TFCA Friday: Week of Nov. 25

November 25, 2022

The Fabelmans

Welcome to TFCA Friday, a weekly round-up of film reviews and articles by TFCA members.

 

In Release this Week

 

Bones and All (dir. Luca Guadagnino)

 

Bones and All recalls another coming-of-age film, 2016’s Raw by Julia Ducournau. In that film, cannibalism represented the wanton behaviour of a young sheltered woman who unleashes all of her thirst and lust when she leaves home for college; Bones and All, on the other hand, opts for something more comprehensive,” writes Rachel Ho at Exclaim!. “Maren’s hunger, in particular, is open season for interpretation, with Guadagnino asking his audience: what’s your predilection? Whether it’s queerness, introversion/extroversion or just simply feeling like the odd one out, Bones and All contends with embracing the parts of yourself that have always been true, no matter how far down they’ve been suppressed.”

 

“Frightening and romantic, dreamy and dreary, the film laces the gore of a zombie movie with the magic-hour sunsets of a Terrence Malick film, plus a healthy amount of 1980s needle-drops,” munches Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “It is, in so many ways, one of the most unusually beautiful and violently sensual films in recent memory – decidedly rougher and less polished in its sex than Call Me By Your Name, but with as much pounding, beating, bloody heart.”

 

Bones and All is artful, poetic and deeply haunting as it captures the loneliness of two savage soulmates existing on the sidelines in society as they secretly feed on human flesh. In someone else’s hands, a cannibal love story could have been distasteful, but Guadagnino relished the opportunity to make this more than what meets the eye,” writes Marriska Fernandes at That Shelf. Bones and All is an absolutely delicious watch. It showcases a different romantic idealism that’s perhaps rarely caught on film.”

 

“Guadagnino’s film moves along slowly but surely, Guadagnino allowing lots of breathing space for the audience to absorb the details of the strange tale,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

“Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Suspiria) infuses the story with a kind of pastoral calmness quite out of keeping with the subject matter,” notes Chris Knight at the National Post. “[D]espite its literary pedigree, Bones and All feels like that cinema rarity, a unique and unheralded story, neither part of an existing universe of intellectual property nor crying out to beget one. What’s more, you’ll feel the fog of it in your lungs for some time after leaving the theatre. It’s disturbing in the best possible way.”

 

“I feared this might be my Bosley Crowther moment, the famed, highly influential (back when film critics were influential) New York Times critic who saw his relevance wane after slamming Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde. It was enough to drive me to a brief conversation with a colleague who writes films for one of Canada’s premiere dailies and bemoans my inability to embrace the movie with the same kind of enthusiasm,” admits Thom Ernst at Original Cin. “I can’t say I like Bones and All because I didn’t, but I recognize the rationale for championing this dark, unsettling film. I don’t doubt the intent of the film is to disturb. This is a movie to be appreciated, not liked.”

 

Crossing (dir. Arthur Ian)

 

Crossing is a sly look at life with lots and lots of wry humour that makes one laugh at the mishap-endings of poor Andrei and his family. The American dream? That was busted in the Great Depression and the stock market crash following Black Monday and Russia is no better,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “As the saying goes in the film: If the current is very bad, one can always go back to the past, especially when there is no choice.”

 

Devotion (dir. J.D. Dillard)

 

“The chemistry between Majors and Powell helps to bring the complex dynamics of the characters vividly to life. Majors once again shows why he is quickly becoming one of this generation’s most fascinating actors,” writes Courtney Small at That Shelf. “In presenting Brown as a man who often had to keep his feelings close to the vest, Majors brings a delicate mixture of intensity, vulnerability, and compassion to the role. One cringes along with the character when the Navy attempts to make him the token poster boy for diversity, feels the warmth when he shares a tender moment with his wife Daisy (Christina Jackson), and smiles when his charm gets the attention of actress Elizabeth Taylor (Coroner’s Serinda Swan).”

 

Devotion soars in individual scenes without ever managing to build any additional momentum. So there’s a tense moment when the men are practicing carrier landings, and an accident shows how death can strike even outside the theatre of war,” observes Chris Knight at the National Post. “In between these segments, we’re back on the carrier, Brown dealing with racism both personal and institutional, while Hudner tries to figure out how to be the best friend he can without overstepping any boundaries. It’s a delicate dance.”

