“Because Ukrainian women have class and they are obedient”, she says without batting an eyelid. It takes a while for the audience to gulp down the open sexism and misogyny in Anna because it is so masterfully captured that the nauseating reality feels encompassing. Director-writer Dekel Berenson’s Anna isn’t easy to watch. It explores the… Continue reading Anna: Skilful Depiction Of A Ukrainian Socio-Cultural Practise
Category: Reviews
The Invitation (Die Einladung): The Horrors Of Fitting In
Thorsten Schade’s 24-minute Die Einladung, or The Invitation, follows a young, ambitious man as a business meeting brings him an invitation to dinner amongst an informally exclusive group. But this is a horror flick, so of course, there is more to it and not what said the man would like. Tom Renner (Orestes Fiedler) is… Continue reading The Invitation (Die Einladung): The Horrors Of Fitting In
Yearbook: A Poignant Short On Human History & Its Subsequent Futility
Contrary to the headline, writer-director Bernado Britto’s Yearbook is not dreadful or hopeless. In fact, if anything, it instils a new perspective and understanding to everything passing by our lives. An animated short, all of 5:38 minutes, Yearbook is the story of human history, a futuristic take on the present reality. The film opens to… Continue reading Yearbook: A Poignant Short On Human History & Its Subsequent Futility
Comfort Zone: An Intriguing Look At The Georgian Drag Community
Director Jordan Blady’s 7-minute Comfort Zone sheds light on the vibrant drag community at Tbilisi. A Georgian himself, Matt Shally, the subject of the documentary, offers such raw, personal insight into the community, their difficult-to-exist state and resilience of spirit to overcome society’s reluctance in accepting them, that it makes Comfort Zone a must-watch. Divided… Continue reading Comfort Zone: An Intriguing Look At The Georgian Drag Community
Dreamers: A Well Choreographed Screen Dance To Explain The DACA
TRIVIA: For those unaware, the DACA refers to the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, an executive branch memorandum issued by the Obama administration to offer an extended time period from deportation to people brought into the States as a minor, whose presence might otherwise be considered unlawful. Started in 2012, the act was declared unconstitutional… Continue reading Dreamers: A Well Choreographed Screen Dance To Explain The DACA
The Strange Thing About The Johnsons: Sexual Abuse, Seen For The Horror It Is
Best known today for Midsommar and Hereditary, AFI Conservatory graduate Ari Aster’s horror-drama The Strange Thing About The Johnsons can perhaps be better understood today than it was ten years ago, on its release in 2011. As much as the film appears to be extreme to the point of absurd, on closer look, Aster has… Continue reading The Strange Thing About The Johnsons: Sexual Abuse, Seen For The Horror It Is
The Killing of Time: On The Passage Of A Pandemic
The title demonstrates the era of the pandemic with a precision that is almost poetic. On first glance, it appears terribly ominous, until you realise that it is not. Before you finally realize, all that free time we had to kill came at the heels of something that killed millions, and forced millions more into… Continue reading The Killing of Time: On The Passage Of A Pandemic
Nèna: Portrait Of An Artist’s Struggle, Both Internal & External
Nèna, an aspiring artist, has a lot going for her. A blossoming career, her own creativity at its peak and a near-perfect inner world. But when the person closest to her threatens to shred that life apart, she is left with little choice but to walk out embracing the tiny bits of her that’s left.… Continue reading Nèna: Portrait Of An Artist’s Struggle, Both Internal & External
Kite: A Story That Spans Across Generations
Yumeng He’s Kite is a visual essay of testaments, opinions and feelings. Of narratives that have long transcended time and left an indelible print on its passengers. And in little over 30 minutes, Yumeng enlists her audience on board this journey. Kite is a documentary that represents the slow ebbing of time, spanning across generations and… Continue reading Kite: A Story That Spans Across Generations
Life…: A Lesson Or Two For Those In The Medical Fraternity
Medical drama is a dynamic subgenre. It can be thrilling, or emotional, or melodramatic, or even sleuthing adventures. And yet there is so much within this sub-genre that remains unexplored, whether it is iatrogenesis, or even self-medication by practitioners themselves. For the 32-minute Life, director-writer Mirlande Amazan picks a well-explored theme, but presents it in… Continue reading Life…: A Lesson Or Two For Those In The Medical Fraternity