He shakes this off, and continues serving as a member of the stray wrangling team, and eventually, our black dog will be caught. Lang is then sent to transport him, but, through a series of events, Lang develops a rapport with him, although much of this comes as a result of him needing to be quarantined due to the bites he has received. He slowly develops a relationship with the dog, but this is only one minor positive as he is dealing with constant attacks by the local snake farmer, named Butcher Hu (Zhang-ke) who wants vengeance for the death of his nephew, the crime for which Lang was incarcerated. Lang will also encounter a traveling circus where he will meet a performer named Grape (Liya) who shows Lang that there may be more to his life than he has become resigned to in the small town.
Guan has crafted a story that is much more than a story of man and his best friend. If anything, this is hate at first sight, and he lets the relationship develop naturally through a varied series of circumstances that while you see where this will go, you are happy to go along with the ride. Setting it in an almost dystopian countryside does a fine job to underscore the themes of despair that are felt by many, but they are shot with precision and gorgeous imagery by cinematographer, Weizhe Gao. Filling the screen with lots of sweeping wide shots, even during intimate moments adds to the vastness of the lives these characters are in. Also, there is a lot of credit to be given to the animal wrangling team, while I didn;t reference as much in the summary, Lang’s father runs a struggling zoo, and there are several other sequences with the various dogs running around the town that it almost seems as if these animals were CGI’d, but the are not. The film doesn’t so much follow a full narrative arc, but we are given a glimpse into the lives of these Chinese residents as they prepare to fix things in their country. Peng is a standout and carries the film on his soldiers with a minimal dialogue performance. He speaks, but only when absolutely necessary. Given that he shares much of the time with the dog, this is understood. This is another in the line of man’s best friend films that come out every year, however, the subtlety of this one makes it an engaging watch as opposed to ratcheting up the drama for drama’s sake.
All in all, dog lovers will enjoy this film of accepting one’s past and trying to move on, to say nothing of the spectacular visuals of sweeping landscape against the abandoned city.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Blue Sun Palace
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Field Trip Media, Big Buddha Pictures
Distributor: TBD
Rating: Cert. 15 / Run Time: 117 minutes
Language: Mandarin and English with English subtitles
Director: Constance Tsang
Writer: Constance Tsang
Starring: Haipeng Xu, Ke-Xi Wu, Kang-sheng Lee, Lisha Zheng and Murielle Hsieh
"I just need to change something. I have to."
In a small massage parlor in Queens, 4 masseuses, Didi (Haipeng Xu), Amy (Ke-Xi Wu), Fei (Lisha Zheng) and Josie (Murielle Hsieh) work and live a simple live. While there are repeated shots of the sign on the door stating, “No Sexual Services” on the door, these four know, they may receive bigger tips in select instances, and they are striving to get by, and begrudgingly may acquiesce, even if at times the results are less than desirable. Some are more comfortable asserting themselves with clients than others, and some even strive to accomplish more. Didi has bigger dreams. She wants to open a restaurant in Baltimore, it's near the water and life could be better away from the city, and most of all, her daughter is there living with her aunt. While she cannot cook, she plans to have Amy come with her. Amy can cook, and Didi can do the books. This is all revealed one night while she lies with Cheung (Kang-sheng Lee), a man she is in a burgeoning relationship with, despite the fact that he has a wife he is supporting back in China. However, he sees a future with Didi. During the Chinese New Year, tragedy will strike at this group and the ramifications will turn everyone into upheaval. After this turning point, the title is revealed and then we jump just shy of a year later. As our characters strive to pick up the pieces and move on, this will prove somewhat easier for some than others, and will cause some to enter one another’s orbits in different, and unexpected ways.
First time writer/director Constance Tsang has crafted an honest immigration tale of those seeking the American Dream. She smartly hones in on a trio of the aforementioned characters to paint an intimate portrait of what we strive for, and how to move on when we lose what we have. Without wanting to spoiling the twists, they can't be revealed, however, the story is gripping. Similar to other recent films of the immigrant experience, such as Lee Isaac Chung's Minari, Tsang pulls at the heartstrings in the smallest moments. When we see Didi stand up for her co-workers and shares quiet, intimate moments with Cheung, Xu presents an air of love and compassion. Lee as Cheung can break your heart with one look, and you can feel his pain as he pines for a new life here and tugged by his obligations back in China. When Amy has a chance to cook for her peers, and you see the joy in her face, Wu has the brightest smile to fill the room and even in tough moments, Zheng and Hsieh have opportunities to deliver much needed laughs. Cinematographer Norm Li frames the shots, often close-ups, with the intimate nature of shooting with a low quality filter that shapes the less than desirable lives of our characters, which makes it all the more unique to watch.
All in all, Tsang will both pull at your heartstrings while giving you hope as you follow these dreamers seek something more.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Fugue (Fuga)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: SNG Film, Tu Vas Voir, Perpetua Cine, Cinetroupe,
RTBF Télévision belge-Unité Documentaire, Shelter Prod
Distributor: Clin d'oeil
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 91 minutes
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Director(s): Bénédicte Liénard, Mary Jiménez
Writer(s): Bénédicte Liénard, Mary Jiménez
Starring: Saor Sax and Valentina Linares Gonzales
“You chose to escape to survive. But that won’t be my destiny.”
In the deep Amazons of Peru, Saor (Sax), has traveled with the coffin of their beloved Valentina (Linares Gonzales) so as to return her to her native homeland for burial. They have honored her wishes, but, this is not as simple as planned, as Valentina is a transgendered singer whom they fell in love with, and as they return her to her town, they only know her as Pol, a young man amongst the community who was beloved and respected, although like many of his friends, persecuted for being a gay man. The community from whence Valentina came was shrouded in fear living under Shining Path, the Communist Party that firmly believed in the terrorism and execution of homosexuals. As Saor learns more about Pol, they also learns about the various experiences that other men in the village have survived as a result of living under Shining Path for they, unlike Pol, remained, while Pol left for a better life, which is where they became their true self, Valentina. As Saor awaits the burial, they will hear many stories that shape a deeper understanding of Valentina, the life she had, and understand how she came to be. Each story they hear from the experiences of the townspeople begins to break them down more and more as they learn to come to terms with this. Not speaking much, we follow Saor as they wait.
This is a unique film. Writers/Directors Liénard and Jiménez, working in collaboration with Sax, spent months scouring Peruvian villages to learn of the true oppression stories of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community. They created a space where these individuals could speak freely, and they crafted this story, albeit fictional, around the stories they learned. Not to say this is a fictionalized, narrative film. As Sax, who plays a character, named after themself, hears the stories by other characters, these “characters” are the real life counterparts, and the stories of death they saw, fear they lived through are all real. No one in this film is an “actor,” but real people telling their stories in the real world. That is what makes this hybrid narrative/documentary an interesting watch. Every fact, every story we hear is real, and as Saor builds towards a climax in the third act, it is more than justified based on everything they have heard. These real stories make up the world Saor has returned Valentina to. Liénard and Jiménez also elect to have Sax play Saor in an almost dialogue-free role. They spend more time observing and listening and limits verbal communication, however, through flashbacks with Valentina, and observing what they do, we learn everything through voiceovers, and a series of powerful looks by Sax who can portray heartbreak with the smallest glimpse. While both an important story to be told and a well acted piece, it does seem to feel a little too long at times. The stories we hear are important, and the film may have been served better to focus more on these. At times there is so much reflection and silence by Sax that you may be taken out of the film a bit. And while this is done, they reflect more on Valentina than the stories they hear, so the full journey Sax’s character could have gone on seems a bit cheated. However, that does not diminish the importance of highlighting this part of current events, and therefore may have been more impactful if they had leaned into a more traditional documentary with the stories being told.
All in all, a bit long but a story that blends film genres in a unique way to tell the facts of what a life under the Communist regime is like.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Gala & Kiwi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: ACT Productions
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 108 minutes
Language: Spanish with English Subtitles
Director: Axel Cheb Terrab
Writer: Axel Cheb Terrab
Starring: Augustina Cabo, Carmen Fillol, Bruno Coccia and Tomás Kirzner
“Perhaps my secrets aren’t as valuable.”