EO (Jerzy Skolimowski)

 

EO is a parable – a lone wanderer tested at every turn and whose placid appearance masks a whirlwind of feelings and suffering,” writes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “It’s tough to watch but also impossible to look away. This wonderful creature is at the mercy of people and always looking ahead, and keep in mind it is a fictional story, not a documentary.”

 

“Simply the saddest donkey since Winnie the Pooh’s friend Eeyore, whose name is hinted at in the title,” observes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “All this bundle of grey fur and unblinking brown eyes wants to do is live and perform at the circus with his devoted carer, Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska). The universe conspires against EO, setting him on a voyage through the Polish and Italian countrysides where he’ll experience the best and worst of human behaviour. Polish master Jerzy Skolimowski directed this Cannes Jury Prize winner, an affecting ode to empathy and nature.”

 

“Donkeys, the sad clowns of the working animals, have a long literary and religious tradition as symbolic creatures. As I wrote about David Redmon and Ashley Sabin’s philosophical documentary, Do Donkeys Act?, they are easy to anthropomorphize as  ‘their solemn pool-like eyes and antenna- ears, meet our gazes and compel us to reflect on what they see,’” observes Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “That said, EO should not be confused with baby-eyed characters like Wall-E and ET. The film, which has an animal rights message within its melancholic tale, has received more than its share of reviews in the, ‘I cried and you should too,’ line, which is reductive. Rather, EO should also be appreciated for the odd, erratic invention that it is, without trying to pin a tail on it.”

 

“The most difficult to watch scenes are the ones where EO is mistreated or beaten up for no reason,” observes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Why is the animal chosen the donkey? Probably because it is the most abused and misunderstood animal on the planet. Not as moving as Bresson’s 1966 classic Au Hasard Balthazar, but just as riveting!”

 

“Eo was played by six different donkeys, and the filmmakers note in the closing credits that the animals’ welfare was always their top concern. The character is real in the way that only animals can be – please, Hollywood, do not consider an English-language remake starring Terry Notary in a motion capture suit – and Eo has been forwarded by Poland as the country’s best international feature Oscar hopeful,” brays Chris Knight at the National Post. “Whether or not it goes the distance this awards season, it’s a beautiful tale that deserves a look. I may be anthropomorphizing (a trait of our species) but when Eo is alongside a barking dog or frantic horse, I found it hard not to see a look of mild recrimination in the beast’s face, as if it were thinking: Can’t you just calm down a little, and take life easier?”

 

The Fabelmans (dir. Steven Spielberg)

 

“It is accomplished by somebody who has enough artistic distance from his own childhood to tell the story in a way that is effective to communicate, to allow the performances to actually breathe, to see the subtleties of character, to not have everybody be a saint,” observes Jason Gorber at That Shelf. “It feels like a beautiful reflection upon a period of time that absolutely informs his current work and his work for decades, but this film itself feels fresh.”

 

“The role of Spielberg stand-in Sammy Fabelman is split between Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord as a young child and Canadian newcomer Gabriel LaBelle as a teen and on; both do an admirable job carrying a film that’s as dependent on their subtle performances as it is on the audience’s interest in deep-cut Spielberg lore,” writes Eli Glasner at CBC in a feature on holiday movies that also includes Devotion, Glass Onion, and Strange World. “That’s because, though The Fabelmans is an endearing entry in the ‘love letter to cinema’ genre (it earned a standing ovation and the coveted People’s Choice award after its world premiere at TIFF in September), it emulates the beats of those kinds of movies to a fault.”

 

Steven Spielberg phones home — and truly connects — with The Fabelmans, his pseudonymously titled drama about his early family life and filmmaking spark.,” raves Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “A delightful background narrative of “The Fabelmans” is the depiction of many light bulb moments of Spielberg’s life as he laboured to become one of history’s most successful filmmakers. Sammy learns to make gunshots look real in his home movies by putting pinpricks into his 8-mm celluloid — the first special effects by a kid who would one day put a rubber shark (fake but still scary) and realistic CGI dinosaurs onto the big screen.”

