“The Line” Slovakia/Ukraine Directed by Peter Bebjak “The Line” is a tremendously dense and captivating film. I would even be well within my rights to call it the best family crime drama since “Animal Kingdom”, but it has so much … Continue reading 53rd Chicago Int’l Film Fest #4: “The Line” Slovakia/Ukraine
“Zoo” (Northern Ireland) Directed by Colin McIvor Admittedly, I have two major blind spots in my film predilections and knowledge: horror films and family films (I refuse to acknowledge the new gimmick of faith-based films as a genre). The last … Continue reading 53rd Chicago Int’l Film Fest #3: “Zoo” (Northern Ireland)
“The Other Side of Hope” (Finland) Directed by Aki Kaurismäki Aki Kaurismäki, probably more than any other European director, has as unique and identifiable a style as, say, Wes Anderson. Kaurismäki‘s particular brand features actors standing still as statues while delivering … Continue reading 53rd Chicago Int’l Film Fest #2: “The Other Side of Hope” (Finland)
“The Together Project” (France/Iceland) Directed by Solveig Anspach This utterly goofy and highly enjoyable film from the late Solveig Anspach, might be one of the strangest (and most earnest) RomCom’s I’ve seen. At its core, it sounds simple enough…a Frenchman … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #23: “The Together Project” (France/Iceland)
“Dog Days” (China) Directed by Jordan Schiele Sweat. Lots of it. Jordan Schiele’s debut feature is a small, road movie about a woman searching for her child, accompanied by a young male stripper. It will do nothing to please Chinese … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #22: “Dog Days” (China)
“Saint George” (Portugal) Directed by Marco Martins I don’t have a long (or any) history with Portugese cinema, so I can’t adequately tell if the style of “Saint George” (“Sao Jorge”) is typical fare. But I AM fairly conversant in … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #21: “Saint George” (Portugal)
“The Handmaiden” (South Korea) Directed by Chan-wook Park You gotta give it to Chan-wook Park (“Oldboy”, “Lady Vengeance”). He really knows how to create a beautiful looking film. He also knows how to write an epic script about incredibly simple … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #18: “The Handmaiden” (South Korea)
“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” (USA) Directed by Deborah Riley Draper This may sound like the rantings of a voice-over professional, but, in many ways, the most important element of any documentary film which utilizes a narrator, is the dispassionate telling … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #17: “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” (USA)
“You’re Killing Me, Susanna” (Mexico) Directed by Roberto Sneider So you say you’re looking for a cute RomCom featuring charming characters, incredibly steamy sex scenes, and maybe even a fish-out-water element? Well, as long as you don’t care that there … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #16: “You’re Killing Me, Susanna” (Mexico)
“Kaleidoscope” (UK) Directed by Rupert Jones Oy, this film. Part psycho-social character study, part who-dunnit and part very dark comedy…”Kaleidoscope” is all kinds of boring. While it does have some positives to offer, when all is said and done, “Kaleidoscope” … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #15: “Kaleidoscope” (UK)
The No Spoiler Critic 