TIFF ’23: In “Monster,” we’re all alone and that’s beautiful

by Cláudio Alves

Part of being alive is coming to grips with some harsh truths intrinsic to the human condition. For instance, we’ll never know the other, not entirely, no matter how hard we try. Even mothers can’t hope to fully grasp their children’s interiority, each human being a galaxy unto themselves. You can either fight against that notion in fruitless despair or accept it. We’re all alone, trapped in the mystery of ourselves, but so is everyone else. Reach out, and you’ll come close to the infinite unknown. Look at it right, and you’ll see beauty beyond belief.

The cinema of Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda has long reflected on such ideas, but Monster is still a high mark of cinematic compassion in his filmography. Penned by Cannes Best Screenplay-winner Yuji Sakamoto and set to the sound of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last score, this film broke my heart…

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Venice 2023: Complete List of Winners including the "Queer Lion"

by Nathaniel R

Evil Does Not Exist, Green Border, and Poor Things all scored big at Venice.

In the event that Elisa is taking a well earned 24 hour nap before any last words we thought we'd share the complete list of winners from the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival culled from various sources including Wikipedia, Variety, and Venice's Official Site. As soon as TIFF wraps we'll update all the Oscar charts. Obviously Poor Things (the big winner) is moving up though it's worth noting that we had been banking on in before the screenings began. The Best International Feature Film Oscar race also is greatly affected by the big festivals so more on that soon, too...

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Doc Corner: 'We Kill For Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller'

By Glenn Charlie Dunks

If you’re restless for the return of Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast, "Erotic ‘90s", then We Kill For Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller may be for you. In many ways, Anthony Petra’s near three-hour video essay (even so much as to get the opening credit of “A video by”) is like the direct-to-video cousin to Longworth’s long-form audio series. And I don’t mean that as a pejorative. I hope the director wouldn't take it that way, either, given Petra’s desire to focus more attentively on the less fondly remembered, less glossy works of (largely independent) Hollywood eroticism that more often than not skipped theatrical exhibition. Instead they instead found money and eager viewers on the shelves of video stores and as late-night cable network fare across the country...

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TIFF '23: "Concrete Utopia" is an earth-shaking blockbuster parable

by Cláudio Alves

Genre cinema has long been the home of social critique through allegory. Think back to Godzilla's reflection on Japan's atomic trauma or Night of the Living Dead's invention of the zombie movie as the place to study civilization's collapse. South Korea's new Oscar submission, Concrete Utopia, follows the tradition. Though, here, you'll find no Romero undead or radioactive kaiju to distract and reflect human folly at the viewer. Instead, Tae-hwa Eom's latest tackles the precepts of the disaster flick with a dash of post-apocalyptic dystopia, showing Humanity's self-made ruin in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that renders Seoul a wasteland…

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TIFF '23: Sophie Nélisse in ‘Irena’s Vow’

By Abe Friedtanzer

There’s a reason that there are so many films about the Holocaust. The attempted conquest of Europe and the whole world by the Nazis resulted in millions of innocent lives lost and countless others irreversibly altered. Fortunately, there were more than a few people who made the brave decision to stand up for those who couldn’t advocate or fight for themselves. These stories typically make for poignant cinematic tales. The latest is Irena’s Vow, which stars Sophie Nélisse as a Polish nurse who risked her life to safeguard a group of Jews…

Like La Rafle, The Zookeeper’s Wife, and A Hidden Life, this film centers on someone who was not Jewish but who found herself significantly disenfranchised when the Nazis invaded her country...

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