The Persian Version and Eileen offer different takes on friction in the family.
Film
Film Review: “Spoiler Alert” — A Comfortable and Comforting LGBTQIA+ Story
Spoiler Alert is arranged to make the viewer feel snug, like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day.
Film Review: “Close” — Feeling the Tragic Weight of the Human Condition
Some might consider Close to be a depressing film, but its impressive understanding of human frailty and the power of forgiveness is revelatory.
Sundance Film Festival 2023, Dispatch #3: Magic Beneath the Surface
Two horror-adjacent films at this year’s Sundance Festival — Sorcery and Animalia — were strikingly beautiful.
Film Review: “No Bears” — An Iranian Director’s Muted Act of Subversion
Rather than coming across as angry or urgent, Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s No Bears feels muted, perhaps even subdued to the point of depression.
Film Review: “One Fine Morning” — The Ambiguities of Love
One Fine Morning lives up to its sunny title, even if it’s a bit less optimistic than you might expect.
Flipping a Coin: The Significance of Anna May Wong’s Quarter
What emerges from even a cursory study of Anna May Wong’s life is that her complexity and depth were rarely acknowledged but she used her intelligence to control the narrative as much as she could.
Sundance Film Festival Review: “Beyond Utopia” — Escape (for Some) from North Korea
Beyond Utopia is a grim reminder that, against growing odds, people keep leaving North Korea, or try to. It may be a while before another family agrees to film the journey out.
Sundance Film Festival 2023 Dispatch #2: Retreating
My second crop of Sundance screenings features three films that are all about women who, on some level, retreat from certain aspects of their lives: their pasts, their trauma, their public persona.
Sundance Film Festival Review: “Kim’s Video” — Lost and Found?
Kim’s Video is quixotic in a nutty way — in an old Indie style — that is more refreshing than it is nostalgic.