Best International Film: Canada's "Universal Language"

by Cláudio Alves

In the last hours of voting for the Oscar nominations, let's celebrate one of the best films up for Academy consideration. It's none other than the Canadian submission for Best International Film, Matthew Rankin's sophomore feature – Universal Language. If watching the director's debut, The Twentieth Century, felt like witnessing the second coming of fellow Winnipegger Guy Maddin, seeing the wonder of his latest work is akin to re-encountering Jacques Tati in the 21st century. Or perchance a Manitoban Abbas Kiarostami. Rather than evading such comparisons, Rankin runs straight at them, making his latest project into a dialogue between filmic languages and other idioms along the way, reaching for the fantastical, so specific as to be universal…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Drag Queens Got Talent”

Like in the last couple of years, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping the new RuPaul’s Drag Race season…

Condragulations, LEXI! You're a winner, baby.

CLÁUDIO: Call me Nostradamus because I foresaw the bitchtrack epidemic, an autotune apocalypse, crunchy dips as far as the eye can see. This is the state of the Drag Race Talent Show industrial complex, and I am not happy about it. Or call me Old Methuselah because being in your thirties now means having one step in the grave, according to a bunch of drag babies who dare call Lexi Love a grandma. I can’t wait to see the 34-year-old diva crush those brats’ dreams under her hooker heels. Or her rollerblades, as the case may be. She’s now my pick for season 17 winner, a choice I come to out of spite but also admiration. Because, make no mistake, “Drag Queens Got Talent - Part 2” was Miss Love’s episode, and all those other whores were fighting for runner-up honors. Call me Grandpa Grumps because this episode got me grumpy as fuck, almost as much as it entertained me. 

NICK: Lexi Love fuckin’ owned this episode. No one touched her in the talent show or the top 2 lip sync. I’m honestly glad she and Suzie Toot did their performances on different nights, even if tonight’s portion of the talent show was much less entertaining on average than last week. Would I have loved to see Suzie tap to “Alter Ego”? Obviously. And thank fuck Lexi Love didn’t have to settle for “Woman’s World”. But we’ve now got two top-tier divas at the head of the pack with a win under each of their belts…

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Review: "Nosferatu" is the perfect present for the cinephile in your life

by Cláudio Alves

A belated Merry Christmas to you all, and Happy Holidays too. What better way to celebrate than with cinema? After all, the year of 2024 is coming to a close with an array of new releases, as varied as they are curious. For Kidmaniacs, Babygirl is upon us, with the actress's best performance since Birth. The Fire Inside is a crowd-pleasing sports drama of unusual elegance, while A Complete Unknown is essential viewing for those who want to keep up to date with the awards season. Better Man brings some monkey business to the festive box office, while Vermiglio delivers a post-war poem on the changing seasons. 

However, if you're like me, a horror hound at heart, the week's most enticing release must surely be Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, an old-fashioned Gothic romance with a nasty streak a mile wide…

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Best International Film: UK & Ireland

by Cláudio Alves

This past Sunday, there was a lot to entertain awards obsessives. Among the various votes and ceremonies, one can find the British Independent Film Awards, where two of this year's Best International Film Oscar submissions took home some honors. Well, a lot of them in Kneecap's case. The Irish music biopic is the most nominated film in BIFA history, and its final tally of wins is just as impressive – seven victories total. Then, there is Santosh, the UK's Hindi-language submission, which took home two awards, for Breakthrough Producer and Best Screenplay. Will the Academy be similarly in love with these two projects, both works of openly political cinema? Let's consider…

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Best International Film: India, Thailand, Cambodia

by Cláudio Alves

At The Film Experience, we've always loved following and celebrating the Best International Film Oscar race. This season's no different, so you can expect many reviews in the next week as one counts down to the Academy's much-anticipated shortlists, when the competition will be severely cut down from its original 85 contenders. Voting for the shortlists opens on December 9th and closes on the 13th, with results announced on the 17th. Until then, let's dive deep into the wonders of world cinema, starting with a trip to the South of Asia.

Our journey commences with India's Lost Ladies, selected amid controversy because of All We Imagine As Light's politicized snubbing. Then, Thailand's How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, which has become an unlikely blockbuster and worldwide crowd pleaser. And finally, Cambodia's Meeting with Pol Pot, where iconoclast filmmaker Rithy Panh tries his hand at some period drama conventions…

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