 

“The film is dense with ‘story,’ an epic on modern family, and dense with dialogue – a lot of talking and attempts at definitions, emotional temperature-taking, and opinions,” notes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “Our hero’s suffering at the hands of anti-Semitic school bullies and a devout Christian girl who forcefully attempts to save him. David Lynch makes a sensational smoke-filled cameo as John Ford, as does Sammy’s mothers’ monkey Bennie (Crystal). The Spielberg magic positively beams forth, in its sense of wonder, that emotion-lite escapism, and his overall gentleness.”

 

“[W]e’ve most of us spent most of our lives enjoying the stories Spielberg crafts. Cinema would not be the same without him,” says Chris Knight at the National Post. “Think of The Fabelmans as an extravagant DVD extra, a making-of documentary, not about the crafting of a film, but the creation of a life that could then encompass such craft. It’s not the deepest dive into the filmmaker’s psyche, but it’s a loving, lovingly crafted portrait nonetheless.”

 

“One must give credit to Spielberg for being so open about his difficult passage of his early life before he became famous,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Steven Spielberg’s most personal film yet is based on the master director’s childhood passion for movie making, and the family dynamics that found their way into his work.”

 

“Williams too often flies off into cringeworthy spirals,” observes Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “It is a tremendously heartfelt performance from Williams that requires at least a modicum of discipline from her director, which Spielberg is seemingly, and perhaps understandably, loath to offer. The ultimate result is an embarrassing thing to witness, especially as the film crawls toward the 150-minute mark – and this is a hill of judgment I’m willing to die on given the otherwise bafflingly rapturous reception to Williams’s work.”

 

“Spielberg is famously a director of spectacles. He’s only intermittently effective in emotional scenes, though there have been memorable ones in Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, and Lincoln,” notes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “What works in The Fabelmans is an expression of the unknowable: what a boy’s love means to a mother and vice-versa. It’s impressive that Spielberg is being this honest and vulnerable at this time in his career.”

 

“If you’re a cinephile or a Spielberg fan, then The Fabelmans is a must-see movie. It works as an earnest memoir and heartfelt love letter to filmmaking,” says Victor Stiff at That Shelf. “But above all, the film offers a revealing window into the mind of a legend. The Fabelmans thoughtfully showcases the delicate balance between chasing a dream and succumbing to obsession.”

 

“Spielberg co-wrote the script with Oscar-nominated Tony Kushner, who has written three previous movies for Spielberg: West Side Story (2021), Lincoln (2013) and Munich (2005). That’s a formidable team.  And they’ve put together a movie that is very approachable,” writes Karen Gordon at Original Cin. “Although The Fabelmans is based on Spielberg’s life, this isn’t an attempt to make ‘boy genius grows up to seize his destiny and become a filmmaker extraordinaire.’ Instead, the film looks at the dynamic in the family, and how that affected his way of seeing the world.  In other words, it’s a movie that aims to tell a complicated story, with a light touch, a sense of humour and in a loving way.”

 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story (dir. Rian Johnson)

 

“Bautista lays into his red-pilled fool with a muscular zeal that showcases the bruiser’s natural talent for deadpan. Monáe balances very tricky narrative responsibilities with slick ease. Norton fuses his notoriously prickly public persona with a slime-ball tech-bro charm to create a hiss-worthy dolt (he also at one point dresses exactly like Tom Cruise’s character in Magnolia, so extra bonus points). Hudson, the film’s surprise MVP, hasn’t been so charming and sharp since her breakthrough in Almost Famous two decades ago,” argues Barry Hertz at The Globe & Mail. “Backing everyone up, meanwhile, is Craig, who delivers the film’s many craned necks and raised eyebrows with an effortless finesse. If the actor plays his cards right, Benoit Blanc just might be the headline – and James Bond the footnote – in the actor’s eventual obituary.”

 

“There are two major genres of mysteries, the cozy and the hard-boiled. Johnson is a master of both,” notes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “In the second half of the film, he drops the puzzles and gives us the real goods: why people commit crimes. There’s an extended flashback in which we find out the realistic backgrounds of the people we’ve seen and somewhat despised for the first hour of film. Genuine emotion is evoked—especially anger—as we discover who they all are, especially “Andi,” who has been betrayed by all of her former friends. At this point, Glass Onion, which is great fun at first, develops a heart and a spine.”

