Call Me by Your Name ventures into a realm of romantic and sexual possibility in some sunny territory referred to only in the film as “somewhere in Italy.” Luca Guadagnino is a master of lavish and seductive tones but, guided…
Movie Review: Tragedy Girls
The opening scene in Tragedy Girls seems an unabashed patchwork of ‘80s horror. Parked on a lonely stretch of road at night two lovers hear something strange outside the car. The girl suggests to the guy that he go and…
VIFF Review: Happy End
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. The opening few moments of Michael Haneke’s newest button-pusher Happy End leaves a few open-ended questions—the one I’m most eager to talk about involves a possible animal rights violation. Of course, animal torture…
VIFF 2017: “Western”, “Bad Genius” & “Sami Blood”
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. One quick scroll through any news site is enough to tell you how engrossed the human species is in conflict—this is also reflected in popular entertainment, whether its the fiction portrayed on screens or…
VIFF Review: BPM (Beats Per Minute)
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. In the electric first half of BPM (Beats Per Minute) the film charts the movement of a group of HIV/AIDS activists in France in the early 1990s, just as the virus became a…
VIFF Review: A Fantastic Woman
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. In the ever growing yet still somewhat scanty representation of LGBTQ in today’s cinema, films like A Fantastic Woman (featuring Chile’s first and only openly transgender actor as its star) are crucial in…
VIFF 2017: “A Yangtze Landscape”, “Claire’s Camera”, & “Maison du bonheur”
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. Among the numerous delights of attending festivals is catching an early screening of a film already steeped in praise (whether hailing from Sundance, Cannes, Toronto or Venice). As I discovered with last year’s…