If you haven’t seen Norwegian writer/director Joachim Trier’s previous films, Reprise and Oslo, August 31st, then clear your plans for the evening, track down these films, and settle in for some feels. They’re two of the most empathetic films of recent years, applying complex emotional landscapes to potentially unlikable young men. In doing so, Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt capture just how vulnerable we are to life’s blows and remind us that people deserve more compassion than we often mete out.
Over at our official Facebook page, we are currently posting daily film recommendations, with each week being a different theme. This is a collection of those recommendations! This week’s theme is the filmography of progressive genre director Monte Hellman.
With technology rapidly advancing as the solution to even the most basic human tasks, director Ariel Martin’s sci-fi short The iMom takes “what if” to a chillingly stark place. Modern Parenting Set in a not-too-distant future, robotics has evolved to the point of public consumption. Realistic in both appearance and reaction, the affordable iMom (Matilda Brown) is the latest innovation in aiding new parents with the daunting task of child rearing.
Every Tuesday Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week: Batman v Superman:
When we come across words like Arabic, Iranian, Palestinian, or any other Middle Eastern nationality, we immediately think of the difference in culture. Especially when it comes to women, we think of Islam’s (justified or not justified) reputation as an opponent of gender equality, an oppressor of women and the rule of men. This preconceived notion is slowly being challenged with a flood of films from the Middle East.
Searching For Hell is an international exploration of infernal places around the world, with a loose but entertaining concept of what hell is. In five segments, the audience visits the site of the deepest recorded excavation into the earth in Serbia, the tourist town of Hell, Michigan, a house designed to reconstruct the Buddhist conception of hell according to tenth-century writer Ojoyoshu, the toxic sulphur mines of Indonesia, and the chaotic capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Each vignette has its own style, varying from the carnivalesque to the dialectic to the observational, and the decision to release the documentary online through the Virtual Reality Cinema (VRC) app Cineveo can only add to its dreamlike, haunting quality.
I’ve only vaguely heard of the book on which Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is based (same name), but this excellent trailer hooked me within thirty seconds. That odd imagery and lilting song drew me right in, efficiently setting the mood and freeing the rest of the trailer to tease character and plot. Granted, it focuses mostly on the characters, but when a trailer presents such a lovely group, it’s hard not to look forward to meeting everyone.
Whether it’s aimed at big kids or little kids, one of the most common themes in films from the last few decades has been the concept of ‘coming-of-age’. What this actually means can vary. For instance, ‘coming-of-age’ films may be ‘teen dramas’ or stories about childhood, sexuality, gender, or (auto-) biography.
The opening of Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha is intense. A few seconds in, we are staring eye to eye with Krisha, the titular character (Krisha Fairchild). She is looking at us, and we are looking right back.
Zootopia is the cinematic equivalent of a Dr. Seuss novel; though mostly made for kids, it resonates with deeper and socially relevant themes. The political landscape from which this film was born is apparent almost from the start, and though at times less than subtle with its agenda, it still manages to be an incredibly witty, emotional and entertaining movie experience.
There are so many stories like High-Rise that I’m shocked it’s not a genre to itself. I mean, how many books, movies, and television series are there about an isolated group descending into chaos? The foibles of the human mind are put on deep allegorical display, and a certain kind of person turns up to watch every iteration, nodding in agreement that, yes, humanity sucks.
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down (via Skype) with director Deborah Kampmeier after a special preview screening of her newest film, SPLit. The film is premiering at the Sarasota Film Festival this year, so if you can go see it, get yourself down. Until you get the chance, check the trailer out here.
In any sector where publishing one’s writing, there are various types into which one can subvert their writing style. The four most basic are expository, narrative, descriptive and persuasive. When it comes to writing for film and media, though, all four of these sorts can be used.
2015’s Toronto International Film Festival gave audience awards to Room, the quietly affecting story of a mother and son, and Hardcore Henry, a first-person action film about a super-soldier fighting his way through Russia. Yes, Hardcore Henry’s win was in the Midnight Madness category, but that contrast is still amazing. I don’t buy into the divide between daytime and nighttime festivalgoers, because I know there’s a lot of people, like me, that start in the morning hours and stay to the raucous end.
Over at our official Facebook page, we are currently posting daily film recommendations, with each week being a different theme. This is a collection of those recommendations! This week’s theme is women-directed films of the 1980’s.