It's been five years since Gala (Fillol) and Kiwi (Cabo) have seen one another. Tonight is the big reunion. They return to Kiwi's home to enjoy a reunion, on a day that doesn't click in one of their minds. At first glance, they could not appear to be more different. Gala is very free spirited, presenting a party girl look in her fishnets and skirt with her blonde hair pulled back in her headband. Kiwi, whose real name we will learn is Sofia, is an almost exact opposite. A bit more reserved in her glasses and school matron clothing. A bit quieter, we can see who the alpha and beta are in this relationship from the jump. The alcohol flows, the laughs are had, there's time to be made up for. Gala explains that she is now dating someone named Tomás (Kirzner), and its OK, but she isn't sure how it will go as she wants a more open relationship and is thinking of ending it. Kiwi explains that she is broke up with her boyfriend Nicolás (Coccia) and beginning to get opportunities to expand her career by writing a play about Joan of Arc and assistant directing a play at the National Theatre. In this, some subtle jabs and shade are thrown, and we see that there is a bit of tension between the two, but not enough to disrupt the night. The alcohol keeps flowing and then, before we know it, in vino veritas, the conversation takes a turn. Memories from the past come front and center and the lack of communication for five years begins to be seen. For want of not spoiling it, I can say that events occurred, secrets were revealed and the questioning trust will forever be up in the air.
Writer/Director Terrab has chosen some heavy themes for his feature film debut, and what we get is a very intense character study. Shot entirely in one location, his apartment, he is able to focus on the performances without a lot of showy set pieces, although this flat is quite impressive. This film could have tripped over itself if not for the stellar focus and raw chemistry between its two leads, Fillol and Cabo. They are able to make you feel every laugh and as things begin to deteriorate, you feel the angst. We have all been there, in relationships with people that are toxic and despite our best efforts, we can’t always seem to disentangle ourselves. Another unique element to this film, is despite a couple of minor time jumps within a few minutes, the majority of this film rolls out in real time and gives a Richard Linklater feel akin to his Before trilogy, specifically, Before Sunset which chronicles two characters in real time. Stylistically, this feels almost like a play. Terrab, serving as his own editor often chooses long, uncut scenes to ramp up the drama as opposed to a lot of cuts, and Joaquín Pulpiero’s cinematography does the film a great service in that because there isn’t a lot of interruption in the story. The characters feel very real and exposed, almost as if we are a documentary camera catching things as a fly in the wall. The one thing that may feel a bit disjointed to the audience is that the film expects you to engage with these characters right from the jump without a tremendous amount of backstory, and that may jolt a bit, but, if you go along for the ride, the payoff in the end is worth it.
All in all, this is a tremendous character study by two strong performers that will definitely speak to an audience.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Joy Dancer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 73 minutes
Language: English
Director(s): Suzanne Smith and Sylvia Solf
Writer(s): Suzanne Smith and Sylvia Solf
Starring: Gregory Maqoma and Thuthuka Sibisi
“What do you see if you’re looking at yourself?”
Through a series of spy shots and talking head interviews, directors Smith and Solf introduce us to choreographer, body artist and activist, Gregory Maqoma. Wanting to use the arts to educate about history, and finding inspiration in almost any space visited, for this documentary, we see him go about creating a piece that is going to introduce the public to one story of a 19th century African choir traveling the UK and US, and the oppression they experienced. Not only is this going to be done through dance, but he wants to incorporate music, and enter his collaborator, Thuthuka Sibisi. We will then follow Maqoma and Sibisi as they go through the process of creating their piece, and we will see the good, and the challenges. While everyone is working towards one goal, we can see that there are, albeit subtle, some minor moments where some feel they should lead the charge as opposed to share the load. However, this is expected in the collaborative process, and it never takes away from the ultimate goal of finished products. Rarely are we given a chance to peek behind the curtain like here. As in another film in this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, Sophie Fiennes’ Acting, we are given a full fly on the wall exposure to much of the work being done. Seeing artists as vulnerable as they are, makes for the build towards the end result a journey to go on, and made all the more challenging as we will see the impact of the pandemic on the final product.
Smith and Solf, in their first feature film, do an excellent job toggling between the spy footage of rehearsals and infusing talking head or other archival footage without losing their point. They don’t want to interfere or hinder what is happening, but you can feel the message they are trying to get across. The arts are greatly therapeutic and this is what is on display. Whether we are seeing Maqoma craft the movement, or seeing Sibisi work with the singers to capture the right melody, and they sound incredible, we are swept up. The one thing is as we build to the first performance, we are cheated a bit. After spending over an hour with the cast and creators, the missing piece is the performance and perhaps some of the response. It feels like we have a lot of build up with no resolution. However, that doesn’t detract from the “joy” you will take from watching this process film. Smith and Solf present themselves as documentarians with a voice and I look forward to what they come to us with next.
All in all, this is a film for anyone who loves a celebration of the arts, particularly dance. This is a love letter to the arts that doesn’t shy away from the process.
Check out my interview with Producer and Director Suzanne Smith and Director Sylvia Solf by clicking here.
Review by Cinephile Mike
King Baby
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Ghosts City, Chimples Pictures
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 18 / Run Time: 89 minutes
Language: English
Director(s): Kit & Arran
Writer(s): Kit & Arran
Starring: Neil Chinneck and Graham Dickson
“I’m the king, remember that!”
In this modern world, two seemingly ordinary men have taken up residence in a derelict castle, somewhere in the mountains, and live as King (Dickson) and Servant (Chinneck). One night, King has a dream, and decides that he must have a wife, and Servant, doing whatever King asks, carves him one out of wood. Once carved, Queen takes her rightful place on her throne next to King, and King goes about the day to day. The day to day includes the King addressing his kingdom (which is only his servant) on various topics, and while the servant suggests topics of glory, the King prefers topics such as belly buttons, or testicles, and the ever King-pleasing Servant goes, “An excellent choice.” The King also enjoys his daily hunt, which includes him running with a bow and no arrows after Servant dressed in a rabbit costume. As they go through the days, Servant moves the wooden Queen as if she were real, and King enjoys moments in conversation with her, although she does not speak. As we go on, King seems happy, but eventually, Queen begins to cause a rift with him and Servant, and he begins having nightmares and cannot sleep through the night. Meanwhile, Servant says he sleeps well and passes the night fine. King realizes that should something happen to Servant, he will be all alone and this is not good. He needs to know how to cook, clean and care for himself. He also doesn’t like the way the Queen has been acting with Servant. Thus, a proposal to switch places is made. As they go through with this experiment, we see that the happy-go-lucky rapport these two had may not have been as ideal as it was made out to be. Additionally, the Queen’s rift only grows, and this will take King and Servant down dark paths as they carve out, no pun intended, a new way of life as dreams and nightmares haunt them both building to an intense fireside confrontation.
Kit & Aaron in their first joint directing project have given the most absurd fairy tale I have seen in a very long time. While their cast is two men and a wooden mannequin, we seem to have the most bizarre love triangle seen on screen in some time. The Queen is as much a character as the other two, and the fact that she has no voice or choice in her actions, though Chris Mutton and Arran Shearing’s editing keeps cutting back to her for responses and reactions, speaks mountains to the issues of patriarchy that they are trying to dispel. It’s a comedy, but you aren’t sure if the laughter is at what the characters are doing on screen, or, are you laughing at the uncomfortable absurdity of what is being presented. In addition to the ideas of patriarchy and its harms, the film also addresses issues of toxic masculinity and traditional power systems in relation to class. Characters switch on a dime based on the roles they have and ultimately end up in an unconventional spiral. Chinneck and Dickson are a phenomenal one-two punch as they carry the whole film, save the nightmare sequences featuring Jasmine Albuquerque’s Dream Queen and Ryan Spencer’s Dream Demon. They have exceptional comic timing and when you see some of the extremes they go to, this is a testament to the direction of Kit & Aaron. Placing the film in the outdoor, desolate castle grounds makes for another level of the deconstruction they are shining a light on which makes it all the more entertaining to watch.
All in all, this is a bizarrely enjoyable subverted fairy tale that asks you to question the impact of class, power and gender roles within a society.
Check out my interview with Producers, Writers and Directors Kit & Arran by clicking here.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Lilies Not For Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Wolflight, Paradise City, Cinetic Media
Distributor: TBD
Rating: Cert. 18 / Run Time: 99 minutes
Language: English
Director: Will Seefried
Writer: Will Seefried
Starring: Fionn O’Shea, Robert Aramayo, Erin Kellyman, Louis Hoffman and Jodi Balfour
“I cannot be cured, because I am not ill.”
