My Small Land
MY SMALL LAND should launch two stellar careers with its astute portrait – told in three languages – of a specific situation that feels transferable in this age of global anxiety and xenophobia.
All posts by Carmen Paddock
Off the Rails
OFF THE RAILS is a breathless narrative that may have benefited from reflection and structure, but the spark and spirit are captivating throughout.
Freaks Out
There is never a shortage of World War II-adjacent films, but Gabriele Mainetti’s latest feature gives a sentimental superhero makeover to the well-trodden narrative of infiltrating the Nazis.
Please Baby Please
Does Please Baby Please break new ground? Possibly not. Does it entertain, thrill, and captivate continually, using its cast of familiar character faces to great effect? Absolutely. Kramer’s vision is a raucous delight that will grow on every rewatch.
Life of Crime 1984-2020
In the opening minutes of Jon Alpert’s real-time biographical documentary, Jon stays with two men who are preparing a burglary in broad daylight on a main street in Newark, New Jersey. The tools are unloaded, the car prepared for a fast getaway, and smiles and jokes bounce between the two soon-to-be thieves. When asked what … Continue reading Life of Crime 1984-2020
Kinorama – Beyond the Walls of the Real
Without the all-encompassing, state-of-the-art picture that one would find in a properly equipped cinema, the cracks in KINORAMA – BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE REAL show.
Ida Lupino: Gentlemen and Miss Lupino
While perhaps little more than a glorified introduction to one of the 20th century’s great filmmaking talents, IDA LUPINO: GENTLEMEN AND MISS LUPINO is built with love. In a world where, once again, studio dominance seems all-pervasive, one hopes Lupino’s thoughtful, challenging pictures find an audience.
Ailey
AILEY continually returns to the creative process even as it melds performance, archival footage, and interviews to celebrate and interrogate the life and work of revolutionary choreographer Alvin Ailey.
Rose Plays Julie
ROSE PLAYS JULIE thrives in discomfort. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s drama opens with a veterinary school lecture on euthanising healthy animals – a common occurrence, often for behavioural reasons – and then spends each following scene contrasting characters’ assumptions and knowledge about their lives and loved ones. Carmen Paddock reviews.
Scarecrow
The Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in far northeastern Russia is far removed from the political, social, linguistic, and cosmopolitan realities of Moscow or St Petersburg. In this environment, a local cinema culture has flourished, and Dmitry Davydov’s SCARECROW (PUGALO) brings Sakha cinema to an international audience at IFFR.