It seems there are critics who were expecting this film, probably due to its title, to be a serious historical drama, one that exposes the bureaucratic tyranny of the early communist regime in Poland. I think that audiences will be similarly disappointed if they go to it thinking it will illuminate that historical period, which […]
It’s no mystery why so many distributors wait until the very end of the year to release the most competitive quality films. This is certainly the case with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, which is in very limited release, and can now be seen on Netflix. There’s little chance that a Spanish subtitled film, in black and white, […]
Directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favorite is a sly, mostly on-target story of royal back-stabbing under the reign of Queen Anne that has been getting a lot of critical praise. As satire, it sets a high standard for itself, and, more often than not, it reaches it. But, whatever its limitations as satire – […]
Lee Chong-dong’s brilliant film, Burning, from South Korea, is an international prize-winner. It is sure to be a strong contender for best foreign Oscar. It’s a genre film, in a way, the genre being stories based on William Faulkner’s famous line: “The past isn’t dead yet. It isn’t even past.”(from “Requiem for A Nun”). The […]
A good film will often seem even better if you go in without knowing much about it. I went with my friend Carlos to see “The Sisters Brothers”. I knew nothing except that the title was too “cute” (often a warning), but he had read the novel it was based on, liked it and was […]
Here is the report from this year’s Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) by our correspondent, Evelyn J. Mocbeichel: HIFF 2018 Film Festival Offered Eclectic Variety By Evelyn J. Mocbeichel all fotos by Herb Mocbeichel October 15, 2018 The weather couldn’t have been nicer for this year’s Hampton International Film Festival (HIFF) held for five days […]
A main slate selection at the New York Film Festival, “Shoplifters” is extraordinary and original. Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda wrote and directed the film, and he clearly meant it to both entertain, and to disturb. The film was the surprise winner of the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It establishes a tone […]
A new suspense film, “Searching”, written by Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian, and directed by Chaganty, is nothing if not original. You’ve probably never seen anything like it; I know I haven’t. The story – basically a father’s search for his missing teenage daughter – is told in a series of computer screen entries that […]
Veteran filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest film, “First Reformed”, is clearly a very personal statement. While dramatically bumpy, it is an ultimately persuasive story of a Christian reverand’s crisis of faith in a world seemingly intent on destroying itself. Ethan Hawke gives a fully committed performance – certainly a career peak – that firmly holds an […]
Hereditary, a new scare-fest written and directed by Ari Aster, is now in wide release. If there’s a genre that it best fits into, let’s call it horror-puzzler. Strange and awful things happen to a family, but who is doing those terrible things to whom or, more exactly, who is making the family do them […]