Our film opens on Owen (O’Shea), in a stark prison-like environment being led to a “simu-date” with Dorothy, Dot (Kellyman) in a dining hall. It is the 1920s, and Owen is here under the auspices that he is to be “cured” of his homosexual affliction. Every day, he receives an injection, and then is to have his date. He explains to Dot that he is a novelist, his first book, An Unfit Soldier, chronicling the challenges as to why he was not able to serve in World War I. Dot asks about his new book, and he begins to explain that it is hard to write, but he begins to tell his tale, which takes us back a bit in time to where he was living in a small cottage in the English countryside. His friend Philip (Aramayo) has come to stay with him, having returned from the war and finished medical school. Owen and Philip have a romantic history, and Owen believes they can be left alone to be with one another as they wanted. However, Philip has a different idea in mind. He has been doing his research, and there is now a cure for both of them to be rid of this affliction that is keeping them from being ill. Philip wants to train Owen to perform the procedure on him and then vice versa. Owen reluctantly agrees, however, plans are thrown into upheaval with the arrival of a young man, Charles Green (Hoffman) the son of the cottage’s former resident shows up, and he is taken with Owen. From here, in this timeline, we will see a complicated love triangle of sorts and the implications this has on all of them, while we are also following the story of Owen and Dot in the treatment center as he recounts these events to her as they may be the influence for his next novel. However, one has to wonder how Owen has come to be here, in this hospital and this will unfold as delicately as a novel would progress.
Will Seefried, in his feature debut, has crafted a film that is as gloriously shot (kudos to cinematographer Cory Fraiman-Lott) and beautiful to look at, as it is grotesquely gut punching to watch as it presents an often undiscussed period of queer history. Seefried is not afraid to show all of the horrors that are present with these circumstances and the performances, especially by the trio of O’Shea, Aramayo and Hoffman, are so nuanced and layered, as each turn comes, you are pulled more and more into the story. While at times the film flips a bit too much between the two storylines at moments when you want to spend time in the other, a testament to editor Julia Bloch, you never disengage. Additionally, while not only focusing on this period, Seefried’s inclusion of Dot, a Black nurse who shares her own stories and challenges for being a citizen at the time, gives us yet another victim of their circumstances to follow, and we will see that she is not all that is expected when we are first introduced to her. As the film wraps to its conclusion there will be an almost dreamlike scenario that will make you question and ponder what is real and what is imagined and desire a rewatch.
All in all, while not easy to watch at times, this is a must see film for the performances and the historical context Seefried presents.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Lollipop
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Parkville Pictures, BBC Film, BFI Film Fund
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 100 minutes
Language: English
Director: Daisy-May Hudson
Writer: Daisy-May Hudson
Starring: Posy Sterling, Idil Ahmed, TerriAnn Cousins, Aliyah Abdi, Tegan-Mia Stanley Rhoads
and Luke Howitt
“At some point, you have to take accountability for your actions.”
As strong willed as the name she is given, Molly Brown (Sterling) is unsinkable, to a tee. Recently released from prison, she is expecting to go, be reunited with her children Ava (Rhoads) and Leo (Howitt) and begin a new life. However, this is not to be. Upon going to her mother Sylvie’s (Cousins) house to pick them up, we learn that she was unable to keep the children due to a personal crisis, her partner dying, and the children have been placed with social services. As a result, this makes it difficult for Molly to get her kids as she is unable to find work, is living in a tent, and cannot make a proper life for the children. And due to a complicated relationship with Sylvie, that is not a possible living arrangement either. As she is granted weekly, supervised custody visits, Molly tries to rebuild the relationship with her children, who do want to be with her, but she sometimes doesn’t make the right choices, including one that could result in her losing them forever. It seems that every time she is moving in the right direction, she gets knocked down. But, she will not be knocked down without a fight. During this period, through a series of events, she is reunited with a former friend Amina (Ahmed), who is also a homeless refugee, living in a small one room with her daughter Mya (Abdi). In reconnecting with Amina, Molly sets out to do what she has to do to get her family back. Despite the children wanting this, there is constant bureaucratic red tape that begins to fracture these relationships, particularly with her older child, Ava.
It needs to be said. Lollipop, like its sweet name (and we learn is Sylvie’s nickname for Molly), is a very hard film addressing various issues. Besides the custody battle and bureaucratic challenges Molly is facing, there are many fractured relationships to be looked at. Hudson, whose prior work was predominantly documentaries, goes into her first feature head on and a bit bluntly beats you over the head in the messages we are seeing. However, it really works and if it had been a bit softer, it would have failed. What we see is very accurate to real life and unfortunately, when it comes to family, we don’t go soft. Her lead cast are primarily newcomers, and in some it shows, however, Sterling comes raging in like a storm. She gives a powerhouse performance as Molly, making you feel every tear she cries, every yell she screams and every laugh she shares. She runs the gamut of emotions and all you can do is root for her whether she is at her most vulnerable, or when she is holding a bat. I’ll leave that there. This film makes you excited to see what she will do next. She carries the whole film deftly on her shoulders, which is what mothers do for their families. The screenplay is strong in that Hudson fills the screen with scenes that will at once break your heart, and then give you hope and joy. It’s difficult to watch films like these because usually in custody films, the children suffer and no one likes to see that. Rhoads and Howitt are a delight to watch and the way they interact both with each other and with Sterling, you would think they are a real life family, the chemistry reads. Also, Sterling’s chemistry with Ahmed as her former bestie Amina is truly heartfelt and when you follow their journey, you see that this film is not just about a mother seeking custody, but also a true story of female friendship. And to that end, the whole film is a celebration of women as almost the entire film, from the families, to the judge, to the social workers, to the store employees, are all played by women. Nowhere are the characters cutting one another down, and sometimes Molly engages in ways that this could lean to, but it never resorts to this.
All in all this is a powerful film about determination and grit that is anchored in a solid performance by Sterling that will make you laugh, cry and believe in the power of the human spirit.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Oddity
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Keeper Pictures, Nowhere Films, Shudder
dis. Wildcard Distribution
Released Friday, July 19, 2024
Rating: R (UK Cert. 15) / Run Time: 98 minutes
Director: Damian McCarthy
Writer: Damian McCarthy
Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton and Steve Wall
Opening Weekend - Domestic (as per Box Office Mojo): July 19th-July 21st - $562,333
“The one good thing about working in a place like this is that no one asks any questions.”
One night when Dani, (played by Bracken in one of her dual roles) is trying to renovate her new home, an old Gothic type barn in rural Ireland, shears a knock at the door, and a strange man, Olin Boole (Murphy), a man with a glass eye that happens to be a psychiatric patient of Dani’s husband Ted (Lee), warns her that someone is inside her house, we will begin a psychological and paranormal story as we try to decipher what happened to Dani, as we learn she was killed that night. Less than a year after this, Ted, having finished the remodel of the home, is attempting to rebuild his life with his new girlfriend, pharmaceutical rep, Yana (Melton) and move on.
One day he goes to visit Darcy, Dani's twin sister, (played by Bracken in her second role), a blind psychic who runs her deceased mother's oddity shop. She sells odd items that were all once cursed, that she has now cleansed. Additionally, she is able to get readings and connect with the deceased individuals attached to the objects. Ted arrives because he is able to deliver the Boole’s glass eye, as Darcy wanted to see what was going on in his mind when he killed Dani.
Shortly after, Darcy arrives at Ted’s home to investigate and see what happened to her sister. She has brought an item from the shop, a life sized wooden mannequin, that has the power to help her in this endeavor. As she continues to investigate, we will see that things are not quite as they seem to be. The mannequin, looking like a melting man in agony, will play its role in developing the tension in this fraught paranormal horror. McCarthy has created a stunning film that crafts moments of tension where you are not sure if people should run or hide with the energy onscreen. Aiding this is the mannequin that seems to move on its own. Or does it? Is there more to Darcy’s presence in the home? To this end, while the performances are all strong, Bracken really is the standout playing the double roles of Dani and Darcy.
Lauren Kelly’s production design is on point creating a home that is surprisingly modern in its Gothic aesthetic and behind every corner seems to be something ominous, and this is captured gloriously by Colm Hogan’s cinematography. While I am not usually responsive to horror films, perhaps I have seen one or too many, I have to say there were genuine moments that made me start, including a unique moment at the end that brings the film whole circle and will make us believe that we may not have seen the end of the oddities in Darcy’s shop.
All in all, this is a paranormal horror film that lands on its feet and will truly speak to the horror fan.
Review by Cinephile Mike
*NOTE*
This review was previously posted.
Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Civic Studios, Dissidenz Films, Rapid Eye Movies, Red Cigarette Media
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 103 minutes
Language: English
Director: Ishan Shukla
Writer: Ishan Shukla
Starring: Golshifteh Farahani, Tibu Fortes, Soko, Aisa Argento
“I am sure they will want freedom from freedom later.”
