November 8, 2024

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

In Release this Week

10 Days of a Curios Man (dir. Uluç Bayraktar)

“[A] Turkish investigative crime drama that aims to be as stylish as the Philip Marlowe detective noirs but fails miserably primarily for the reason that the plot is so convoluted and difficult to follow while leaving lots of loose ends,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

100 Yards (dir. Xu Haofeng and Xu Junfeng)

“The action sequences involve fights with short sabres, poles and slingshots, as well as bare fists,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The fifth choreography is nothing short of stunning but the lack of a strong narrative, one in which is sometimes all over the place, jumping in time tied to test ones patience in watching the film.”

Bird (dir. Andrea Arnold)

“Arnold has constructed a narrative with enough drama for several films but what’s extraordinary is her mastery of mood shifts,” notes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “She’s able to draw you into far different feelings as she slowly shows her hand. What at first seems like another profile of a rebellious child turns into an embrace of love and family values—though her version of familial loyalty is hardly bourgeois or dull. The wonderful giving heart of Bailey is made resonant through her actions, not her offhand dismissive comments.”

“At times, this ingratiating film, with its handheld camera and a pumped-up soundtrack and busy plotting, feels like it was born from a big old lick of that toad juice as it springs from the real to the fanciful. Throughout this process, there’s a tension to the latent creepiness of this bond between the eccentric man and the lonely pubescent girl, until Bird transforms from random weirdo to something like a guardian angel,” writes Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “Beneath the soft storybook ending, there’s a hard emotional knot here in an exploration of how the scars of poverty, abuse and neglect are bound up with family love and interdependence, and how those contradictions are what prime the springs of imaginative creativity.”

“Director Arnold makes excellent gritty movies involving females who stand up for what they believe is right.  In her latest Bird, surrealism is added to the real and gritty, which does not really work as it undermines the credibility and emotions of the story that has already been carefully built up,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Blitz (dir. Steve McQueen)

“Child star Heffernan, making his screen debut, seriously impresses as the brave and resourceful George. McQueen says he chose him from many contenders because he bore a strong resemblance to a real London Blitz evacuee the filmmaker saw in an old photo,” writes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “McQueen’s storytelling smarts might have briefly deserted him, but his casting instincts — his early films helped make stars of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender — remain as strong as ever.”

“McQueen creates a wonderfully nostalgic look at the Blitz in 1940s London while sparing the blood, guts and violence, and showing the psychological effects of the tolls of war on the general population,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “McQueen emphasizes effectively the need to destroy bigotry, hate and prejudice, which makes the film even more current.”

“McQueen has conceived of Blitz as a conventional wartime drama, depicting allowing him to create a series of hidden treasures, in-between necessary violent scenes,” says Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “The most obvious but withal charming is a sequence when the musicality of Ronan’s Rita, a stylish vocalist and her dad Gerald’s talents as a pianist and vocalist are unleashed. The film’s narrative takes a break as the audience enjoys the two singing the seductive Fats Waller tune ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ to their beloved George, who they both adore.”

Heather (dir. Anthony Repinski)

“Heather comes across as an exploitative horror schtick rather than a sympathetic look at the trans community,  It also fails as a horror thriller lacking any real suspense or suspenseful set-pieces,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Heretic (dir. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods)

“In a performance that seems ripped out of Nicolas Cage’s playbook, Grant slowly escalates from a charming mild-mannered husband into a religious investigator hell-bent on educating the young women on the ‘one true religion,’” says Rachel West at That Shelf. “He looks like he’s having a blast as the villain, slowly teasing the true intent of the holy terror Woods and Beck have in store. The script is filled to the brim with pop culture metaphors likening everything from Radiohead, Monopoly, and Lana Del Rey to the idea that every religion is but an iteration of the same story.” West also speaks with directors Beck and Woods about getting that creepy performance from Grant.

“Despite Hugh Grant stealing the show, injecting humour amidst the horror, Heretic just almost succeeds,” adds Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

“Eighty-eight minutes. That’s how long before the first blood is drawn in Heretic, a knife-edge horror-thriller from co-writers and directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. And the whole thing is just 110 minutes long. So, there’s rather a lot of violence, but it takes its sweet time arriving. By the time it does, it’s almost a relief,” says Chris Knight at Original Cin. Knight also speaks with co-stars Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher  about crafting their slow burn: “I thought, ‘There’s no way I can do this,’” East tells Knight. “Because I grew up Mormon. I have a lot of Mormon friends. And I just would never want to do anything that is taking down someone’s belief or faith or — also, honestly, a lot of missionaries in the movies are the butt of the joke, and they’re these caricatures, and they’re not real people.”