 

“To call Glass Onion fun is a spectacular understatement; it’s a danged blast. It’s bracing see-again fare to counter the serious and fraught awards entries,” laughs Anne Brodie at What She Said. “The plot unpeels itself, as suspicion falls on each member of the party – they all have reasons to hate Miles – but as its put so daintily, they are all ‘sucking on his golden titties’ their uber-wealthy and powerful host. Kudos to Monáe for a stunning dual-role performance that begs for nominations.”

 

“The special effects of the Glass Onion are impressive as are the film’s props particularly the big cardboard box invite that works like an old Chinese puzzle box,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Deliciously wicked, with a little satire on the rich and wealthy thrown in – they seem to be a favourite target in recent films like Triangle of Sadness and The Menu.

 

“The lights go out, screams are heard, a body is found and the game’s afoot. How much you’ll enjoy Glass Onion may depend entirely on your fondness for ridiculous coincidence and crowded contrivance, but none of it is meant to be taken seriously,” writes Peter Howell at Night Vision. “I prefer to smile at Blanc’s best bloviation: ‘It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought to speaking the truth.’”

 

“Writer/director Rian Johnson had great fun in the original poking fun at the foibles of the rich and famous – the feckless offspring, bad manners and unseemly greed, for starters,” deduces Chris Knight at the National Post. “This time, the stakes are higher and so is the wealth. Norton’s character is one of those moneyed types so prosperous he doesn’t even realize he’s well off. And yet his island lair is straight out of a James Bond film, featuring a luxury car that never leaves its pedestal, and a giant, transparent cupola; hence the movie’s title.”

 

“[A]s good as the cast is, Craig’s performance does the heavy lifting,” sleuths Thom Ernst at Original Cin. “Craig, who has recently put his Bond forever to rest, is heading towards another endearing reoccurring character. Heading the list of elites, miscreants and innocents are Craig, returning as the unflappable Detective Blanc. Blanc is clever, perhaps a tad deceitful, and with an ego that resides almost entirely within his own being. Blanc can be a show-off, but mostly he is a man whose self-satisfaction is contained for his own appreciation.”

 

Good Night Oppy (dir. Ryan White)

 

Good Night Oppy is an exciting, educational and entertaining film, set to instil wonder in audiences of just about any age,” writes Jason Gorber at POV Magazine. “And while it may feel slightly like cheerleading, it’s nonetheless a welcome addition to the range of space docs that thrive on large format screens. Seen through the eyes of children, it will be easy to fall for the charismatic portrayal of these rovers. Seen through the slightly more jaded lenses of adulthood, you’ll nonetheless likely be swayed by the powerful story and mindboggling human achievement.”

 

“It’s not entirely surprising that the group of international men and women who worked on the project over a decade and a half of their lives, day and night, came to compare them to their children and their grandparents,” notes Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “But the effort to humanize the rovers often feels forced, and the interviews selectively edited. There are so many times we see scenes of the group breaking into applause and cheering when the Opportunity has pulled out of a jam, it begins to feel routine, like another Apollo 13 climactic scene every 20 minutes.”

 

At POV Magazine, Pat Mullen chats with director Ryan White about his innovate visual effects sequences and their role in documentary. “I love when my friends are able to use a filmmaker’s toolkit in a way that wasn’t relegated to documentary filmmakers 20 years ago,” says White. “Those visual effects are deeply steeped in what Mars actually looks like. We just couldn’t go there and shoot it ourselves. Documentaries use animation all the time and have for a very long time. I’d be happy to see my friends access visual effects or new types of sound design. If it helps us tell our story better, why can’t we as documentary filmmakers have access to what all other filmmakers have?”

Last Flight Home (dir. Ondi Timoner; Nov. 29)

 

“Last Flight Home carries a DIY style that reflects the circumstances of the family gathering and, frankly, the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic actually works in the film’s favour when one considers that Eli’s alternative was to spend his final time in hospital, alone, while his family members had limited, if any, visiting access,” writes Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “Ondi, moreover, initially records the family without an eye for making a documentary. She’s just capturing moments to hold onto her dad for as long as she can. Zooms, meanwhile, offer family meetings and, later, windows through which loved ones say goodbye. Last Flight Home is filmmaking as catharsis, and one sees how the film’s nakedness will help other families confront grief.”