Welcome to Schirkoa, a semi-utopian society that looks a little like Knowhere in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Everyone lives equally, although they don’t have full freedom, and as a way to keep everyone equal, there is a mandate that ALL PEOPLE must wear bags over their heads, and they also aren’t identified by names, but by a series of numbers and letters. These are meant to protect identities, but there are those who strive for more. There is a place, Konthaqa, a promised land where bags are no longer necessary and people can live in peace. Here in Schirkoa, they maintain the peace, and make sure no anomalies become part of the society. In terms of this film, the anomalies are immigrants. When we are introduced to anomalies, we see them with extraordinary features, for example, they may have wings or horns. At the center of this is 197A (Fortes) a politician in a relationship with 242B (Farahani), a prostitute who lives in Schirkoa’s Blue District. 242B is ready to go to Konthaqa, but 197A is not. He wants to remain. So 242B sets of to go, and then 197A’s life is thrown off a bit when he meets 33F (Soko), a woman who periodically wonders around without her bag, and when she does, it is illustrated and colorful as opposed to the basic brown of everyone else. We learn that she is an anomaly and through a series of events, 197A will end up heading to Konthaqa to examine what is true and what is not. Is there a reason for this potential war between Schirkoa and Konthaqa? Upon arriving, he meets the enigmatic de-facto leader of Konthaqa, Mermaid (Argento), who will make him see things he didn’t fully know before.
This film has an interesting premise being a story about peaceful coexistence and is timely given the migrant situations occurring in many countries right now. Also, visually, the film is unique in that it is completely animated in a digital video game style. Much of the film feels like you are walking around and engaging with a cast of NPCs (non-playable characters) in a game of Borderlands. Unfortunately, the script gets very muddled, and once you feel you have the flow of action going through the first half, Shukla pivots to the left and goes on a new path that ignores some of the previous information we are given, and then veers back to it. The film goes on a little too long trying to incorporate so many subplots that you end up not fully engaging with what you are seeing. Visually, nice, structurally, disappointing. The voice cast does what they can, but many of the conversations feel a little stunted and you are wondering when we will get to the next plot point. It’s a shame because Shukla has something to say about equality and peaceful living, but it gets lost in a dystopian, animated world. This film is an expanded version of a short film made several years ago. While I have not seen this one, I feel it may be a little stronger if it delivers the message it sets out to. Given that a feature was backed, there could be some validity to that claim.
All in all, this film will delight video game enthusiasts seeing the animation style on display, but the story is a little too confusing to go with.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Screen Scotland, BBC Scotland, Kickstarter Crowdfunder
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 89 minutes
Language: English
Director(s): Carla J. Easton and Blair Young
Writer(s): Carla J. Easton and Blair Young
Starring: Carla J. Easton, The Mckinleys, The Ettes, Strawberry Switchblade, The Twinsets,
Sunset Gun, His Latest Flame, Sophisticated Boom Boom, Hello Skinny, Lung Leg, Melody Dog,
Sally Skull and The Hedrons
“What happens when we write girl bands back into history?”
This is the question Easton, serving as the narrator for this documentary, seeks to answer. Easton, fronter for the band TeenCanteen, has crafted a love letter and a piercing cry to the music industry. For years, there have been incredible songs and music put out by various girl bands from all over Scotland, dating back to acts such as the McKinleys, the sisters who opened for the Beatles in the 1960s. However, ask the majority of the public who they are, they may not be known. Easton wanted to be a musician since she was young, but her only exposure of girl group music came not from those acts who came before, but by a quartet of rockers known to children in the early 1980s as Jem and the Holograms. This was the exposure Easton saw and what she strived for. As she would grow up, she would come to front her band, and see the struggles they encountered, and learned that she was far from the first. Amongst the struggles we learn about, many music executives were afraid to take chances on girl groups because there was a fear that one or more would leave to go get pregnant and start a family, various other misogynistic challenges, and often not being willing to fit the mold of what music executives wanted. The title comes from the song by Strawberry Switchblade, one of the acts interviewed in the documentary, as it holds the record for being longest number 1 hit held by a Scottish Girl Group. When the film starts, we see a young girl sitting in a room with pink walls and blankets, toys all over, inducing a set of retro Jem fashion dolls, and empty walls. As Easton takes us on a journey of Scottish girl group music, the room begins to fill with images of all those we are about to see.
Easton crafts a documentary that unfortunately ends with the problem of recognition being solved, but, she goes on a phenomenal journey to raise awareness. Going chronologically, Easton and Young fill our screen with talking head interviews, archival footage, photo montages and social media images. The bands interviewed cover an almost six year journey of interviews conducted by Easton and Young to tell these stories and make us aware of who they are. Interestingly enough, many of these bands have never even heard of one another. It is a tragedy, but one that can be rectified. The film serves as a rallying cry to the music executives and the general public to look at this music. In an interview after the film Easton encouraged the audience to look at their music collection and see who was missing. Many of these bands in the film, such as The Hedrons and Lungleg, after being dropped after a first album, or disbanding due to other issues, have recently reunited and are beginning to release new music and perform together again. The documentary was enjoyable and educational for an outsider like me who is unfamiliar with Scottish pop music, although to be fair, it is more than just pop. These bands cover every genre, and there is something for everyone. My only complaint, and this is a small one, at only 85 minutes or so, I would have liked to spend more time with some of the bands we were introduced to, there is a bit of an imbalance on screen time, and also, some information related to those present now. That said, it was still a labor of love not to be ignored.
All in all, this is an important story to be seen and as they ask us, “What would happen if the narrative was rewritten?” let’s find a way to answer.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Sing Sing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Black Bear Pictures, Marfa Peach Company, Edith Productions
Distributor: A24
Rating: R (UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 105 minutes
Language: English
Director: Greg Kwedar
Writer: Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley based on a story by Kwedar, Bentley, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin
and John “Divine G” Whitfield
Starring: Coleman Domingo, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, Sean San José and Paul Raci
“We are here to be human again!”
A truer quote hasn’t been spoken when we step into the dank prison cells and rooms of Sing Sing prison. Along the Hudson River in Ossining, NY sits the famed prison. Here, within the walls, is one of the homes to the RTA (Rehabilitation Through the Arts) program. The de facto prisoner in charge is Divine G (Domingo) who is trying to clear his name for the crime which he is appealing he did commit. In between these times, he runs the RTA program and puts on plays that star his fellow prisoners, overseen by the watchful eyes of Brent (Raci), the representative from RTA. As the last production was a success, we see Divine G getting ready for the next one including Mike Mike (San José), Divine G’s right hand man, and neighbor, and several others portrayed by real-life former inmates. As they prepare, another inmate, a drug dealer known by the name Divine Eye (Maclin) wants to get involved and shows himself to be quite adept, even a bit threatening to our other usual lead, Divine G. As we follow the cast getting ready for their next production, relationships will be forged and tested as we journey to opening night. In the midst, some of our group will tragically not make it to the next opening night, and others will begin to see just how this experience is impacting them.
This film’s power is the beauty in the simplicity. There is not a traditional narrative for this feature, but a true character study. All of the cast is outstanding in their portrayals. Led by Domingo in another powerhouse performance it is no surprise that he commands the time he is on screen. As we follow him to get the production together as well as trying to work on his appeal, and another tragedy he will suffer, your heart breaks for him. A mini spoiler, but from the trailer, when he is at his appeal, pleading his case and someone asks him, “Are you acting at all during this interview?” the close up of his face tells you everything going through his head. Supporting this is a star-making turn by story creator and co-star Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin. Also being one of the former real-life inmates in the film, he has an authority on screen that makes his toe to toe moments with Domingo feel truly threatening and uncomfortable, and presents an argument that he would play a very enticing Hamlet. Raci, a delight in his Oscar nominated turn in Sound of Metal sadly doesn’t have a lot to do, but being the anchor when he needs to be works for this ragtag team of performers. Kwedar, having learned about the RTA program through an article in Esquire magazine, worked with a team to present a truly captivating story of what “life inside” is like, while also showing the healing power of the arts. Having filmed at real, decommissioned prisons made the work of Pat Scola possibly difficult, but the results are well-earned. You feel the claustrophobia of the setting, and it makes the performance of the RTA shows all the more enjoyable.
All in all, Sing Sing will give you all the feels and root for this cast of characters as they accomplish what they do and remind everyone just how important arts are for healing, for personal development and for the soul in general.
Review by Cinephile Mike
*smiles and kisses you*
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Margot Station, Circadian Pictures
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 87 minutes
Language: English
Director: Bryan Carberry
Writer: Bryan Carberry
Starring: Chris, Jonah and Mimi
“This is like a normal relationship.”
