Directed by Christian Petzold Transit exists outside of time, at least any sort of familiar sense of time. It's Casablanca set in the modern day, but that blend of past and present, without getting into the more symbolic elements, makes our own social history feel so immediate. A period piece film having to do with Nazi-occupied France would … Continue reading Transit (2018)
identity
River of Grass (1994)
Directed by Kelly Reichardt In River of Grass an existentially bored housewife searches for an identity. The story concerns her, a similarly lonely loose cannon and a lost gun. She is Cozy, he is Lee (Larry Fessenden), and the gun belongs to her detective father. That they are all so neatly connected perhaps stretches plausibility, but … Continue reading River of Grass (1994)
We Are Columbine (2018)
Directed by Laura Farber We Are Columbine never once mentions the names of the perpetrators of the event which so loaded the term "Columbine." The documentary, directed by one of the survivors, instead focuses on the community and several of the students, all freshmen at the time, who were there during the shooting on April … Continue reading We Are Columbine (2018)
Total Recall (1990)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven's movies have a knack for raising grand, philosophical questions about the world which he rushes through in order to tell a more entertaining, even silly story. It's in that rush to move past the horrifying implications of these dystopian worlds, as if they don't deserve a second thought, that … Continue reading Total Recall (1990)
The Rider (2017)
Directed by Chloé Zhao The Rider tells a vaguely fictional story, using nonprofessional actors to play a version of themselves and pulling from stories in their own lives. The story follows Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau), a young cowboy who has just suffered a traumatic head injury from bronc riding. His journey will be one of self-reflection … Continue reading The Rider (2017)
Ida (2013)
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski There is a lot of time to roam in Ida but not much space to do it. The film (only 80 minutes in length) takes its time telling a story someone else might tell in half the time. Silences linger, characters listen, and plenty of time is cut out, allowing us to … Continue reading Ida (2013)
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