Nanny (dir. Nikyatu Jusu)

 

“There is, in any case, enough potent material in Nanny to make it a vital story of displacement—one beautifully supported by Diop’s performance, which brims with conflicted feelings underscored by a ferocious tenacity,” writes José Teodoro at Bloodvine. “Such a glut of portent takes all the air out of Nanny’s big, belabored reveal, which arrives in a way that feels somewhat nonsensical, and which you needn’t be a screenwriting scholar to see coming far in advance. This disclosure is followed by a very last-minute, tacked-on hint of hopefulness. But what we really hope for is a second feature from Jusu—one that, whether horror or not, makes good on the promise of Nanny’s strengths.”

Please Baby Please (dir. Amanda Kramer)

 

“Demi Moore makes a gob-smacking appearance, her throaty, coarse voice, replaced by a higher-pitched, confused and urgent tone. She delivers parables and references to being famous and makes a hell of an impression,” remarks Anne Brodie at What She Said. “There’s much to see and hear in this strange, strange trip and I recommend a look for something rather outré.”

Strange World (dir. Don Hall; Qui Nguyen)

 

Strange World is totally entertaining with its impressive animation, even though the story might tread a familiar course,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

 

“Let’s begin by saying there is nothing at all wrong with Strange World, the newest offering from Walt Disney Animation Studios. It’s lovingly computer-animated in a vaguely retro style meant to recall mid-century pulp science-fiction. It features a three-legged dog, an adorable blue amoeboid character named Splat, and a casually open gay character to annoy the sort of people who get annoyed by that sort of thing,” admits Chris Knight at the National Post. “But there’s also nothing overwhelmingly right about the movie either.”

 

“[T]his is Disney’s first children’s film to offer up a well-rounded queer hero, not some rando whose sexuality is caught by careful eyes and Chinese censors in passing,” notes Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “But despite all the wonder that Strange World has going for it, the film cannot help but land with the softest of thuds.”

Rift (dir. Jason Winn)

 

“Unfortunately, the film lacks the suspense and action of the typical thriller, not to say that the actors appear to be just going through the emotions regarding the drama,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The confrontation segment between Agent Cole and his supervisor has many lines of the dialogue repeated and the segment could have been improved with a little more emotional drama shown by the two actors.”

Something in the Dirt (dir. Aaron Moorehead, Justin Benson)

 

“The film is flawed, as it appears lacking direction,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Besides including flashbacks of Levi and John as children, the two also talk to the camera, as well as a few other assorted characters. One so-called phenomena expert even speaks Italian to the camera. The film also includes some special effects like the levitating ashtray that is never explained. None of the so-called light phenomena is explained, or when attempted to, never makes much sense anyway, not that it matters.”

 

 

The Swimmers (dir. Sally El Hosaini)

 

“Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers on Netflix recreates the real-life struggles of two heroic young Syrian women, sisters Sarah Mardini played by Manal Issa, and Yusra Mardini, played by Nathalie Issa,” notes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “In Greece they face human traffickers, discrimination, hunger, and thirst but head north. Once in Germany, a local coach takes them under his wing. The dire situations they face, and millions like them over the years are heartwrenching, but ther courage is a beacon of hope. The girl’s astounding story brings the dire straits of those escaping certain death into sharp, overwhelming focus and the iron will that it takes to withstand the immigration experience and go on to the Olympics.”

 

At the Toronto Star, Marriska Fernandes interviews director Sally El Hosaini about bringing the sisters’ story to the screen and what inspired her to take on the tale. “This story resonated with me because Yusra and Sarah reminded me of myself when I was younger,” El Hosaini said. “Even though they were growing up in Damascus and I was growing up in Cairo, I saw the similarities in who we were, the liberal, modern, bilingual young women living in a capital in the Middle East … but you never see those young women in movies.”

Features: Women Talk, Box Office Stats, and TIFF’s ’22 Pulse

 

At The Globe and Mail, Johanna Schneller sits down with Women Talking to discuss the art of adaptation, creating safe space for survivors’ stories, and, well, football. “[Y]ou see the globe, and then we zoom into the globe, and then we zoom into this football game, as if the football game is the only thing on the whole globe that matters,” Polley tells Schneller. “That always made me laugh and sort of sickened me at the same time. But for this film I realized, ‘A conversation among women about how to remake the world? That deserves every bit of gravity that these other stories, about war or football or dirty cops or whatever, have been told with.’”