Meet Chris. A thirty-six year old, single man who is well beloved in his community in a small town in North Carolina. An employee at the local bp gas station, he makes jokes with the regular customers, and is a huge anime fan. When we meet him, he is living with his childhood friend Jonah and he is not so enjoying his single life. In an early talking head interview, he explains to us that his town in North Carolina is rife with poverty, opioid and other drug issues, and the male to female ratio is not in his favor. As a result of an earlier, non-romantic relationship we learn about, Chris has some socialization issues, and these are now only enhanced by the pandemic, and so after doing some research, invests in an anatomically correct doll that he pairs with the AI app, Replika, and thus we have Mimi, his new companion, and we will follow the documentary as he begins to evolve his relationship with her. We will see the impact this has on his relationships with some of his neighbors, Jonah, and his mother, a strict, practicing Jehovah’s Witness. Additionally, as we follow the relationship develop between Chris and Mimi, we will see that the aforementioned non-romantic relationship begin to influence much of the action we are going to see.
Carberry fills the documentary with all facets of Chris’ decision to make this purchase and how he begins to mold his life around it. We see the arrival of the doll, the construction, the cleaning and all of the shopping Chris does for her. It’s an interesting topic to watch at times both fascinating and disturbing. Watching *smile and kisses you* is akin to watching a real life mashup of Craig Gillespie’s Lars and the Real Girl and Spike Jonze’s Her. As you watch the film, you aren’t quite sure what to make of it, however, a strength is that Carberry handles the topic with great care. We do not know which side of the issue Carberry falls on of the need for a relationship like this, but challenges you to reflect on it as we see a common everyman deal with social issues and strive to be happy in a world that is starting to dissolve, as we all felt during the early pandemic days. It would be very easy to write this off as a joke, but as we meet all the other subjects in the documentary and hear them share their views, no one writes Chris or the situation off, they speak frankly. While at times some of the issues are a bit repetitive, Carberry gives a very timely documentary that looks at human nature. Although, I will say it was a bit disturbing to see just how advanced technology is becoming and while a film about human nature, it is a cautionary tale for just how AI can impact our lives.
All in all, the decisive topic is handled fairly and anyone curious to know, “Does anyone do any more with these dolls than their primary function?” will receive one version of the answer.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Steppenwolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Golden Man Media
Distributor: TBD
Rating: Cert. 18 / Run Time: 102 minutes
Language: Kazakh with English subtitles
Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Writer: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Starring: Anna Starchenko and Berik Aitzhanov
“I told you what would happen, didn’t I?”
Opening in an undisclosed, dystopian wasteland, where civil war rages, we have Brahjuk, (Aitzhanov) a nickname he doesn’t necessarily care for, but uses it, being led into an interrogation cell, with a bag over his head, and when you think you are about to see the police go to town, we see that he actually works for them as the, let’s say extractor. He is not above using various sociopathic methods to obtain information from the police’s captives. On this day, a group of radicals breaks in and in the vein of many violent video games, pick off everyone with automatic weapons. In the midst of this wanders a young woman, mostly mute unless muttering inarticulate, Tamara (Starchenko), who is looking for her son, Timka. At one point, Timka was taken from their home and she cannot find him. Through a series of events, we will learn that Taha, the ruler of this so-called society, has received Max along with many other children as they are used for quite a dark purpose. Brahjuk, who also has a past with Taha, reluctantly agrees to help Tamara find Timka because it provides him a chance for revenge. From here, off will go Brahjuk and Tamara across the wasteland, with heavily volatile and overly talkative Brahjuk shoots through everyone that gets in their way.
Upon watching this film, you can’t help but think, I’ve seen this before. The tale of revenge while on a search is one we have seen before, and even with extreme violent means. Some examples include Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films, and the Coen Brothers’ True Grit or No Country for Old Men and Yerzhanov has no problem filling the screen with this viscera and bloody action. It starts out fun, but gets a little repetitive as the film goes on. What makes it watchable is Aitzhanov’s Brahjuk. There is an attempt to make him the hero, or even anti-hero, but it doesn’t quite work, and he paints an unlikeable character. He is violent and aggressive towards everyone, including Tamara. I will say, his slapping of her and mocking is the only part of the character I could have done without, but thankfully, Yerzhanove doesn’t rely on this too much. You can truly see that this man is unhinged, and as you learn part of his backstory, while his actions are not all justified, you can understand him. On the opposite end, Starchenko’s Tamara seems like just a weak, scared little girl, but as we follow her, we see that there is a bit more and even if some of her actions seem a bit too contrived, it somehow works. The villains are given very little and so when certain confrontations come, they don’t seem fully earned as the film explodes to its conclusion. All this said, the landscape, while dystopian, is gorgeously shot by cinematographer Yerkinbek Ptyraliyev and provides a nice distraction when needed. You think, nothing bad should happen here.
All in all, you’ve seen this film before, but the performances are decent and the payoff at the end will have you drop your jaw…maybe.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Sunlight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Anywhere Content, Metro International, Inspirado
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 96 minutes
Language: English
Director: Nina Conti
Writer(s): Nina Conti and Shenoah Allen
Starring: Nina Conti, Shenoah Allen, Bill Wise and Melissa Chambers
“Let’s go dig a dad hole!”
Feeling at the end of things, Roy (Allen) has taken a room at the Sunlight Motel and decided to call it a day. A radio reporter for the Sunlight News in New Mexico, he hangs a rope from the fan in the room, and next thing he knows, he is sitting in the passenger side of his van. Still alive having failed in his attempt, he is being driven by an individual in a monkey costume (Conti). While we will learn that Monkey’s name is Jane, we see that Monkey tends to separate them as two different entities. Monkey saved Roy and has decided to take him on her journey to Colorado Springs. Monkey has a business meeting to open a new business and needed the ride and support of Roy. Through a series of events, Roy agrees to go along with Monkey, and even decides to assist because he recognizes a kinship with Monkey. Both of them have fractured relationships they are escaping from. Roy is dealing with the fact that he never got to have words with his dad, who he had issue with, before he died, and Monkey has issues with Wade (Wise), who we will learn has a more important role in Monkey/Jane’s life. As they go on this road trip in the van, histories will be revealed, and our unlikely pair will have to deal with shady pawn shop individuals, Roy’s father’s grave, Roy’s unsupportive mother, Gail (an interesting performance by Chambers) and a wolf.
This is a unique comedy that I learned is an expansion of a comic bit previously theatrically performed by Conti. Here, she and Allen have expanded the story into a road trip movie about two damaged souls who find new purpose in one another. A romantic comedy in a form, the film soars when it doesn’t lean into that trope, but into the idea of self-discovery. The simplicity of keeping it as a road trip film is effective because we can just follow along with them stop by stop. One of the executive producers is Christopher Guest (of mockumentary fame) and the dry comedy of his films is present here. The script walks a fine line where you are unable to determine whether much of this is scripted or improvised. Conti and Allen have an incredible chemistry and their back and forth is what makes this absurdist comedy work. The premise is simple, Roy and Jane have to get to Colorado Springs, however, some of the challenges that Roy and Jane have to go through as we build towards the conclusion cause some trip ups with the story. These antics seem so randomly thrown in, and essentially for some levity, it keeps us from probing more fully into these two damaged souls which is really the more interesting story to watch. However, the message is clear and we can take that away from the film. Despite the challenges we have and no matter how we feel in this life, there may just be that one person out there who can help us become the better us, despite how we may fight it.
All in all, while some may not find the ending entirely satisfying due its ambiguity, this quirky road trip comedy will entertain thanks to strong performances by Conti and Allen.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Sunray: Fallen Soldier
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Sunray Films, Film Seekers
Distributor: Vertigo Releasing
Rating: UK Cert. 18 / Run Time: 115 minutes
Language: English
Director: James Clark and Daniel Shepherd
Writer(s): James Clark, Sam Seeley and Daniel Shepherd
Starring: Tip Cullen, Tom Leigh, Luke Solomon, Steven Blades, Daniel Davids, Saskia Rose,
and Kevin Golding
“No parent should have to bury their child.”
We open on Andy (Cullen) and his team opening fire on a compound that is a drug den. Blowing their way through the factory, Andy and his team, made up of his former military partners Smudge (Leigh), Sledge (Solomon) and Harper (Blades) blow through everyone and eventually take the money they find. What is causing this group, with excellent military precision, to engage in this? Well, we are going to jump back 9 days, and meet Rachel (Rose). Rachel’s parents are separated. Her mother worries about the boys she dates, but she just tells her mom to relax. Her boyfriend Cash (Davids), picks her up and takes her to a party one night, but, before they can go, he has to pick up a bag of heroin that he has to deliver to said party. Rachel, who never experimented with drugs beyond the occasional joint, is not thrilled with this, but she loves Cash and goes along. After he leaves the party to run an errand for his job, which will take him away for several days, Rachel gets talked into trying said new product, which causes her to die almost instantly. And here is where things go off the rail. Rachel’s dad is Andy, a war veteran who is already dealing with the PTSD caused by his time in the service, and now he has only one intention, seek revenge on those who killed his daughter, and nothing is going to stop him. Through a series of events, he will reconnect with his former unit made up of Smudge, Sledge and Harper, and with the “no man left behind” mantra, they will work with him to address Rachel’s death which will bring them into the deep bowels of the drug business in the city more than they expected to. We will ultimately catch up to the aforementioned scene, and then see the aftermath as it plays out to a bloody conclusion.
