Bill Gunn’s ‘Personal Problems’ Is a Milestone in American Indie Filmmaking
With its rough framing, shaky handheld shots, and available light, Bill Gunn’s Personal Problems anticipates the documentary aesthetic of 21st-century vérité-lite TV shows.
film review
Hirokazu Koreeda’s ‘Sheep in the Box’ Embraces AI Unquestioningly
Hirokazu Koreeda’s unsettling Sheep in the Box confuses love with imitation and embraces AI unquestioningly.
‘Late Fame’ Is Wise to the Poetic Side of Life
Part mash note to Downtown Bohemia, part love letter to New York City, Late Fame is rich with poetic touchstones.
Triptych Drama ‘D’ici là’ Is a Finely Judged Collection of Stories
Sarah Leonor’s triptych drama D’ici la is an exercise in humility, emphasizing nature’s sensuality beneath the weight of the human footprint.
Lana Daher’s ‘Do You Love Me’ Turns Disorientation Into a Closed Circuit
Lana Daher’s documentary Do You Love Me makes Lebanon’s cycles of crisis palpable, but its deliberate disorientation obscures the political distinctions it seeks to recover.
‘Disclosure Day’ Alludes to Societal Anxieties New and Old
By making a private company the antagonist, Disclosure Day subverts the fear that government oppression is the biggest threat to individual freedom.
‘Evil Dead Burn’ Has a Twisted Touch of Artfulness
Director Sébastien Vaniček, cinematographer Philip Lozano, and editor Maxime Caro bring much-appreciated visual artistry to the grotesquerie of Evil Dead Burn.
Claude Sautet Forged an Admirable Path in Character-Study Drama
Many of Claude Sautet’s films were pointed comments on how even the most assured families can be the victims of upheaval when cultural codes are challenged.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains’ Remains Punk Cinema’s Most Recognizable Signpost
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains built the scaffold on which more successful films about women in punk rock would scale grander heights.
‘Hunger’ Summons the Ghosts of Cinema’s Past
Imanol Ortiz López’s 2D animated short film, Hunger is a captivating tale of horror about two parents who decide what to do about their crying baby.
‘I Love Boosters’ Is Not the Critique of Capitalism It Claims to Be
Director Boots Riley and critics interpret I Love Boosters as an anti-capitalist, if not revolutionary, tale. Quite the opposite, in fact.
‘Unearthly Stranger’ Warns: Beware Whom You Marry
Sci-fi movie Unearthly Stranger is wonky, but viewers will enjoy the crackerjack paranoia, terror, and chilling “something is not right” about this marriage moments.