 

At Night Vision, Peter Howell recaps the box office, which sees Black Panther hold the top spot and could make a star out of newcomer Tenoch Huerta: “Tenoch Huerta, the actor who plays Namor (aka the ‘Sub-Mariner”’, boss of the underwater kingdom Talokan, didn’t know how to swim before director Ryan Coogler offered him the gig,” notes Howell. “‘I’ve never drowned before,’ Tenoch successfully argued. He promptly took swimming lessons to prepare for the role.”

 

At The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz sits down with Cameron Bailey to take the pulse of TIFF circa 2022. The break down the size of the festival (could be bigger, could be smaller), Ticketmaster (“like barnacles on a whale”), and the press conference process in which journalists submitted questions before seeing the film: “Having spent years as a journalist, I understand the work that journalists are doing here,” Bailey tells Hertz. “I also know that the people who bring films to us are working in a climate now where there are all kinds of risk factors – there are sometimes challenges in keeping a conversation on topic during an open session…But we’re all in agreement that this was not the ideal way.”

 

At Original Cin, Thom Ernst previews the Blood in the Snow film festival, which splashes horror across Canadian screens before the dead of winter: “What began as a monthly curated program called ‘Fright Night at the Projection Booth’ is now a week-long festival of Canadian-branded horror films. The Canadian-specific independent, underground, and genre cinema program is practically patriotic. Even frightfully patriotic, bringing films and filmmakers from across the country,” writes Ernst. “The festival director Kelly Michael Stewart gives the festival its heart—and its heart is huge. Stewart, easily recognizable in a Van Helsing-like fedora, is blessed with the ability to see the gold trimming along the edge of darkness. What’s more, Stewart and his reliable team of programmers (the ones I’ve met, like Stewart, are disarmingly kind and inclusive) have a supernatural ability to champion films that fall—unfairly—through the gargantuan cracks (aka pretensions) of other film festivals.”

 

TV Talk/Series Scribbles

 

At Exclaim!, Rachel Ho strips back the layers of The Chippendales and finds a well-toned performance at its heart. “Welcome to Chippendales is a star-raising project for [Kumail] Nanjiani,” writes Ho. “He plays Steve with just the right touch of good-natured innocence betrayed by stunning arrogance. Typically known for his comedy, Nanjiani’s dramatic skills are put to good use as he navigates the moral greys of who Steve is as a husband, father, businessman, American and Indian with compelling complexity.”

 

At What She Said, Anne Brodie follows the clues with Agatha Christie’s Hierson, about the Swedish detective:Hjerson is a leading criminal profiler who has retired, sick of the incompetence of the police, and gone well off the grid. The producer of a trash reality/gossip TV show needs him. Klara (Hanna Alström) wants to drag their content out of the gutter and figures getting him on board to solve a cold case would be a major coup, elevating and legitimising her work,” explains Brodie. There’s also the crime caper Dough, which Brodie calls “fast-paced, intricate, full of surprises and darkly entertaining.” Then if American Thanksgiving has you hankering for turkey, there’s the Netflix lark Falling for Christmas. “Hokey as heck, sure,” admits Brodie. “The holiday bedazzling is fun, the preposterous story is easy comfort, and it’s great to see Lohan doing well.” 1899, finally, “is an imaginative Germany USA co-pro, a good idea, a little long, but unique.”

 

At The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz blasts off with the Star Wars spin-off Andor: “[Tony] Gilroy and his team have crafted a tense, thematically complex drama that is more concerned about real-world drama than pew-pew blaster fights. Andor’s world is about the punishing reality of living under occupation – the moral and ethical grey lines that accompany acts of wartime rebellion,” writes Hertz. He also chats with Echo 3 creator Mark Boal, who offers gallons of water metaphors: “One of which was that the film business is changing every week basically, and I’m not sure it’s getting better. The water is drying up,” Boal tells Hertz. “The other thing is that 10 hours is a tremendously long narrative runaway that gave me the opportunity to develop characters more than in a feature film. It’s not just taking a movie and multiplying it by five.”