Here’s the thing, the revenge film is one we have all seen before. However, what adds a very watchable element here is that our key team, as well as our writers/directors, are all former members of the Royal Marine Commandos, and so there is an uncomfortable reality presented on screen that makes it tough to watch, but harder to turn away because it doesn’t seem packed with the Hollywood theatricality of some of the fights. When military commands are shouted over the radios, and Andy and his team move in formation, you are engrossed. Additionally, there are flashbacks to the team in action which are even more uncomfortable to watch due to the gritty images shown. Clark and Shepherd also served as the cinematographers and editors for the film, so they give us the exact picture they want us to see to not only feel the gritty nature of war and the dingy drug dens we go through, but also have the ability to play with long takes when they place us in a few select scenes where Andy and his men talk about their experiences and what they are going through now. One strong performance is a monologue by Blades’ Harper that may bring you to tears as he recalls an incident in the middle east. Also, without spoiling it, the film doesn’t shy away from showing the PTSD many war vets experience, and gives a twist at the end, (though you may be able to figure it out due to some holes in the script). Unfortunately, the impact of the ending is a little muted because it takes a little too long to get there. Where the script falls apart is the multi endings we get once we catch up to the intense, powerful opening. There needed to be a little trimming in the third act to get to the resolution, however, that doesn’t take away from much of what we’ve seen.
All in all, even though the film treads familiar ground, the action sequences are some incredible visuals on screen which land due to the team behind them.
Review by Cinephile Mike
The Ceremony
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Cosmosquare Films, Strive Films
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 92 minutes
Language: English, Romanian, Arabic and Kurdish with English Subtitles
Director: Jack King
Writer: Jack King
Starring: Tudor Cucu-Dumitrescu, Erdal Yildiz and Mo’min Swaitat
“I have no friend, only the mountains.”
At a car wash in Yorkshire County, a group of migrant workers from all over work their hardest daily to earn a wage cleaning cars, and earn their place at a residential home their boss has allocated for them. The boss’ #2, Cristi (Cucu-Dumitrescu) does whatever the boss needs to help keep things running smoothly. One day, one of his colleagues, Nassar (Swaitat) is accused of stealing a watch from one of the cars, and the boss has Cristi fire him and throw him out of the house. This doesn’t go quite so smoothly, as Nassar negates this, however, he leaves. The next morning, when opening the garage, Cristi finds Nassar dead. Not sure what to do, another co-worker, Yusuf (Yildiz) shows up, and with Cristi, loads the body into a van and leave, trying to dispose of the body before anyone is the wiser. Thus will begin an interesting road trip where the two try to determine how to rectify the situation. Amongst the complications, they are all illegal in the country, so they need to be careful, and they have different beliefs as to what should be done. Cristi has come from Romania, and a very Christian family and yet, doesn’t hold too tightly to the beliefs, and in regards to Nassar, just wants to leave the body by the side of the road. Yusuf, a Kurd, doesn’t quite feel the same, and explains that Nassar was a Muslim and deserves to be buried, not just thrown away “like a dog.” This complicates things as they strive to find a location and get back to the garage. As they go, the winter elements, their beliefs and the stresses of the day will have some unfortunate consequences as we see how they handle the circumstances they have put themselves in and as they go, they will see that not all is as straightforward as it seems.
Jack King in his feature film debut has crafted a suspense filled tale for these two migrant workers to be in. Despite being in the country illegally, they are engaging in a truly illegal act, and this sets up a tense film from the jump. Choosing to capture the film entirely in black and white with some very strategic use of shadows allows cinematographer Robbie Bryant to capture some gorgeous visuals of the Yorkshire countryside, as we see this search for just the right burial place. Additionally, it could be very easy to paint both Cristi and Yusuf as villainous individuals for doing what they do, they could have very easily made an anonymous call, but King has fleshed out their backstories and chooses peak moments when each of the men reveal these to one another. While a suspenseful film, King paints a true character study and a great spotlight for Cucu-Dumitrescu (in only his second film) and Yildiz to create sympathetic characters. There are some interesting moments as well that infuse misdirections that are welcome as we wonder what is really happening and what is just occurring inside the characters’ heads. An incredible scene with an abandoned well provides quite a surprise at a key moment. King has made quite an impressive statement for his first time out and I look forward to what he has to say next.
All in all, this is a film that quietly grips you and takes you for a ride that you didn’t know you would want to go on as faith, experience and unforeseen circumstance throw people together.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Review by Cinephile Mike
The Mountain Within Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Dog Star Films
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rating: Cert. 12A / Run Time: 89 minutes
Language: English
Director: Polly Steele
Writer: Polly Steele
Starring: Ed Jackson
“It will all make sense when you see the view from the top.”
The Mountain Within Me opens with us being introduced to Ed Jackson. At the age of 27, Ed was living his best life. He was playing professional rugby in Wales (he’d been playing for 10 years), he had met Lois, the woman who would become his wife, and things were looking good. Until one day, while at a party, a small accident caused him to become paralyzed from the shoulders down, and was pretty much told he would never walk again. But walk again he would. This documentary doesn’t focus on the accident or recovery, though we are given some of the footage from those times, we are on the journey with Ed as he is setting his sights on the heights. A pun, but a truth. As he has redeveloped his walking ability, not still without trouble (he still has issues with his hands and still needs the assistance of a cane for walking), he is determined to climb some of the most beautiful and steepest heights in the world. Primarily, the film focuses on three climbs, the final of which is scaling the French Alps. As we follow Ed on these journeys, we see him accompanied by various individuals including leaders, and fellow climbers. Not all of the journeys are easy, and some prove impossible. Suffice it to say, this documentary does not shy away from celebrating the successes, but also showing the setbacks. We don’t want to call them failures because the things that are accomplished are quite a sight to behold.
To that end, director Polly Steele has crafted a beautiful postcard book of some of the most exquisite views in the world. The French Alps, the Himalayas, it's almost distracting from following Ed and his companions on their journeys. There are some truly glorious shots that bring the Oscar-winning Free Solo to mind, so this is a film to be seen on the big screen. The documentary features all the different forms of footage captured including fly on the wall shots, self-tapes, images of social media postings, photographs and many talking head interviews. Steele edits this to give a complete journey of Ed, but makes some clever choices in how they are edited, especially to reveal some of the back information about how Ed came to be paralyzed. Not being as familiar with rugby, I was not fully aware of Ed Jackson’s story, and so to see it play out was quite a great way to do so. Jackson lives a life of challenge, and not just that within him (again, sorry for the pun), but what he sets out to do, but as he states at one point, “I am rewriting the rulebook in my own head of what I can do.” And do it he does.
All in all, those looking for a story of resilience can take some inspiration in Jackson’s story, and if nothing else, the cinematography is gorgeous to behold.
The Outrun
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: BBC Film, Protagonist Pictures, Brock Media, Arcade Pictures
Distributor: StudioCanal
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Writer(s): Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Lipton
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Saskia Reeves, Stephen Dillane, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Posy Sterling and Pappa Essiedu
“After a gale is when the best things are found.”
At the start of The Outrun the booze is flowing even though the party is over for Rona (Ronan) before she is picked up and tossed to the London street curb, quite literally. Cut to a bruised face in a doctor's office, and then, time jump 117 sober days later to her back at her childhood home, the island of Orkney in Scotland. Having left her 90 day program, Rona returned home to put her life back together. Not all is as it was when Rona left about 10 years ago, and things are much more quieter and lonely. She is living in the house with her mom, Annie (Reeves) and spending her days working on her dad, Andrew's (Dillane) little farm, feeding the animals, lambing, and trying to figure out what is next. As we follow Rona on this journey, we will revisit several moments from the last ten or so years that led her here, from her volatile drunken outbursts both in bars and at home with her boyfriend, Daynin (Essiedu) to reflecting on her dad's episodes as a result of his mental illness when she was a child, and from her academic troubles while studying Biology in London to her time in rehab. As in any situation like this, the journey won't be easy and it won't be smooth, but we follow Rona as she leaves Orkney for her next adventure which I won't spoil here.
