The Cannes Festival is long behind us. Audiences have gone home, replaced on the French Riviera by vacationers and a number of controversies, nothing to do with the silver screen. Still, some may remember that the jury, headed by “Mad Max” director George Miller, had dutifully doled out its awards to Cannes stalwarts—Ken Loach, Xavier Dolan, Cristian Mungiu, Olivier Assayas, no surprises there. It ... more >
Archives for August 2016
ARCHIVES
TONI ERDMANN, the critics’ winning film at the last Cannes Festival
George Miller was asleep at the wheel that day
Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller and Lucy Russell
Directed by Maren Ade
IXCANUL, where rite and dream lie
Jayro Bustamante won the Silver Bear at the 2015 Berlinale for this film
Maria Mercedes Croy, Maria Telon and Manuel Antun
Directed by Jayro Bustamante
The mother and daughter lead the fat sow to the boar’s pen. They pry open their mouths and pour bottles of rum down their throats to get them in the mood. As they begin to mate, the young woman lingers behind to watch. They need the sow to give birth, for soon the young woman’s fiancé and future family will arrive and they will need the meat for the celebration. Her name is Maria (María Mercedes ... more >
NERVE, the best bad movie in a long time
The PokemonGo craze couldn't be more timely
Dave Franco, Emma Roberts and Emily Meade
Directed by Ari Schulman and Henry Joost
The best thing about “Nerve” is that it doesn’t care what you think of it. While it’s not a crazy surreal soup like “The Lobster,” it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a film that feels quite so free in its own skin. The new Emma Roberts film starts like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and ends like “The Warriors” or “Escape from New York.| Its’ “The Hunger Games” as told by John Carpenter. “Nerve” is a ... more >