A Simple Story (1979): Claude Sautet’s Melodrama, Starring Romy Schneider
Claude Sautet directed A Simple Story (Une histoire simple), a French drama nominated the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. For her role as Marie, Romy Schneider won the 1979 César Award (French Oscar) for Best Actress. Marie, pregnant at the age of 39, has an abortion without telling her lover Serge, having decided to live […]
Am I OK? Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne’s Directing Debut, Tale of Coming Out Late, Starring Dakota Johnson (Sundance Fest 2022)
The directorial debut of Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne stars Dakota Johnson as a 30-something who struggles to navigate her personal relationships after revealing she’s gay.
Teorema (Theorem): Pasolini’s Ambiguous, Allegorical Critique of the Bourgeoisie, Starring Terence Stamp and Sylvana Mangano
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s sixth film, Teorema (aka Theorem) is an ambiguous, deconstructive tale of one bourgeois family. The first time Pasolini worked with professional actors, he cast major stars, such as Brit Terence Stamp, and Italian Laura Betti, Silvana Mangano, and Massimo Girotti. Teorema Film poster The themes of this cerebral tale include the timelessness […]
Weak and the Wicked, The (1954): J. Lee Thompson’s British Prison Drama, Glynis Johns and Diana Dors
J. Lee Thompson directed The Weak and the Wicked (“Young and Willing” in the US), a British drama, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors.
Rescue, The: Vasarhelyi and Chin’s New Thrilling Documentary
The Rescue Photo : TIFF Directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have previously won the Best Documentary Feature Oscar for the stunning Free Solo. Their new docu, The Rescue, is just as thrilling. It is set in the summer of 2018, when the Wild Boar soccer team got trapped in Tham Luang, an extensive and […]
Please Believe Me (1950): Taurog’s Romantic Comedy, Starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Mark Stevens, Peter Lawford
Val Lewton’s first and only MGM film, Please Believe Me is a romantic comedy, directed by Norman Taurog, and starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Mark Stevens and Peter Lawford.
Pieces of a Woman: Kornél (White Dog) Mundruczó’s English-Language Debut (Venice Fest 2020) (Strangers in Paradise, Foreigners in Hollywood)
Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf play a couple shattered by the loss of their newborn baby in Kornél Mundruczó’s intense English-language debut.
Penguin Bloom: Glendyn Ivin’s Drama, Starring Naomi Watts (Toronto Fest 2020)
The Oscar-nominated actress plays a woman partially paralyzed in a freak accident who bonds during her recovery with a wounded bird.
Dogs: Romanian Director Bogdan Mirică Câini’s Impressive Debut
Romanian director Bogdan Mirică made an impressive debut with Dogs, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Fest, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. Dogs Film poster The action takes place near Tulcea, in an area of the Danube sector of the Romania–Ukraine border, where groups of smugglers […]
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To Forget Venice (1979): Franco Brusati’s Italian Oscar Nominee for Best Foreign Film Language (Family Melodrama, LGBTQ, Gay)
Franco Brusati directed To Forget Venice, a richly atmospheric family tale replete with emotional and sexual tensions, is largely set in a country house near Venice.