Chilean director Sebastian Lelio makes films that deal with strong female characters. His previous film, Gloria, offered a sympathetic and honest portrait of a middle-aged woman looking for love in contemporary Santiago. He handled the material with a sense of compassion and respect. Those same qualities are evident in his fifth feature film, A Fantastic…
Happy End is another typically downbeat drama from misanthropic Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon). Set in the coastal French town of Calais, the film follows the affluent but dysfunctional Laurent family. Haneke works in heavy themes of death, power, the refugee crisis, social media and class. And despite the title, there is no…
From South African filmmaker John Trengrove comes the controversial film, The Wound. It’s about a group of teenage boys of Xhosa background. They’re are taken to a remote bushland for their manhood initiation ceremony of ulwaluko – a circumcision. Mentors, who have previously undergone the secret ritual, are on hand to help the boys through…
Diminutive 88-year old filmmaker Agnes Varda (The Gleaners and I) returns to the screen with the whimsical road-trip documentary Faces Places; her first feature film in nine years. Here she teams up with 33-year old French visual artist and film director who goes by simply JR. He’s known for his large scale photographic murals, and…
This clever, thoroughly entertaining French comedy is the latest from co-writer and director Carine Tardieu (The Dandelions). The breakout hit of the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, Just to be Sure premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight and received multiple standing ovations. The charming rom-com is a tale of parenthood, love and family – both lost and found….
The insidious use of power in an unlikely setting is the basis for The Teacher, a wickedly clever black comedy. The film is inspired by the true story of a Communist-era schoolteacher who manipulated her pupils and their families for unprecedented personal gain. Jan Hřebejk (Divided We Fall) directs. It is the early 1980s and the…
Regrets and letting go are the cornerstones of The Midwife. This French drama looks at a fractured relationship between a straitlaced woman and her free-spirited elder. Cesar-winning writer/director Martin Provost’s (Séraphine) film pairs two of French cinema’s most beloved stars, Catherine Deneuve and Catherine Frot. Gifted midwife Claire (Frot) has led a quiet, focused life. She’s…
Finland’s official entry for the Foreign Language Oscar in 2018, Tom of Finland is a handsome production. This is a biopic of artist Touko Laaksonen. Laaksonen’s erotic drawings (under the pseudonym Tom of Finland) had a huge influence on gay identity and became a symbol of gay pride in the sexually liberated 70s and 80s….
Heal the Living is a French art house drama with decidedly European sensibilities dealing with the touchy subject of organ donation. It is actually three stories in one, based on a novel by Maylis de Kerangal. Three young surfers leave before dawn on a pilgrimage to the raging sea. They are on their way back home when…
Exploitation and heartache are at the centre of Indivisible, a gritty story about attractive, singing 18-year-old conjoined twins. Connected at the hip, Daisy (Marianna Fontana) and Viola (Angela Fontana) are gifted. They have beautiful voices and often sing at local weddings, family functions and communions. Their father, a seedy, small-time businessman, has turned them into an…
