Doc Corner: 'Victim/Suspect' on Netflix

By Glenn Charlie Dunks

Nancy Schwartzman’s latest documentary wades forcefully into sensitive territory. As she had done with (the superior) Roll Red Roll in 2018, she charts stories of sexual assault and rape in places where police, the justice system, and society at large too often find ambiguity and uncertainty. An audience watching Victim/Suspect is probably not among those who do, although I suppose launching on such a platform as Netflix may help capture some viewers whose attitudes towards people like those in Schwartzman’s doc are ingrained enough to need rewiring and allow them the empathy required to understand their circumstance.

As the title implies, Victim/Suspect is about women who have reported the crime of rape and have instead become the one arrested. Whether it be due to apathy or investigative sloppiness on behalf of the police or just plain old misogyny and bias, they end up handcuffed and sent to prison. Charged with the crime of falsely reporting a rape—which, to some of the police featured within the film via videotape, appears to be more offensive than the sexual crime itself. As one officer observes, they need to be taught a lesson for the police time that they suggest has been wasted. All because they can’t find (or don’t care to find) the sufficient evidence needed to believe them.

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Cannes at Home: Day 11 – A Tale of Two Realisms

by Cláudio Alves

Well, it's over. Another festival ends, and so does another edition of the Cannes at Home series. I've watched many a great film this past week and hope you have enjoyed the ride. To finish things off, it's time to consider the last two filmmakers to present their latest works at the Croisette. Alice Rohrwacher dazzled away with her La Chimera, starring a scruffy-looking Italian-speaking Josh O'Connor, and Ken Loach's The Old Oak proved as divisive as all his late-career films have been. 

This last Cannes at Home dispatch looks at these auteurs' greatest pictures, titles that crystalize the two distinct forms of realism each work within. There's Rohrwacher's magical spin on Italian neorealism with Happy as Lazzaro and Ken Loach's perpetuation of the kitchen-sink tradition of British social realism in Kes…

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Cannes Finale Pt 1 (Personal Choices / Predictions)

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Benoit Magimet & Juliette Binoche star in "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant"

Another edition of the Cannes Film Festival is close to the finish line. It's time for some 'for your considerations', some praise for my favourites, and the impossible task of predicting the Palme d'Or winner. Predictions which will quickly be outdated by the actual winners at the closing ceremony. 

How was this Cannes Film Festival overall? I managed to see all of the Competition titles (a couple more reviews coming), a large chunk of Out of Competition titles and a couple each from Quinzaine and Un Certain Regard. The general impression is that this Cannes edition lacks a masterpiece that everyone agrees upon. This absence is perceived only in these final hours, when we're all trying to guess the big winner. But the competition did feature a large group of excellent movies. There was only one terrible movie (sorry Sean Penn, but Black Flies in competition was a bad joke)...

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Cannes: "May December" with Julianne Moore & Natalie Portman

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Todd Haynes new feature May December could easily be my favorite movie of this Cannes edition, but it took me two screenings to realize it. May December's most striking trait is its elusiveness. Like its protagonist Gracie (Julianne Moore), it's unapologetic. It's also candid in its campiness but able to turn into a savage experience in its rare moments of truth. I heard someone describethis one as it as Haynes’ Brian De Palma homage. I think it's closer to Paul Verhoeven and his way of never explaining himself, leaving you wondering “Is this intentionally parodical…or is it not?”.

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Cannes at Home: Days 9 & 10 – Champions of Festivals Past

by Cláudio Alves

Just as the favorites for the Palme d'Or seemed to have settled, here comes another barrage of rave reviews to muddy the waters. Not only is it impossible to predict what Östlund's jury will choose, but it seems like, every day, the critics elect a new title to champion. On the ninth day of the festivities, Trần Anh Hùng's Pot-au-Feu dazzled many with its gastronomic love affair, making comparisons to Babette's Feast. Then came Nanni Moretti's A Brighter Tomorrow, less acclaimed but blessed by enthusiast defenders. On the 10th day of Cannes, it was time for Wim Wenders' Perfect Days to ignite Best Actor speculation, while Catherine Breillat's Queen of Hearts remake became another instant frontrunner for the big prize. Will Last Summer take the Palme? 

For the Cannes at Home series, the focus shall be on these auteurs' past festival successes. The Scent of Green Papaya earned Hùng the Camera d'Or and Vietnam its only Oscar nomination. Moretti won the Best Director prize at Cannes '93 with Caro Diario, and Wim Wenders was the Palme victor of '84 with Paris, Texas. Finally, there's Breillat's hyper-controversial Fat Girl, a prizewinner from the 51st Berlinale…

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