Review: “Paris, 13th District”

The City of Lights and the City of Love serves as the backdrop for a less than swoony romance in “Paris, 13th District.” Directed by Jacques Audiard, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Léa Mysius and Céline Sciamma based on Adrian Tomine’s series of short comic stories, the film’s French title, “Les Olympiades,” is derived […]

Review: “Cow”

Director Andrea Arnold has said of the subject of her latest film, “When I look at Luma, our cow, I see the whole world in her.” Luma is the titular “Cow” of Arnold’s first documentary project, shot over the course of several years at Park Farm in Kent, England. Working with cinematographer Magda Kowalcyzk, Arnold […]

Review: “Huda’s Salon”

There’s something about going to a hair salon that many people find comforting. That feeling doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what hairstyle you’re going to try on a given day, but moreso with the sense of community that comes with regularly going to a place, seeing the same people, and being able to […]

Review: “The Pink Cloud”

I think it’s safe to assume that no one will ever get to watch writer/director Iuli Gerbase’s debut feature film, “The Pink Cloud,” exactly the way she intended. That isn’t because the final product of the film itself isn’t something she stands behind; quite the contrary. Rather, it’s due to exterior factors that have rocked […]

Review: “Strawberry Mansion”

“I just wanted someone to share my dreams with.” That statement carries a different weight in a future where our dreams aren’t really our own. It is said by Bella (Penny Fuller) to James Preble (Kentucker Audley), the auditor sent to the elderly woman’s home to assess her dreams for unpaid taxes. The year is […]

Review: “Red Rocket”

Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) has just returned to his small Gulf Coast Texas hometown, and before we are actually told anything about him, we can discern a lot just from his face and his surroundings as he sleeps on the bus, the NSYNC pop classic “Bye Bye Bye,” which ends up serving as a sort […]

Sundance Review: “Fresh”

Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is around halfway through her first date with Steve (Sebastian Stan) when she tells him that she hates “this”—“this” meaning dating. “FRESH” opens with a portrait of just how Noa’s love life is going, and it isn’t going well. She aimlessly swipes through dating apps, and a date she goes on with […]

SLIFF Reviews: Narrative Features

Over the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of attending the 30th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, held in person and virtually from November 4-21. I watched a lot of really wonderful films, many of which will be released soon and look to be potential awards season contenders, and I wanted to […]

Review: “Bergman Island”

“Bergman Island” is one of those movies that I had to watch twice before I could really start to grasp its intricacies. There’s no doubt that writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve’s movie has a lot for film fans to chew on. Set on Fårö, the Swedish island where the legendary director Ingmar Bergman lived, worked, and was […]

Review: “Titane”

“Titane” may have only just been released in theaters stateside, but writer/director Julia Ducournau’s second feature, which recently won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is already notorious for its main character’s, um, affinity for automobiles. But there is way more to “Titane” than that. It’s a horror film, sure, one that involves pregnancy and self-mutilation […]