TIFF ’23: In “Seagrass,” marriage is a fragile ecosystem

by Cláudio Alves

Down the Pacific coast, there’s a place that looks like heaven but is no safe haven. You reach it by boat, sailing over turquoise waves, the wind carrying hopes of healing and promises of solutions to problems that have none. First-time feature director Meredith Hama-Brown and cinematographer Norm Li capture the environment’s full spectrum of color in their new 1990s-set film Seagrass, rendering bleak material beautiful. Skin tones are sun-kissed, while the deepest shadows are cobalt blue. It’s like we’re seeing the shoreline through a painter’s eyes. We’re not.

Rather than the artist’s gaze, we experience a family’s troubled perspective. They’re two girls and their parents, bound to a couple’s retreat where they hope their marriage will find salvation…

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TIFF '23: Take a trip down to hell with "The Zone of Interest"

by Cláudio Alves

Jonathan Glazer's "The Zone of Interest"

For my first day at TIFF, I planned on starting things off with a Sandra Hüller double feature, the Palme d'Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall followed by The Zone of Interest. The first half of that plan went kaput soon enough, so instead I caught Warwick Thornton's The New Boy. Expect more thoughts on that title next week – for now, it's Glazer time. In any case, what started as a morning predicated on Croisette honors and a German superstar morphed into an extended exercise in how cinema confronts historical atrocities, how parallel realities can coexist within the same landscape, and how sound can force you to see what your eyes do not… 

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Venice 2023: Roman Polanski's "The Palace" and more...

by Elisa Giudici

"The Palace"

Venice is experiencing an absence this year: the middle-ground movies. While there are some mind-blowing films and quite a few terrible ones, those good yet imperfect titles are notably missing. This 80th edition of the festival has been quite the rollercoaster, with moments of brilliance followed by real disappointments. Some movies have sunk so low that they become oddly memorable. Let's take a closer look at a few of the disappointments witnessed in Venice recently.

THE PALACE by Roman Polanski
It might be too early to pass judgment, but Polanski's latest film is a disaster of such magnitude that I hope the title of the worst movie in competition won't fall to an Italian entry...

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Venice 2023: Three terrific films that could be formidable Oscar players

by Elisa Giudici

Venice's 80th edition feels weaker (in terms of competition films) than the previous editions I've covered for The Film Experience. That said there are some strong contenders for the Golden Lion, and a few exceptional pieces of filmmaking. Here are three movies that stand out from the crowd. What's more they each have the potential to be strong Oscar contenders after Venice. 

I'll present them in order of their excellence, from the very good to the simply superb...

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Venice 2023: Mongolia's "City of Wind" and Michael Mann's "Ferrari"

by Elisa Giudici

"City of Wind"

The first surprise in Venice, City of Wind, was a delightful one. It's incredibly rare to come across a Mongolian film, so I made sure to set aside 104 minutes for a teen romance and shamanic party time adventure;xTime well spent! Keep an eye on this title for both the Orizzonti Palmares and the Best International Movie Oscar race. And speaking of Oscar hopefuls, Ferrari also pulled up on the Lido...

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