NYFF 2021: PARALLEL MOTHERS, EL GRAN MOVIMIENTO, and JUST A MOVEMENT
Pedro Almodóvar and more from NYFF 2021!
Read MorePedro Almodóvar and more from NYFF 2021!
Read MoreTwo new films and the restoration of an underseen classic from this year’s NYFF>
Read Moreby Ryan Smillie, Staff Writer
Four reviews from this year’s New York Film Festival.
by Ryan Smillie, Staff Writer
I’ve been excited about seeing many of them for weeks, if not months, but there are a few that I’m particularly looking forward to:
Directed by Heidi Ewing
Written by Heidi Ewing and Alan Page Arriaga
Starring Armando Espitia, Christian Vazquez and Michelle Rodríguez
Running time: 1 hour and 51 minutes
MPAA rating: R for language and brief nudity
by Jaime Davis, The Fixer
Two men meet unexpectedly one night in Puebla, Mexico. Tucked away in a hidden gay club, they fall ever so delicately, and as it is in true rom-com fashion, It’s Complicated. Yet, I Carry You With Me isn’t a rom-com, nor is it even a traditional film. It exists in a world all its own.
Read MoreDirected by Steve McQueen
Written by Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland
Starring John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Kedar Williams-Stirling, and Antonia Thomas
by Jaime Davis, The Fixer
“The system rigged, it’s rotten.” - Mangrove
“We might’ve won the battle, Frank, but we still have the war.” - Mangrove
”But I’ve got no time, to live this lie. No, I’ve got no time to play your silly games.” - Lovers Rock
”Big change - that is a slow turning wheel.” - Red, White and Blue
I adore Steve McQueen for the beautiful manner in which he tackles issues of race and injustice head on - 12 Years a Slave, Hunger, and Widows all approach slavery, political justice, and systemic racism in widely unique ways. McQueen does things in his movies that film students will be studying in 10 or 20 years, if they’re not already. The driving tracking shot in Widows? The scene in Hunger where the camera doesn’t move for 17 whole minutes? Yeah, he did that. And there are similar moments of brilliance in his forthcoming Small Axe series, coming to Amazon in the US later this fall. Three of the five episodes, Mangrove, Lovers Rock, and Red, White and Blue recently premiered at the New York Film Festival - I use “episodes” lightly because two of these three are feature length. This time around, McQueen brings us into the heart of the profound joys and deep struggles of West Indian Londoners in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, deftly weaving critical moments in the fight against institutional racism with romance, strength of community, and good times. With everything happening in the US right now, the continuing fight for racial equality for BIPOC alongside a fight for the very democracy our country was founded on, Small Axe feels like just what we need right now - something else provoking us to sit up, take notice, and fight. It’s clear not much has changed in the past fifty years, in the US and abroad.
Read MoreWritten and directed by Song Fang
Starring Qi Xi
Running time: 1 hour and 33 minutes
MPAA rating: unrated
by Jaime Davis, The Fixer
Loss comes in many different forms, wearing many different faces. We all handle loss, specifically break-ups, in very different ways. Me? I keep Pride & Prejudice (2005 film), Pride and Prejudice (1995 BBC TV adaptation), and Sense and Sensibility (1995 film) on repeat while drinking copious amounts of Sleepytime tea with honey and stuffing myself full of home-baked chocolate chip cookies. It’s all about comfort for me when I’m processing. For Lin Tong, who we follow around in The Calming post-break-up from her long-term partner, processing is a little quieter, way less British, with nary a freshly baked treat in sight.
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