Sundance 2021: Rebecca Hall’s Visually Gorgeous ‘Passing’ Is Cerebral But Cool
Rebecca Hall's Passing has a distance to it affirms the film's message but it doesn't necessarily make for appealing cinema.
Colin Fitzgerald
Colin Fitzgerald is a writer from Michigan.
Sundance 2021: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Animated ‘Flee’ Leaves You Speechless
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated Flee fearlessly discusses the value of life, the arbitrary inhumanity of immigration law, and the resilience of family, borders, and identity.
The Past Sings in Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul’
Questlove’s Harlem Cultural Festival documentary, Summer of Soul, is a propulsive reminder of the ways art and society speak to each other.
Sundance 2021: Siân Heder’s CODA Has a Message for You
Siân Heder's CODA—an acronym for "child of deaf adults"—yearns for its audience to understand that deafness, with all its challenges, is no impediment to a healthy, functioning, happy life.
Love, ‘Moonstruck’ Tells Us, Is the Triumph of Illogic
Under Norman Jewison's direction and John Patrick Shanley's writing, Moonstruck -- now available from Criterion -- fully embodies the '80s special character of classically-minded, well-made romantic films.
‘The Elephant Man’ Lives Within Our Skin
David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is as much a life-affirming parable as it is an exercise in reorienting the boundaries of what we recognize as human.
The Dance of Male Forms in Claire Denis’ ‘Beau travail’
Claire Denis’ masterwork of cinematic poetry, Beau travail, is a cinematic ballet that tracks the sublimation of violent masculine complexes into the silent convulsions of male angst.
Serene Ambiguities in Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry
So much of Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry feels relevant to the 2020 experience, in which small distances have never felt greater.
‘The Lady Eve’ Indulges Preston Sturges’ Humor, Both Literate and Broad
Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve is layered with texture and substance draped in the gleeful prurience of a master of slapstick and romance.
The Conception of Morality in Éric Rohmer’s ‘Six Moral Tales’
Éric Rohmer isn’t interested in a pure critique of misogyny; his moral tales are mere observations on how we use other people to serve our interests.
Creative Disruption in Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’
Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire sees the salvation of sisterhood in the blazing storm of an inexorably masculine society.