Review: “The Room Next Door”

A red door, whose eventual closure will mark a turning point in the lives and relationship between Martha (Tilda Swinton) and Ingrid (Julianne Moore), is just one of many simple yet strong visual markers placed throughout director Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door. Martha is dying of cancer and— unwilling to spend the rest of […]

Review: “Memoir of a Snail”

If there’s one person who has experience with just about every seemingly good thing that life throws at you blowing up in your face, it’s me. So maybe that’s why I became so strongly wrapped up in the story of Memoir of a Snail, even as its tugging of its protagonist from terrible life event […]

SLIFF Review: “La Chimera”

The most recognizable definition of a chimera comes from Greek mythology, in reference to a female creature made up of several different animals: a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. But the word can alternately be used as a noun to refer to something one hopes for, but is impossible to ever […]

SLIFF Review: “The Holdovers”

In a lengthy pre-film discussion and post-film Q&A with director Alexander Payne at a screening of his new film The Holdovers at the St. Louis International Film Festival, several films and filmmakers came up in reference to his work, from Billy Wilder to Leo McCarey’s devastating 1937 drama about aging, Make Way for Tomorrow. But […]

SLIFF Review: “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt”

Hands. That’s the first thing you notice about Raven Jackson’s debut feature film All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt: the close-up of Mack’s hands as she runs them through the river water, sifting through the dirt with her fingers, as her father Isaiah (Chris Chalk) teaches her how to fish, patiently telling her to go […]

SLIFF 2022 First Time Female Filmmakers Roundup

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the 31st annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, which was held in person from November 3-13 in venues across the St. Louis area as well as online. Among the films I got to watch in person were Nikyatu Jusu’s stunning debut feature “Nanny” […]

SLIFF Reviews: Documentary Features

Today I’m sharing the second half of my recap of the St. Louis International Film Festival, this time concentrating on three documentary features: “Flee,” “Alien on Stage,” and “Citizen Ashe.” You can find my reviews of those movies below, and can read my reviews of some of the narrative features that played at SLIFF here. […]

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: “C’mon C’mon”

A man reflecting on the life of his recently deceased father as he tries to pull his own life together. The story of a teenage boy and the group of women, including his free-spirited single mother, who raised him. Writer/director Mike Mills’ most recent feature films, 2010’s “Beginners” and 2016’s “20th Century Women,” are filled […]

SLIFF Review: “MLK/FBI”

It’s easy to build up figures in our minds—in fact, we frequently revel in the opportunity to find historical figures with little to no flaws to give us someone to look up to. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. is one such figure, seemingly larger than life despite the fact that he died only […]