Review: Lebanon’s ‘1982’

By Abe Friedtanzer

There are many different reasons that nations go to war, and what unites all of them is that many of those affected have nothing to do with the inherent conflict. It’s a concept that might be difficult for modern-day Americans to relate to since most of the wars from our lifetime have been fought on foreign soil; the domestic population doesn’t feel the impact in the same way. But there are so many civilians, throughout history, who have seen their lives irreversibly changed by a war they never asked for that doesn’t benefit them. Oualid Mouaness’ feature debut 1982, which was Lebanon’s official Oscar entry for 2019 (and finally getting a US release) offers a strong and stirring take on that idea with the 1982 Lebanon War.

1982 takes place over the course of a day in the title year when a group of schoolchildren go about their ordinary lives as military clashes in the distance come ever closer...

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Review: "Watcher"

by Matt St Clair

With her feature debut Watcher, director Chloe Okuno offers up a simple but discomfitting concept. What if you felt a stranger was watching your every move? The concept alone feels paralyzing thanks to its proximity to every day fears. If you’re so much as going on a simple park stroll, the sense that the person walking behind you is following your footsteps, whether or not they actually are, is terrifying.

For protagonist Julia (Maika Monroe), those kinds of anxieties are only amplified by her physical and mental solitude...

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Cannes Diary #8: Reshaping the world through voices or silence

by Elisa Giudici

TORI & LOKITA

Speak up for yourself and change the world. The problem is that sometimes that the most vulnerable people have no voice, enduring violence and betrayal in silence. Sometimes a forgotten language is found again. At other times silence is a radical choice made. Today, an immigrant story from the Dardennes, and a vivid true story from Agnieszka Smoczyńska, the director of The Lure...

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Cannes Diary #7: Park and Cronenberg are back with incredible movies

by Elisa Giudici

The masters are back with masterful movies! Seeing Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave followed by David Cronenberg’s Crimes of future with only a 20 minutes break between them seemed almost a waste. These two are among the most (rightfully) hyped movies of the entire year and of this Cannes edition. I really wanted some time after the first especially to think fully on what I had just seen, savoring the first impression instead of deep diving into an equally immersive but radically different film experience. Especially considering that one of the two is a perfect movie, a rare five out of five stars, 10 out of 10, or whatever other token of appreciation you can imagine.

Those two films and a new French movie after the jump...

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Cannes Diary #6: Something weird this way comes

by Elisa Giudici

This (unconscious?) cosplay of Jesse Buckley doing Paul Verhoeven’s The 4th Man during the Q&A session for Men made my day!  After the jump some surreal comedy, a horror oddity, a terrifying thriller that might contend for awards, and a directorial debut... 

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