Put an endlessly chatting boy and a despairing man together, and the chances are you’ll either find your hands inching for the gun or the popcorn. But director Max Mir’s Bittersweet offers something more. Although a little stretched, with the age gap between the characters and the plausibility of the setting, the film, all 14:47… Continue reading Bittersweet: A Feel-Good Film To Instill Hope
Category: Reviews
Good Mourning: The Humour In Nightmares
If the punny title did not clue you in, Daniel Rashid’s Good Mourning plays around with a funeral, and the woman at the helm of its many-tined affairs. Piper, played by Reilly Anspaugh, was her late grandfather’s pet, and she has taken it upon herself to give him the best farewell. All is right and… Continue reading Good Mourning: The Humour In Nightmares
Brass: A City Stripped Bare With COVID-19
When writer-director Anuj Jamadagni noticed Victor cleaning the streets at a stoplight, little did he know what the sight truly beheld. With curiosities piqued, he pursued the story. Victor isn’t affiliated with any cleaning agencies or the government. He isn’t on a payroll. Then why would he bother to engage in such selfless exercises? What… Continue reading Brass: A City Stripped Bare With COVID-19
Bleeding Backs: Conflict Of Interest Explored Through An Action-Thriller
If ex-cops, bodyguards and endless action sequences are your thing, then writer-director Matthew C. Vella’s Bleeding Backs is right up your alley. 14:07 minutes of pure gritty action drama, the film centres around Owen (Franco Flammia) and his night of comeuppance and entrapment into something worse. Owen is a mix of PS David Budd from… Continue reading Bleeding Backs: Conflict Of Interest Explored Through An Action-Thriller
On The Whistle: Politics On The Basketball Court
Written and directed by TJ Noel-Sullivan, On The Whistle is an edgy sports drama of 20:00-minutes in duration that not only touches upon the hierarchical dynamics in the sports field but also the players’ own complexes that show up when challenged. Most certainly an interesting film for those that are an aficionado of the game,… Continue reading On The Whistle: Politics On The Basketball Court
The Missing Picture: A Poetic Love Note To Alzheimer’s
8:44-minutes of reel on a family’s moment with love, life and memories: that’s what writer-director Javier Aparisi’s The Missing Picture is all about. A film that deals with the central character’s suffering because of Alzheimer’s, Aparisi’s short presents a sublime, touching portrait of a family that has to live with someone whose death is more… Continue reading The Missing Picture: A Poetic Love Note To Alzheimer’s
Dumps: Allegorical Picturisation Of Depression & Suicide
Caught with his pants down, literally, is Andy. And as if that alone weren’t embarrassing enough, he has an overrunning bathtub, a friend whose help has caused more harm than good, and a situation that is as unexplainable as it can get. If you thought that was a giveaway to the plot, you’re mistaken. Boris… Continue reading Dumps: Allegorical Picturisation Of Depression & Suicide
Dirty Business: A Wake Up Call To The Recycling Industry
Yutao Chen’s Dirty Business is an environmental documentary of 12:10-minutes that focuses on Minh Khai, a hamlet in Vietnam that once thrived on its potatoes. Cut to the 21st century, it has found itself on the top of heap – of the garbage dump. Minh Khai houses the large-scale units that recycle the trash from the… Continue reading Dirty Business: A Wake Up Call To The Recycling Industry
Under The Flag: An Exemplary Short On A Danseuse & Her Performance
Contrary to the headline, Under The Flag, isn’t just a tale of a dance performance or its lead. It’s certainly centred on it, but not restricted to it. The film is so much more and beyond the dais that holds the aforementioned performance that it takes nuanced observation to fully savour this piece of skilled… Continue reading Under The Flag: An Exemplary Short On A Danseuse & Her Performance
Unfinished Lives: The Tragedy Of A Family Recounted
Short documentaries carry challenges of their own. Besides having to offer the compelling narrative of an incident that cannot be fictionalised even for creative pursuits, the story needs to be told or retold in a manner that is convincing, engaging and if possible, hard-hitting. Yucong Chen’s Unfinished Lives succeeds at all of that and more.… Continue reading Unfinished Lives: The Tragedy Of A Family Recounted