The Swiss director Dominik Locher is competing for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Festival with his new film, Goliath [+]. Full of references to his own experience as a father, Locher lays himself bare as he explains to us just how much protagonist David mirrors his own troubles as a father. Cineuropa: Where did the idea of the film originate? Dominik Locher: I’ve been thinking about the theme of masculinity for a while now, about the desire to be stronger than we are. The idea was going through my mind for about six months I think, and then my partner got pregnant and I had a…
Browsing: Film Reviews
I admit, it was the title, that caught my eye. Based on the shot featured in this article (the one in the art gallery), I’ve prepared myself for German communist Wes Anderson. I guess it wasn’t a mistake, since pretty much nothing can prepare you on the Self-criticism of a bourgeois dog (premiered in 2017). The film is a comedy by young (33 years old) German director and actor Julian Radlmaier. In fact, it’s his third movie. The hero, Julian (played by Julian Radlmaier) is quite an annoying pretentious young German filmmaker. He’s annoying even for an average young intellectual.…
Danny Perez’s mind-bending, underground tinged film “Antibirth”. has been racking up the notices from all the big festivals and garnering rave reviews from the critics and audiences. Consisting of a stellar star cast led by Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black), Chole Sevigny (The Brown Bunny) and, after a 20-year absence from the big screen, Meg Tilly (Psycho 2). The film throws you into a tailspin story of infliction and betrayal with intense imagery in a bleak suburb of Michigan. I will somewhat refrain from what the film story is about since the most of the fun is seeing…
‘The Lovers And The Despot’ tells the tale of a South Korean Actress, Choi Eun-hee, and director, Shin Sang-ok, who were captured by North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un in the 70’s. Both were held captive with the intention of using their artistic talent in cinema to make films for N. Korea. In the midst of their tumultuous time in captivity, the two found a way to record their conversations with Kim Jung Un, which include incredibly odd dialogue from the dictator himself, where he describes himself as a ‘midget’s turd.’ This movie is wyrd. Not weird, but full on…
Enough can’t be said about how wonderful this movie will make you feel. Divine waves of ambivalence roll over the mind from scene to scene. Dipping from emotional highs to the unfathomable lows, with a clear persistent reminder of the endurance of the human spirit over conflict. ‘A Man Called Ove’ celebrates life in all its facets in no shy manor, weaving together grand treatises on the struggle to be alive with the intimacy of a conversation you might have with an old friend—all this and a killer sense of humor about itself. ‘A Man Called Ove’, is directed and…
Something’s funny here, but it’s not the chauvinism—despite the routine dirty jokes made throughout, ‘Parched’ director Leena Yadav gives insight into rural Indian society by creating a dark satire of the gender divide still present in those communities. With a primary focus on four women caught in that divide, each struggling to overcome their personal boundaries with the opposite sex. What makes these lead characters inside of ‘Parched’ so unique? It may be that the women on screen are given the opportunity to unapologetically share their perspective on sex, men, and the unfair obligations placed on them by tradition. An…
There is nothing like being there. When one see’s first-hand the battle waged by others it invokes the saving grace of mankind, empathy. This principal applies especially when looking into marginalized communities found in the heart of first world countries. Often times, without these windows of insight, larger communities will isolate these cultural shadows, preferring never to reflect or interact with them. Luckily, there’s such a thing as documentaries. Director Jack Pettibone Riccobono cuts through the popular disassociation with his debut documentary, THE SEVENTH FIRE, and shines a light on one of the results of America’s murderous upbringing. The film…
At times, ZERO DAYS sets a dystopian and anxiety-ridden tone. Accompanied by a panic-inducing soundtrack, the dark subject matter can be overpowering. Though this documentary may be psychologically trying to sit through, ZERO DAYS dredges up necessary issues at the core of a modern day problem most Americans don’t realize has materialized: a cyber war doomsday scenario that could collapse the world’s infrastructure in seconds. It’s real. It’s here. And according to the movie, we’ve already come close to it happening once. ZERO DAYS is directed by veteran documentarian Alex Gibney. Before tackling this heavy topic, Gibney worked with HBO…
A powerful depiction of social movement bordering on vigilantism, ‘Almost Holy,’ directed by Steve Hoover, shines a light on Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko and his extreme ministries to combat problems plaguing the heart of Ukraine. These ministries include: kidnaping drug addled homeless children to get them off the streets, providing protection and shelter for abused women, confronting opiate dealers, and organizing protests to run drugs out of his community. Active since the early 2000’s, Pastor Gennadiy has worked his cause through many outlets, all detailed in the documentary, but his main focus is a recovery home he started, named Pilgrim. It’s…
In his new film Louder than bombs Norwegian director Joachim Trier masterfully captures the underlying, aimless desires of very decent people who struggle to be authentic in their own lives. Written by Trier and Eskil Vogt, the film is structured as a collage of episodes that fit together like a perfect puzzle, packed with emotions let loose by the death of the mother and wife of a suburban New York family. The action does not offer anything overtly dramatic, yet the emotional intensity is louder than bombs which the dead woman famously photographed in the war zones around the world.…