Pacifiction: Albert Serra
Serra’s gripping, atmospheric thriller is a slow-building fever dream that lulls before catching us by surprise with the depths of its darkness.
No Bears: Iranian Jafar Panahi
No Bears Jafar Panahi, 2022, Iran, 107m One of the world’s great cinematic artists, Jafar Panahi has been carefully crafting self-reflexive works about artistic, personal, and political freedom for the past three decades, and his risk-taking output has never slowed down even amidst his globally condemned treatment by the Iranian government. Now, as the international […]
Master Gardener: Paul Schrader (Venice; NYFF 2022)
Master Gardener Paul Schrader, 2022, U.S., 107m Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) takes great care and pride in his work as the longtime head horticulturist at Gracewood Gardens, the historic estate of the demanding, imperious Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). An enclosed, scrupulously run world of its own, Gracewood has been in the Haverhill family for generations, […]
Eternal Daughter, The: Joanna Hogg (NYFF 2022)
Here she uses this Victorian gothic scenario for an entirely surprising, impeccably crafted, and, finally, overwhelming excavation of a parent-child relationship and the impulse toward artistic creation.
Enys Men: Cornish Filmmaker Mark Jenkin’s (NYFF 2022)
In 1973, on an uninhabited, windswept, rocky island off the coast of Cornwall in southwest England, an isolated middle-aged woman (Mary Woodvine) spends her days in enigmatic environmental study.
Red Rocket: Sean Baker’s Tale of Comeuppance of Ex-Porn Star and Manipulative Loser–What You Need to Know (Cannes Fest 2021)
A middle-aged washed-up adult actor looks to settle down in a Texas hometown where few are impressed by his dubious celebrity in the director’s latest probe into America’s underbelly fringes.
Two Loves (1961): Charles Waters’ Drama, Starring Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey, Jack Hawkins, Nobu McCarthy (Education, Teachers, New Zealand, Maori)
MacLaine plays American Anna Vorontosov, a teacher in rural school on New Zealand’s North Island. Her class of younger students is comprised largely of Maoris.
Life at the Top (1965): Ted Kotcheff’s Sequel to the Oscar-Winning Room at the Top, Starring Again Laurence Harvey and Jean Simmons as his Wife
Rising director Ted Kotcheff helmed Life at the Top, a sequel to the 1959 Oscar film Room at the Top, again starring Laurence Harvey, this time around paired with (or rather paired opposite Jean Simmons and Honor Blackman).
Death in Hollywood: Gilbert, John, Aged 38 (July 10, 1897–Jan 9, 1936)
Gilbert suffered a second heart attack at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936, which was fatal.
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Walk Up: Hong Sangsoo (NYFF 2022)
Hong Sangsoo uses a radical structure in his latest exploration of the complexities of relationships, growing older, and artistic pursuit.