Ophüls' "Letter from an Unknown Woman" is 75!

by Cláudio Alves

Born Maximillian Oppenheimer in 1902's Germany, Max Ophüls chose the pseudonym to avoid embarrassing his father as he pursued an acting career in theater. He'd change paths along the way, finding purpose in directing actors rather than reveling among them. Moreover, the paternal humiliation was never to be beyond the scandalous nature of theater since the man who would one day make tracking shots his calling card was a virtuoso. As the roaring twenties gave in to a new decade, Ophüls' ability would help him transition from the stage to the screen, where he began as a dialogue director at UFA.

But of course, being Jewish under the Nazi regime was deadly, so the director fled from Germany to France, stopping by Switzerland and Italy...

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Review: “Broadway” is a Tragicomic Crime Wonder

by Juan Carlos Ojano

There is a sequence in the romantic crime dramedy BROADWAY where a lot of things clicked with me. Street performer Nelly (Elsa Lekakou) is dragged by policeme. Suddenly, a mob of queer queens swarm in to snatch them from the police. A few moments later, Nelly is reunited with fellow performer Jonas/Barbara (Foivos Papadopoulos). They kiss and rejoice to the orchestral version of Irene Cara’s “Fame”, that they were performing before this arrest.  

This scene, which paves way for the film's midpoint, negotiates a variety of tones in a circular structure demonstrating Broadway's sophisticated storytelling. Christos Massalas' surprisingly thoughtful feature film mixes complex imagery, delicate writing, and sensitively portrayed romance with rhythmic movement and striking craft...

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Review: "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." Is So Good, it Transcends its Genre

By Ben Miller

I am not a woman.  I did not grow up with any sisters. My personal experience never crossed paths with Judy Blume books.  All that being said, Kelly Fremon Craig's (The Edge of Seventeen) film adaptation of Blume's classic bestseller Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. transcends any genre bias to you might bring to it. It's one of the best films of the year so far.

The film centers on Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson), a sixth-grader who moves to New Jersey from New York with her parents (Rachel McAdams, Benny Safdie).  Margaret is not only at a transitional period in life with the move, but on the brink of puberty and all that comes with it.  If that wasn't enough, Margaret finds herself on a quest to find God, stuck between the Christian and Jewish faiths...

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HotDocs Corner: 'The Stroll' Reclaims the Narrative

By Glenn Charlie Dunks

We are looking at some of the movies playing Canada's beloved HotDocs festival. First up is buzzy Sundance hit, The Stroll.

The conversation around Jennie Livingston's iconic 1990 documentary Paris is Burning has been happening for many years now. The conversation that its white cis director profited financially and professionally from the lives of its black and latinx trans subjects who got very little out of its production. Whatever one thinks of it, it's hard to deny that as much as a film like The Stroll is needed today, it was also needed back then, too. Co-directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker—two women directors who identify as transgender—The Stroll is the continued reclamation of trans stories on screen by those who have lived and breathed the life that it documents.

As you might expect, with this comes a lot of emotions to unpack. But Lovell and Drucker have crafted a film (the former’s first, the latter’s first feature after the 2021 series The Lady and the Dale) that reverberates for many more reasons than just representation.

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Evil Dead: The Original Trilogy Revisited

by Cláudio Alves

As tentpoles falter and prestige fare fails to perform, horror continues to prove a safe investment for Hollywood. You won't find me complaining about that last bit, for scary movies have long won my affection. And yet, while celebrating box office success, it's distasteful to meander in mercenary matters. Instead, let's consider a new sensation in Evil Dead Rises, the fifth film in the horror franchise Sam Raimi birthed at the dawn of the 80s. Indeed, while these deadite-infested movies have strayed away from detailing the adventures of Ash Williams – check out the TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead for more of that – the original trilogy continues to have a special place in fans' hearts.

So, join me as I revisit Raimi's first ventures into gory horror, horror comedy, and medieval fantasia…

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