Right off the bat, Ronan is a fierce powerhouse in this film. She commands the screen in the 95% of which we are watching her. In many ways, Rona almost seems to be an alternative spiritual continuation of her role in Lady Bird that was truly endearing. Unlike many of Ronan's previous films, this one falls solely on her shoulders, and she carries it off beautifully. There are two scenes in particular that have stayed with me, one being one of the flashbacks of her volatile drunken outbursts, and the other is towards the end which I will say is so musical, the shared work done by composers John Gürtler and Jan Miserre and the sound designers Jonathan Schorr and Oscar Stiebitz is spectacular to hear. Additionally, not just for this scene, but as a whole, the varied camera work done by cinematographer Yunus Roy Imer is a delight to watch. From the shaky cam shots of Rona's bouts to the steadicam of more sobering moments underscore the action beautifully. Lipton and Fingscheidt's script is tight, if it even still does fall into some of the tropes that other films of this ilk often present, so some moments are predictable, but the performances make it work. For those familiar with Lipton's work, there may be some disappointment in that the original memoir serves as the source material of the film, but, Rona is a fictionalized version of the writer, and many of the circumstances are changed. This is not meant to be a detracting fact, just a warning. Having read the book, I was able to appreciate the changes made, but I wonder if some of the tropes we've seen might have been avoided if the film veered more towards the source material.
All in all, this film is a somewhat predictable, but very honest and raw portrayal of overcoming addictions and finding a new sense of self, bolstered by an outstanding Ronan.
Review by Cinephile Mike
The Radleys
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Genesius Pictures, Ginger Biscuit Entertainment, Ingenious Media, Sky
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 111 minutes
Language: English
Director: Euros Lyn
Writer(s): Jo Brand and Talitha Stevenson
Starring: Damian Lewis, Kelly Macdonald, Harry Baxendale, Bo Bragason, Jay Lycurgo and Shaun Parkes
“The truth is, we have no idea what we’re here for, until suddenly, we do.”
Picture a beautiful suburban home. Outdoor garden parties, teens partying at the beach, golf games on the weekends, almost too perfect. This is the home of the Radleys. Patriarch Peter (Lewis), matriarch Helen (Macdonald) and their two children Rowan (Baxendale) and Clara (Bragason). All is normal, for the most part. Peter and Helen are the socializers, Clara is the mostly outgoing teen girl and Rowan prefers a quiet life behind his camera in his darkroom. One day, when things should be flowing smoothly, at a beach party, Clara is assaulted by Stuart (Freddie Wise), however, before he can hurt her, with a snarl and a jump, all of a sudden, Clara goes for the jugular, killing Stuart. Arriving home, the cat is out of the bag, and Peter and Helen reveal to their children that they are a family of vampires. Having chosen a “vegan” lifestyle, Peter and Helen abstained from blood, and raised their children as normally as they could, despite fighting the cravings for human blood they have. Trying to adapt to this new issue, and needing to protect Clara from what happened with Stuart, they call on Peter’s twin brother Will (also played by Lewis) to come and help them cover this up. The complete opposite, Will thoroughly enjoys his vampiric lifestyle and is not afraid to show this, which intrigues Rowan and Clara, opening them up to a whole new world of possibility. In addition to this, a fellow resident, Jared (Parkes) suspects the Radleys and believes he knows who they truly are, however, this comes in direct conflict when his son Evan (Lycurgo) becomes involved with his fellow teens. As Will’s arrival begins to stir things up for the family, the quiet life that Peter and Helen sought may not be as easy to maintain as they hoped.
The Radleys is another entry to the vampire genre, however, where it sets itself apart is the human story. Not only is this a family of vampires trying to survive in the normal world but we are presented with characters who need to find themselves as individuals and learn how to function as a family. In a sense, this is more a family comedy where their true nature is the challenge. Lewis is a delight as the two twins Peter and Will, and they provide the two different paths that their children can follow. So not only are they coming to terms with who they are as people, they need to discover who they are as vampires. Do they lead a normal, abstaining existence like their parents, or do they revel in the new freedoms it brings. While there are two siblings, we get a closer look at Rowan as he has various other issues to come to terms with, and he provides us the everyman at the center of the story. Lewis and Macdonald share excellent chemistry with one another and an argument about how to dispose of a body becomes as comical as who is going to pick up the kids from school. Satirically dry, the film leans more into the heart of the story as opposed to just being a bloody riot (although do not fear, the blood flows when needed). While you may get Cullen vibes when you hear about some of the lifestyle choices the Radleys have made (I mean, in his vegan life, Peter became a doctor), and the fact that they exist out in daylight, you forgive these tropes because of the enjoyable performances by all.
All in all, if you are a vampire fan, you will enjoy this coming of age family comedy with just enough blood to spare.
Review by Cinephile Mike
The Substance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Working Title Films, A Good Story
Distributor: Mubi
Rating: UK Cert. 18 / Run Time: 140 minutes
Language: English
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid
“Remember, you are one.”
Elisabeth Sparkles (Moore) at one point had it all. As the years have passed, her star has begun to fall as she nears her 50th birthday. She currently hosts her workout show, Sparkle Your Life with Elisabeth. Think of it as a more neon lit Jane Fonda workshop show from the 80s set in present day. However, after a meeting with the station head, Harvey (a wonderfully sleazy Quaid), she learns they are moving in a different direction. They need younger. Through a series of events, Elisabeth loses her show and almost her life when she is in a tragic car accident, but somehow survives unscathed. Preparing to leave, the nurse attending her tells her she’ll make a worthy candidate, and slips her a flash drive regarding “The Substance.” Elisabeth goes home and learns that this black market drug will give her a chance to create a younger version of herself, however, she needs to understand that every seven days, she will need to switch back with the other entity. One week on, one week off, keep the balance and she can have a whole new life. However, she must remember that there is no one or the other, but, they are one. At first resistant, she eventually gIves in and “births” her other self, Sue (Qualley). Sue begins life and retrieves the stardom Elisabeth once had, even taking over the show, now dubbed Pump It Up with Sue. She begins to clean up Elisabeth's life and make one for herself. As every man's fantasy, she wraps Harvey around her finger. At first, the balance is maintained, seven days on and seven days off, however, soon one of the pair has an opportunity to capture what they truly want, and in order to accomplish this, well, that seven day down to the minute rule gets toyed with, just a bit. However, like a drug addiction, a little leads to a little more, however, when one cheats, the other suffers. Thus, the balance begins to be tipped even more which will lead to dangerous circumstances for both Elisabeth and Sue.
Fargeat seems to want to out-Cronen Cronenberg in this latest entry into the body horror genre. However, what could become just a simple eye-closing, cringe-inducing one note bit, is heightened by absolutely spectacular performances by Moore and Qualley. As Elisabeth and Sue respectively, they have the flash when they need it, and the breakdown when it comes. Moore gives the performance of her career and while she is pushed to extremes, you feel every scream, every smile and every frustration as she tries to live in a world that doesn’t want her. On the flip side, Qualley commands the screen and continues to show she is a presence to be known as she did in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Drive-Away Dolls. She is a strong screen presence and has moments where she almost challenges you to come at her. As the story unfolds, Stanislas Reydellet’s production design is a sight to behold. He creates wide open spaces that feel almost claustrophobic and they are filled with such stark, basic colors and accentuated with multiple corridors that cinematographer Benjamin Kracum has some fun with that is right up there with the hallway shots from The Shining. If some of the stroy feels a bit deja vu, which is welcome, this film is a bit reminiscent of Death Becomes Her, but on some form of hallucinogenic drug. The metaphors for drug addiction and society’s obsession with beauty is clearly on display with Fargeat ready to challenge your thoughts on these topics. In showing this, she pushes some of the body horror boundaries and the whole Makeup Department on this film, specifically, Pierre Olivier Persin’s prosthetic and makeup design. It is almost a guarantee that we will hear his name and other members of the team recognized come awards season as this is some of the most creative work seen since The Whale’s win a coupe of years ago.
All in all, while this will appeal to the body horror fans, the satirical nature of the topics the film attacks will appeal to a wide audience.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Timestalker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: BIF, Head Gear Films, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Western Edge Productions, Popcorn Group
Distributor: Vertigo Releasing
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 89 minutes
Language: English
Director: Alice Lowe
Writer: Alice Lowe
Starring: Alice Lowe, Jacob Anderson, Nick Frost, Tanya Reynolds, Aneurin Barnard and Kate Dickie
“Fate keeps on throwing us together. We’re meant to be together.”