“The brilliance of Heretic, at least in its early going, is how it makes our eyes doubt what our minds are anxiously thinking,” writes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “The mood of unease is enhanced by the lowlight cinematography of Chung-hoon Chung, who has brought similar richness to the films of Park Chan-wook, among them Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and The Handmaiden.” Howell also speaks with Hugh Grant about his chilling role and being hot as he gets on in years: “One of the big appeals of the character was that I thought, this is that university professor who thinks they’re fun,” Grant tells Howell. “I always saw him in double denim in my head, getting down with the kids. That guy.”

In Fidelity (dir. Rob Margolies)

“Infidelity is a low-budget likeable film, sincere in its delivery, forming light entertainment at best, though not without minor flaws,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Luther: Never Too Much (dir. Dawn Porter)

“Luther’s voice was a rare instrument indeed, and his varied work continuing to echo even in the mega-pop sound of today,” says Jason Gorber at POV Magazine. “Never Too Much proves it’s never too soon to celebrate this phenomenal talent. While much of it plays as a relatively conventional talking head music doc, the subject is so fascinating, the filmmaking craft so assured, and the deeper elements surrounding his life, career, and beliefs so profound. Like the seductive pop he produced, Never Too Much holds a story that transcends the usual into something quite sensational.”

Meanwhile on Earth (dir. Jeremy Claplin)

“Why they need [the blob’s] help is a little unclear, as is the ending of the film, which seemed to be aiming for mysterious but only managed to bullseye confusing, at least for this viewer,” says Chris Knight at Original Cin. “But it’s still an interesting story and manages to capture the essential unknowable quality of an off-world species, though perhaps not as well as Arrival, which remains my favourite in the what-do-they-want sub-genre of alien invasion flicks.”

Pedro Paramo (dir. Rodrigo Prieto)

“Pedro Paramo, a Netflix original Mexican, arrives his week as a massively well shot (by the D.P. of recent movies like Killers of the Flower Moon and Barbie), produced and directed epic about a generation of family tainted by evil.  That D.P is Rodrigo Prieto, also the director of Pedro Paramo,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

The Piano Lesson (dir. Malcolm Washington)

“The Piano Lesson is a hugely energetic, albeit often bittersweet, film. The story is built around a dispute between a brother and sister over the family piano, a possession that represents history and family identity to her. To him, the piano’s material value is a way forward to land ownership, hope and financial freedom,” notes Liz Braun at Original Cin. “There’s a lot going on in The Piano Lesson — one family’s story, a broader slice of history, a philosophical debate about legacy, a look at the ongoing trauma of slavery. Besides the August Wilson source material, what the director has on his side here are stellar performances from all involved, and a cast that includes Stephan James, Corey Hawkins, Michael Potts and Erykah Badu.”

“Deadwyler is astonishing here, particularly in the climactic scene involving the titular instrument, a priceless heirloom that contains a Black family’s legacy carved into it with blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of intergenerational trauma,” writes Glenn Sumi at the Toronto Star. Sumi also speaks with Deadwyler about bringing the work of August Wilson to screen and honouring the ghosts of ancestors: “It felt like I was surrendering to something,” Deadwyler tells Sumi. “There’s both an exorcism and a possession occurring at the same time: someone coming out of who they once were and someone coming into who they must be.”

“To the director’s and cinematographer Mike Gioulakis’ credit, the opening sequence set on a night in 1911 and other segments are well filmed,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The above sequence is shot in alternative red and colour as the piano is taken from a house.  The film is often stunning to look at, but the film suffers outstanding flaws including continuity (the exorcism segment) and its staginess as it is based on a play and often feels like one.  Performances are top notch and the music by Alexandre Desalt is exceptional.  But good intentions aside, the film is a mixed mess.”

A Real Pain (dir. Jesse Eisenberg)

“This is obviously serious stuff, and Eisenberg could have made an emotionally heavy movie. But that’s not his style and it’s not what he’s aiming for here. In fact, Eisenberg makes the film feel effortless and almost anticlimactic with an oblique and subtle approach, focusing on the relationship between David and Benji.  Benji manipulates his cousin in subtle ways, while David is so caught up in understanding him that he’s comically oblivious to the manipulation,” says Karen Gordon at Original Cin. “And although the film carries itself with a light touch, it asks a lot of questions: about the meaning of legacy and the ineffability of reconciling thoughts, emotions, histories, that are too terrible to really absorb, but are part of their family history.”

