Year: 2021 Runtime: 98 minutes Director: Masaaki Yuasa Writer: Akiko Nogi Cast: Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama, Tasuku Emoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Yutaka Matsushige By Harris Dang Set in 14th Century Japan, “Inu-Oh” (2021) tells the story of the titular character, a talented dancer who was born with physical features that leaves him ostracized from the community. He meets Tomona, a blind musician who regales the community by … Continue reading Fantasia Film Review: Inu-Oh
By Harris Dang It is the year 2022 and Fantasia Film Festival is back in a big way. After the tribulations of the COVID pandemic, the festival is back in high gear as it goes back to full in-person attendance. And with a jam-packed program of genre goodness to boot! Here are a few select films in the slate that we are incredibly excited for! … Continue reading Anticipated Films to see at Fantasia 2022!
Runtime: 107 minutes Director: David Cronenberg Writer: David Cronenberg Actors: Lea Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, Don McKellar, Welket Bungue By Joan Amenn David Cronenberg is back, which is either a cause to celebrate or cringe depending on your sensitivity to his special brand of horror. If “Hannibal” (2013-2015) or “Penny Dreadful” (2014-2016) were not your cup of arsenic, this film will certainly … Continue reading Review: Crimes of the Future
Year: 2009 Runtime: 75 minutes Director: Tomm Moore Writers: Tomm Moore, Fabrice Ziolkowski Actors: Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally, Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Liam Hourican, Paul Tylak, Paul Young By Joan Amenn Anyone who has taken drawing lessons knows that the first thing to master is basic shapes, like circles and triangles. “The Secret of Kells” (2009) is animated with that in mind as it tells … Continue reading Magical May Review: The Secret of Kells
“Young Plato” is a lovely story of how much a child can be impacted by someone in their lives who guides them with kindness and reason. Continue reading SIFF Review: Young Plato
Like any Italian woman, she is concerned about what he is eating in a foreign country that thinks that pizza should taste like ketchup on cardboard. Continue reading SIFF 2022 Review: Lonely Voices (Le Voci Sole)
Year: 2022 Runtime: 65 minutes Director: Norbert Pfaffenbichler Writer: Norbert Pfaffenbichler Cast: Stefan Erber, David Ionescu By Joan Amenn This film is a strange amalgamation of dystopian horror, Grand Guignol and a homage to Charlie Chaplin. If experimental film is your thing, you may find “2551.01” (2022) a fascinatingly phantasmagoric ride. If not, the film may just frustrate with its hallucinatory images and lack of … Continue reading SIFF 2022 Review: 2551.01
This is a film about war which is indiscriminate in what it destroys and no one bears the terrible burden of that destruction more than the women of the world. Continue reading SIFF 2022 Review: Klondike
Even for their comparable centrality to daily life, hands are rarely granted the same artistic fascination as eyes in terms of metaphorical and poetic consideration. Proverbs and clichés alike lean on ideas of sight. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Literature and cinema follow the same path, whether it’s horror stories fixating on visions and illusions or the very idea of voyeurism as a touchpoint for artists from Alfred Hitchcock to Gillian Flynn. Sight dominates sensory storytelling, yet it is eschewed in favor of the tactile significance of hands and touches in “I Lost My Body” (2019). Jérémy Clapin’s film offers the parallel narratives of Naoufel (Hakim Faris) as he yearns for Gabrielle (Victoire du Bois), and Naoufel’s hand which embarks on a perilous journey to reunite with its body. Continue reading I Lost My Body Review: Animated April
Charlotte Salomon can now finally be remembered for her uniquely creative voice that remains defiant Continue reading Animated April Review: Charlotte
In Their Own League 