CIFF 2023: Paradise is Burning
Stories of children fending for themselves have been around for quite some time in various forms. They are often coming-of-age tales of teens who are forced to grow up fast in dire or extreme situations. Whether they are stranded on a deserted island (Lord of the Flies), figuring out life in a post-apocalyptic landscape (How I Live Now), or a group of outsiders surviving on their own (ahem, The Outsiders), these stories are often adapted to film as well. “Paradise is Burning”, from Swedish filmmaker Mika Gustafson, brings to mind such stories, yet she has crafted an original story (along with actor Alexander Öhrstrand) that revolves around three young sisters who must figure out life after their mother has left them. Read more…
CIFF 2023: Stamped from the Beginning
Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams has become quite prolific over the years. Just this year saw the release of the HBO MAX documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer” he directed and Hulu’s “The 1619 Project”, a limited series he served as executive producer on as well as directed two episodes, which connected the centrality of slavery in history with an unflinching account of brutal racism that endures in so many aspects of American life today. That feels like a precursor to his next documentary for Netflix, “Stamped from the Beginning”. The the engaging and truthful film premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival and makes a stop at the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) this moth, before it drops on the streaming platform next month. Read more…
CIFF 2023: Late Night with the Devil
It wouldn’t be the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) without their “After Dark” programming. Knowing full well that there’s an audience for films that would qualify within the horror genre, those involved in programming are smart to include them. With typically dark or disturbing content, such films have usually been programmed after 9pm, offering their target audience with something more in line with such proclivities. That doesn’t mean the films that compose this category are always good. Some years I’ve found myself wondering how a “After Dark” selections were chosen for festival programming. Sometimes, you’ll find a unique twist on a horror subgenre, which is the case with “Late Night with the Devil”, a clever update on demon possession with a very specific setting. Read more…
CIFF 2023: Joram
Maybe it’s because I’m a Chicagoan, but while watching the Hindi survival thriller “Joram” the Harrison Ford line, “I didn’t kill my wife!” from 1993’s “The Fugitive” came to mind. Both films are thrillers and both have a central thread that finds a man on the run after being wrongfully accused of killing his wife. In both movies, the protagonist is doggedly pursued by someone in a position of authority, wherein each character gets almost the same amount of screen time. There is also an alarming truth that is discovered within each movie as the plot progresses. That being said, there’s a lot more layers to uncover in “Joram”, not to mention an increased amount of peril considering the protagonist on the run is holding on to his infant daughter and trying to keep her safe and alive as well. Read more…
CIFF 2023: Silver Dollar Road
written by: Raoul Peck
produced by: Raoul Peck, Blair Foster, Rémi Grellety & Hebert Peck
directed by: Raoul Peck
rated: not rated
runtime: 100 min.
U.S. release date: October 13, 2023 (limited) & October 20, 2023 (Prime Video)
It doesn’t take long to get to the heart of the subject of “Silver Dollar Road” and that’s when you realize why Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro”) was compelled to tell this frustrating true story. This story of injustice is a story that needs to be told. It’s more than just the story of a decades-old legal battle for land, but also a damning look (or reminder) at how Black property owners have been treated in the Jim Crow South since emancipation. It’s a documentary that’s different from the approach Peck has taken in the past, incorporating an effective albeit conventional approach with a compelling verité style. Read more…
CIFF 2023 preview
The 59th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) began tonight at the historic Music Box theatre tonight. It’s one of many locations that will host the festival from October 11th to the 22nd, along AMC NEWCITY 14, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago History Museum, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as some special pop-up screenings at the Hamilton Park Cultural Center in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and Harrison Park in Pilsen. The locations alone separate this year’s festival from previous years, where it was predominately held at AMC River East. Read more…
BLUE JEAN (2023) review
written by: Georgia Oakley
produced by: Hélène Sifre
directed by: Georgia Oakley
rated: not rated
runtime: 97 min.
U.S. release date: June 9, 2023 (limited)
In order for us to get an understanding of who someone is, we must spend time with them and learn their story. Their life is their story. What part of their life they want to show us is up to them or at least it should be. The titular character in writer/director Georgia Oakley’s stunning feature-length debut, “Blue Jean”, navigates an internal struggle regarding who she truly is. She knows full well that she will be considering an outsider by all who know her, jeopardizing the separation she has constructed over the years between her public and private life. Read more…
FREMONT (2023) review
written by: Carolina Cavalli and Babak Jalali
produced by: Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin & Laura Wagner
directed by: Babak Jalali
rated: not rated
runtime: 92 min.
U.S. release date: January 20, 2023 (Sundance) & August 25, 2023 (limited)
Just north of San Jose, California, you will find the town of Fremont (pronounced Free-mont), located on the east side of San Francisco’s bay area. It’s the setting for “Fremont”, the latest film from Iranian-British director Babak Jalai, a black-and-white dramedy with a quirky deadpan delivery, revolving around the monotonous and lonely life of an Afghan refugee. Themes of community and connection are explored throughout the film in a very naturalistic manner with subtleties of dry humor that keep viewers curious and engaged. The people that inhabit “Fremont” feel real enough to the extent that the film almost comes across as a documentary, albeit a humorous take on a documentary. Read more…
SCRAPPER (2023) review
written by: Charlotte Regan
produced by: Theo Barrowclough
directed by: Charlotte Regan
rated: not rated
runtime: 84 min.
U.S. release date: January 23, 2023 (Sundance) and August 25, 2023 (limited)
Movies that revolve around father-daughter relationships have been around for decades. In fact, there’s so many, they could have their own genre. It could be a coming-of-age story, wherein the child will learn some life lessons or maybe certain life situations will require an unexpected role reversal, with the daughter needing to take care of the father. There are stories that can be solid, functional relationships between father and daughter or estranged relationships, that have all been either “based on a true story” or come from a place of semi-autobiographical origins. In her directorial debut, “Scrapper”, writer/director Charlotte Regan touches on another father-daughter relationship we see every now and then on screen, that of a daughter introduced to the father she’s never met. Read more…
THE MONKEY KING (2023) review
written by: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman and Rita Hsiao
produced by: Peilin Chou
directed by: Anthony Stacchi
rated: PG (for action/violence and brief thematic material)
runtime: 96 min.
U.S. release date: August 18, 2023 (Netflix)
Based on the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West, the computer-animated feature “The Monkey King” offers an update to a tale that will be familiar to a select few, but serve as a gateway into such folklore for most. Considering the name of that novel doesn’t really come into play until the very end, the frenetic and funny iteration that director Anthony Stacchi (“The Boxtrolls” and “Open Season”) is clearly designed to be an introductory story for viewers. That’s totally fine if you know next to nothing about the legend, but the story doesn’t stray too far from typical origin tropes that you’d find from the fantasy genre, leaving very little originality to take in. It feels like what is presented is set-up for future adventures, that seems unlikely to happen. Read more…