“Travelling can be a real pain, especially with group tours. The fellow travellers along for the ride with cousins David and Benji Kaplan are practically saints when it comes to patience. Benji (Kieran Culkin) is especially a trial. He’s an exasperating endurance test that never shuts up. That nobody punches him or tells him off may be one of the boldest suspensions of disbelief committed to film,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “This is all to say that A Real Pain is about as fun as a trip to Auschwitz and, in some ways, just as enlightening.”

Small Things Like These (dir. Tim Mielants)

“Cillian Murphy follows up his Oscar-winning role in the epic Oppenheimer with another brilliant performance in a much smaller and more intimate film, but one that also deals with questions about morality and responsibility,” says Karen Gordon at Original Cin. “The film was shot on location in the village of New Ross, using locations related to the story. Director Tim Mielants has kept the film small and very dark. The story is set in 1985, but the mood and tone are claustrophobic and Dickensian, the moral questions feel like they belong to another century. In some ways the film feels like it could have been set in 1885.”

Starring Jerry as Himself (dir. Law Chan)

“The doc can be best described as a humorous cinema rewrite takeoff a true crime drama.  The doc is also extremely manipulative in its delivery with lots of re-enactments attempting to convince the audience that all the events are happening in real time,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “It is as if the filmmakers are scamming the audience the same way Jerry is being scammed.”

“Jerry’s son Jonathan Hsu is the film’s producer, and the family members also appear as themselves in re-enactments and later, post-scam, in more straightforward documentary style. It’s a surprisingly impactful way to tell this story, mostly because Jerry is incredibly sympathetic and rather a good actor. The outspoken, larger-than-life Kathy, meanwhile, is very amusing,” says Kim Hughes at Original Cin. “Jerry’s son Jonathan Hsu is the film’s producer, and the family members also appear as themselves in re-enactments and later, post-scam, in more straightforward documentary style. It’s a surprisingly impactful way to tell this story, mostly because Jerry is incredibly sympathetic and rather a good actor. The outspoken, larger-than-life Kathy, meanwhile, is very amusing.”

“Starring Jerry as Himself plays like a straightforward true crime film,” writes Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “It’s, in a sense, scripted non-fiction drama with a hybrid twist as Jerry recreates his own story. But the participatory nature offers something new for true crime in a genre that seemed all but maxed out by formula as it situates Jerry’s story with a hybrid film movement that recognizes the power in letting people play themselves. Chen finds a slick delivery for the caper and makes Jerry akin to an action star hero, rather than a victim. Jerry can’t get his money back, but this film offers an alternative: an act of agency and authority over his own story.”

Umjolo: The Gone Girl (dir. Fikile ‘Mr Fiks’ Mogodi)

“The film is touted as a romantic comedy but coming from South Africa, it is radically different with lots of nudity, loud and groaning sex and colourful costumes and dances, making this romantic comedy stand out ninth romantic comedy genre, despite the rather familiar storyline,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

File Under Miscellaneous

At POV Magazine, Susan G. Cole profiles Union director Brett Story and her provocative political lens: “I want to create the possibility for audi­ences to develop their own insights. It’s boring if you’re watching something and all you get is the director’s point of view…which imagines that all that’s standing in the way of people becoming active participants is knowledge. That’s not true,” Story tells Cole. “We know the climate cri­sis is real, but you don’t see us feeling capable of making the kind of transformation that’s necessary.”

At That Shelf, Rachel West speaks with Silent Screen choreographer Paul Lightfoot about his cinematic dance production with the National Ballet of Canada. “Silent film, for years, has been fascinating us. You know, Hitchcock called it the purest form of acting and if you look at those really old films, the steps that they made in cinematography are huge, and the actors, of course, were without word so their bodies are expressing so much more,” Lightfoot tells West. “It’s more exaggerated form and to us, that felt like choreography. So we felt like, could we bridge this between the two? Obviously, we’re not making a film because the stage is our sacred place, but could we somehow give a cinematographic feel of this era by creating a ballet with the inspiration of cinema of that period.”

At Original Cin, Liz Braun revisits Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, which recently received a new restoration: “It’s confounding to think that 27 years have passed since The Sweet Hereafter was first released. The film is beautifully shot by director of photography Paul Sarossy, the performances are wonderful, the experience of re-watching the film is transporting,” writes Braun. “Seeing it on the big screen is a rare opportunity.”