"The Assistant" is complicit and so are we

Here's Ren Jender on a Sundance movie that moved straight into theaters this weekend...

Writer-director Kitty Green's The Assistant (now open in NYC and LA) is a Jeanne Dielman-like examination of a woman who is the newest assistant in Harvey Weinstein's office (though he's never named) in the time before the revelations of his rape and harassment of women came to light. The film delves into how serial sexual harassment makes the entire office (and of course the industry) complicit, even when individuals try to do the right thing. 

The title character Jane (Julia Garner) is not clueless and she doesn't lack a conscience...

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"Cuties" Wants to Say Something About Young Girls Who Sexualize Themselves. But Does It?

Please welcome new contributor Ren Jender reporting from Sundance...

At first glance Cuties, the debut feature from French-Senegalese director Maïmouna Doucouré has a strong resemblance to Mati Diop's Atlantics. Like Ada, Atlantics' main character, Cuties' Amy (Fathia Youssouf) is torn between the edicts of her Senegalese parents' strict Muslim faith (an early scene shows Amy wearing a headscarf --even though she's only 11-- as she listens to the sermon on the virtues of modesty) and more hedonistic, self-centered Western ideals. The latter is personified by Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni) Amy's neighbor in a Parisian apartment building. Angelica is also 11, but dresses in crop tops and tight vinyl pants or short skirts...

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Review: Little Women

By Lynn Lee

Did we need another one?

That question hangs over any movie based on a novel that’s already been adapted multiple times – even moreso if there’s a previous adaptation that’s particularly beloved.  It may not, however, be the right question.  As potential movie material, perhaps great books should be treated more like great plays are for the stage, in the sense that if the work has enduring appeal, every new era deserves its own adaptation.  So perhaps the better question is whether this adaptation speaks to us, the viewers of today?

As applied to Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, the answer is yes…with a few caveats.  Full disclosure: I came to the movie as someone who read Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic so many times that my copy literally fell apart at the seams, and my devotion to Gillian Armstrong’s near-perfect 1994 adaptation starring Winona Ryder (which you should absolutely see if you haven’t) is a matter of TFE record .

While Armstrong’s version remains my favorite, I found a lot to like and admire about Gerwig’s...

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Looking back at 2019 Filmmaker Interviews

by Murtada Elfadl

2019 gave me the chance to speak to a few filmmakers about their films, their process, what they think their art contributes to the world. These filmmakers came from all over the world, and the breadth of their experiences and the topics they tackled is astounding. As the year comes to an end and we look back at the moments that stood out, here are some of the most fascinating insights I heard.

Recently The Farewell was not allowed to compete in the main film categories at the Golden Globes, and accepted only as a “foreign” film when its story is quintessentially American. After all the United States is a country of immigrants. Some people’s insistance on calling The Farewell foreign when it's so American just indicates that they don't think anyone whose 1st language isn't English is American enough despite their contributions to this country. When I talked to Lulu Wang during the summer, I asked her if she thinks her film being not entirely in English might limit its appeal...

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John Waters and other list-makers. "Freak out, baby, freak out"

by Nathaniel R

Climax is #1... according to John Waters

It’s top ten time of year (lots of them after the jump) and the great unofficial kick-off is the always delicious and on-brand John Waters lists for ArtForum. His lists are on brand because some of the films you can totally see why America’s most famous cult director would love them (his #1 fits that bill splendidly “Frenzied dance numbers combined with LSD, mental breakdowns, and childhood trauma turn this nutcase drama into The Red Shoes meets Hallucination Generation. Freak out, baby, freak out!”)  and one or two because you’ve never heard of them (obscure  indies!) and generally one or two that you weren’t even remotely expecting for its mainstream-appeal reasons. 

1. Climax (Gaspar Noe)

2. Joan or Arc (Bruno Dumont)

3. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)...

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