Agnes (Lowe) is your common, everyday woman who, when we first meet her, in 1688, becomes infatuated with Alex (Barnard), who here is a heretic about to be killed for his beliefs. With a shriek, Agnes rushes the scaffold, and as Alex says that they will see each other in her dreams, suddenly, Agnes falls and is impaled on an ax which kills her and gives Alex a chance to escape. From here, we jump to 1793, and we will see that no matter how much Agnes, in her different forms, collects and acquires, in different times, there is still a love for this man who she will, for lack of a better word, stalk across the centuries and the world. Whether she runs through the chaos of the French Revolution, or the excesses of New York City in the 1980s, she will be with her man, despite the fact that the same conclusion usually comes to pass. On this journey, she will encounter a variety of characters, one being Meg (Reynolds) who will go from friend, to servant and back to friend across time as she attempts to help Agnes, as well as Scopio (Anderson) another frequent peer as she goes century to century. Also, we will see a delightful Nick Frost pop up here and there as another man in Agnes’ life with his own goals to accomplish. Although as the old adage goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, well, no matter what people try to tell Agnes, she doesn’t want to hear it, and we are long on this journey until we jump to the apocalyptic future, and well, can this lesson be learned?
In many ways, Timestalker shouldn’t work, but it very much does. There is an absurdity to the concept that we enjoy watching these worlds that Lowe has crafted, and she isn’t afraid to make herself look foolish and sad, despite the situations she puts herself in. To call this a romantic comedy undoes what it does. In fact, this is more the anti-rom com that invokes the absurdity of Mel Brooks comedies. Each time we jump, the absurdity builds and you find yourself wanting to shout at the screen, but you are laughing at what you are seeing. Lowe is a force of comedic nature and a delight to watch on screen. Her French Revolution iteration is the most entertaining, especially when a running gag with a wooden adult toy plays through. Helping her is a scene stealing Roberts who brings a blended Kate Micucci/Aubrey Plaza energy as the different iterations of Meg as we go across all of the time periods. Nick Frost is a little underused, but his iteration when we get to New York is very enjoyable. Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes and it is clear that costume designer Rebecca Gore and make-up, hair and prosthetic designer Nicola Buck had a lot of fun creating all these different periods, especially on Lowe as she goes from century to century. Also, given that the film was entirely shot in Wales, production designer Felicity Hickson does a nice job crafting all of the different settings that we travel to if some of them look like basic television sets. This element of theatricality as opposed to location sets works very well to keep us in the world of the film that delivers laugh after laugh. It’s just a shame that some of the set ups are rushed so quickly, we maybe jump times either more than we need to, or, we needed a little more establishment, even though the kills get more and more unique.
All in all, this film will hit the funny bone and Lowe knows how to deliver the laughs to keep you engaged.
Review by Cinephile Mike
To Kill a Wolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: All The Better, Detention Films, Hungry Bull Productions
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 15 / Run Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Director: Kelsey Taylor
Writer: Kelsey Taylor
Starring: Maddison Brown, Ivan Martin, Kaitlin Doubleday and Michael Esper
“Nothing happens unless you want it to.”
Dani (Brown) is on the run. Before we learn why we will meet Jonah (Martin). He lives a simple life where he wanders through the forest surrounding his cottage with a metal detector, setting off traps to protect the wildlife. Although we also learn that this is not entirely a selfless act, and we see that there is some dishonesty at play. We learn that there is no love lost between Jonah and the people of the town, and he prefers his solitude in the woods. One day, as Jonah wanders through the woods, he finds Dani passed out in the woods. Taking pity, he takes her home. The next morning Dani awakes, and elects to not speak much, but Jonah treats her kindly and goes about his days. Eventually, Dani reveals that she is trying to get back to her grandmother's house. Jonah agrees to take her back, but upon arrival, sees that the house is abandoned. Through a series of events, Dani will reveal that her mother was not in the picture, and she was living with her grandmother, until she passed away a month ago. She was staying in the house with her Aunt Jolene (Doubleday) and Uncle Carey (Esper) for the last month while they settled affairs, but that she doesn't like it with them and when they left the house to return to Jolene and Carey's home, she ran. She didn't want to go with them, though she won't fully explain why. However, in the circumstances she is in, she does call her guardians to get her, who send the police to pick her up. Jonah, thought to have left her there, actually follows her back to her aunt and uncle’s house and we will see that not all is as it seems to be. As Dani returns “home” we will see how everything plays out and see the true masks of some come off.
Writer/Director Taylor in her first feature film has presented a very clever subversion of the classic fairy tale, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Setting her film in the Pacific Northwest forests of Oregon adds an element of nature that is at times both stunningly gorgeous as we hear Bud Sloan’s rendition of “My Place in the Sun” and then terrifying as Sara Barone and Forest Christenson’s score tears at your nerves. In her first feature, Taylor has fun turning expectations on their head as you follow Dani’s journey, and the cast is all game. No one truly seems as honest as they truly are at first and discovering true intentions is an exciting journey to go on as the film moves at a crisp 90 minutes. Brown’s Dani, our “Little Red” oftentimes conveys more with a look than dialogue and gives us a protagonist to root for. Martin’s Jonah, our “Woodsman,” plays the two sides of the coin magnificently as we try to uncover whether he is our Woodsman, or our Wolf. As Dani’s aunt and uncle, Doubleday and Esper don’t have as much screen time, but Taylor provides critical scenes where they make their stamp on the story and are just as memorable. This story addresses the impact of assault in a way that doesn’t blatantly beat you over the head, but will bring up all the aspects of the respective scenario. Additionally, I would be remiss if I didn’t speak to Adam Lee, Taylor’s frequent collaborator in cinematography, who captures the settings impressively. As we are in such a gorgeous landscape, it seems uncomfortable to see what is covered up by this.
All in all, this is a story of survival that will keep the audience guessing and keep you enthralled til the last shot goes and makes a mark to see what Taylor will bring us next.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Xibalba Monster (Monstruo de Xibalba)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Film Production Companies: Cine Provincia
Distributor: TBD
Rating: UK Cert. 12A / Run Time: 75 minutes
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Manuela Irene
Writer: Manuela Irene
Starring: Rogelio Ojeda Gonzalez, Manuel Irene, Teresa Sánchez, Gibrán Alonzo and Leonel Pat Yeh
“Does Heaven really exist?”
Rogelio (Ojeda Gonzalez) is an 8-year-old boy who is visiting the Yucatán with his nanny, Eduarda (Sánchez), who has taken him to visit her village. A city boy visiting the countryside, he, like many young children, is trying to understand life, death and everything that comes with it. One day, he goes along with Juanito (Alonzo) and Lucio (Pat Yeh), two neighborhood children as they go off to work in Ek Balam, outside the village. While there, he explores the surrounding land and comes across a museum where he learns about the cenotes, passageways in the Yucatán Peninsula that were underground waterways used by souls of the dead en route to the underworld. The legend said the Mayas would offer sacrifices to the gods, but the Xibalba Monster, he most liked souls, especially those of young children. This fascinates Rogelio and he begins to take these myths seriously, despite the way others do. BAck in the village, he encounters Emilio (Irene), a local hermit who the children believe to be the Zibalba Monster. Through a series of events, Rogelio begins to divide his life in two. He continues forging a friendship with Juanito and Lucio, but, he also starts spending more time with Emilio, and through this begins to glean an understanding of the questions he has, and, is Emilio the Xibalba Monster come to life?
This film is an interesting combination of myth and coming-of-age. It borrows heavily from the Mayan legend to frame the story. The story of the Xibalba Monster is one the children know, and as they explore and follow Emilio, they begin to see how it can take shape. Additionally, Rogelio is on quite the interesting journey and a loaded one. It is impressive that Ojeda Gonzalez shoulders this film in the way that he does. He is in almost every frame of the movie and in his actions, minor tantrums, the way he playfights and the snarky attitude gives a truly authentic portrayal of the 8-year-old he is playing. This makes it all the more poignant when he goes through certain scenes in the latter part of the film, and comes across as both young and old. As the hermit, Irene is a fun counterpoint to Rodrigo in that he challenges him, but also guides him to think about certain things. Also, Alonzo and Pat Yeh in their first roles also bring a juvenile energy that matches Rodrigo (himself only in his second performance). The main problem is that this film writes a lot of checks that it can’t cash, and part of it is what is crammed into a short run time of 67 minutes (not including the 8 minutes of opening and ending credits). Characters that we are introduced to through Rodrigo, such as Eduarda, Juanito and Lucio sort of fall by the wayside although they did provide some guidance to Rodrigo, especially Eduarda during an early conversation regarding Heaven and death. Also, his relationship with Emilio is rushed and the end result of the film doesn’t feel like it is fully earned. Irene, the director not the actor, crafts a unique tale, however we aren’t given enough time to explore them and go on the journey. Keeping us at arms length from Rodrigo’s journey doesn’t provide the audience a chance to fully connect, despite what we are seeing.
All in all this film is a bit underdeveloped, however, it poses an interesting way to show how we can use various resources around us to try and answer some of life’s questions.
Review by Cinephile Mike
