Backrooms: Blair Witch of the new generation
The scariest thing about The Backrooms, for me, is the found footage scenes. And I think this is also what helped fuel the internet fandom around liminal spaces.In that sense, The Backrooms feels like the Blair Witch Project of a younger generation. When I watched The Blair Witch Project as a kid, more than the […]
Pillion review: Can submission be a path to courage and love?
— Isn’t love the point of it all? — Of what? — Of everything. Pillion first caught my attention through the bold, erotic, leather-heavy outfits Alexander Skarsgård wore during its promotion. Thankfully so, because while the film places sex right at the forefront, it ultimately becomes a tender reflection on what we gain and lose […]
No Other Choice review: What wouldn’t capitalism do to us, if it turns a man who nurtures trees into a murderer?
No Other Choice opens with the image of a happy family. A thoughtful husband, a beautiful wife, lovely children. As he grills in the garden on a summer day, he has a moment of pure gratitude, hugging his family tightly. But suddenly, as the leaves begin to fall, we realize the season is changing. This […]
Train Dreams review: A poetic tale of a world worth living in, despite its disasters
How do you cope with the feeling that something bad is about to happen?What if that feeling truly points to real disasters ahead? They say the fear you feel when things are finally going well in your life comes from vulnerability. When you are happy and surrounded by love, your brain switches on its defense […]
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You review: An unsettling descent into a mother’s dark void
There is a dark side that lives inside all of us, even within the most compassionate, selfless, and loving among us. And the unsettling experiences that feed this side, that expand its imagination, have a peculiar allure of their own. With If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, as we are dragged into the dark […]
Song Sung Blue review: When music opens the door to third and fourth chances
A film that those who don’t believe in second chances should watch, because Song Sung Blue reminds us that not only second chances exist, but third and fourth ones too. For building or finding your own family, falling in love, or finally chasing your dreams. Hugh Jackman’s character, Mike, is a devoted Neil Diamond fan. […]
Sentimental Value: Is running away the only way to heal family wounds?
Sentimental Value is about people who feel lost in their loneliness, even though they are not truly alone. When they begin to see this, when they remember that they are still there for each other, healing becomes possible. The house where Nora and her sister Agnes grew up carries more than their own pain. It […]
History of Sound review: A film flows like a calm river on a clear spring day
History of Sound is a gentle, tender film…Warm in the way a mild autumn sun warms your hands.Comforting in the way an effortless love surrounds you.Like a lullaby softly sung to help you fall asleep. We see a man playing his guitar on the porch of a wooden house in the forest.A young man singing […]
Steve: The disaster changes shape and it becomes tomorrow’s joy
❝ That there’s like infinite things, music you can’t even imagine in other places, and the weather, and love, and maybe nothing but ruin, but who knows? Who knows? The disaster changes shape and it becomes tomorrow’s joy or whatever.❞ Steve struck me like a rainbow appearing in the midst of a storm, a promise […]
The Brutalist movie review: As sharp and unyielding as its namesake
Just like the architectural movement it takes its name from, The Brutalist is a sharp-edged and tough film. The sense of mass created by raw concrete permeates the film with all its weight. The biggest difference from Brutalism itself is that even when the sound of light is muted, colors seep into the scenes with […]