Supporting Indie Film
Written and directed by Ángeles Cruz, Chabela, Maria and Toña, live in a Mixtecan town, where they have to confront their own sexuality. Starring: Sonia Couoh, Myriam Bravo, Aida López, Eileen Yañez and Noé Hernánde.
Continue reading “Review: Nudo Mixteco”
Directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight, during her Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, Diana decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles. Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Nielen, Freddie Spry, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris, Stella Gonet, Richard Sammel, Laura Benson and Sally Hawkins.
Continue reading “Review: Spencer”
Directed by Craig Roberts and written by Simon Farnaby, the story of golfer Maurice Flitcroft whose performance at the 1976 British Open Golf Championship made him a legend. Starring: Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Mark Lewis Jones, Nigel Betts, Johann Myers, Jake Davies, Jonah Lees and Christian Lees.
Continue reading “Review: The Phantom of the Open”
Written and directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, an unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets. Starring: Kotone Furukawa, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori, Fusako Urabe, Aoba Kawai, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri and Shouma Kai.
Continue reading “Review: Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy”
Written and directed by Natalie Morales, co-written by Mark Duplass, the only two stars of the film, a Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.
Continue reading “Review: Language Lessons”
Written and directed by Michael Pearce, co-written by Joe Barton, two brothers embark on a journey with their father, who is trying to protect them from an alien threat. Starring: Riz Ahmed, Lucian-River Chauhan, Aditya Geddada, Octavia Spencer, Rory Cochrane, Janina Gavankar and Misha Collins.
Continue reading “Review: Encounter”
Written and directed by Sebastian Meise, co-written by Thomas Reider, in post-war Germany, Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. Starring: Franz Rogowski, Georg Friedrich, Anton von Lucke and Thomas Prenn.
Continue reading “Review: Great Freedom”
Written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, two American filmmakers retreat to Fårö island for the summer and hope to find inspiration where Bergman shot his most celebrated films. As the days pass by, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur. Starring: Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie and Hampus Nordenson.
Continue reading “Review: Bergman Island”
Written and directed by Maung Sun, co-written by Ma Aeint, a young film director, has to overcome tough realities in order to direct his debut film. Starring: Okkar Dat Khe and Ko Thu.
Money Has Four Legs sets a charmingly everyday atmosphere which is consistent throughout, its style is humble and earnest. This film’s sense of humour is clear right from the opening, it starts out on a casually funny, awkward and realistic note. It’s used spontaneously and naturally as to not clash with the film’s sincere sadness. It pits artistry against poverty, determination versus realistic expectations and experience.
Maung Sun’s directorial style matches perfectly with the tone of the story, it’s down to earth, committed to showing the unglamorous side of filmmaking. The colour palette is somewhat muted, the movement and shot choices have a simple but strong quality. Its relatability is compelling, and refraining from moving into something stylised was a clever choice.
It moves at a fairly slow pace which becomes more noticeable as time goes on. When its story gets more complicated and dangerous, the tone doesn’t at all change, missing out on the opportunity to adapt and intensify. It does make use of a great score which adds a dose of tension but it’s sadly still fairly minimal. It also loses its way in its final act, making a few too coincidental choices to retain its otherwise strong realism.
Okkar Dat Khe brings a very familiar director character, obsessed with his artistic integrity and with a swollen ego but still manages to hold a certain charm. His over confidence surprisingly doesn’t make him any less easy to watch as he gets little moments to show he has kind qualities and a larger personality. Ko Thu plays the classic bumbling sidekick, he doesn’t take anything seriously and drinks too much, so you know he’s bound to add some trouble into the mix. It’s again a similar character as what we’ve seen before but Thu adds his own spin.
Money Has Four Legs is a humble, honest and realistic portrayal of filmmaking. It has a natural comedy and a quirky charm. The story starts to slip in its latter moments, making too easy choices and missing out on capitalising on the intensity it calls out for. Maung Sun has created a piece of extremely consistent filmmaking but sadly that lack of variety starts to gradually let the film down. It misses out on a more lasting impression, even if it does have a good point to make about the nature of filmmaking, on a shoestring budget, under invasive producers, while trying to provide for your family.
Written and directed by Ferit Karahan, co-written by Gülistan Acet, Yusuf and his best friend Memo are pupils at a boarding school for Kurdish boys, secluded in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia. When Memo falls mysteriously ill, Yusuf is forced to struggle through the bureaucratic obstacles put up by the school’s repressive authorities to try to help his friend. Starring: Samet Yildiz, Ekin Koç, Mahir Ipek, Melih Selcuk, Cansu Firinci, Nurullah Alaca, Mert Hazir and Mustafa Halli.
Continue reading “Review: Brother’s Keeper”
Written and directed by Laura Samani, co-written by Elisa Dondi and Marco Borromei, set in Italy in 1900, Agata is a young woman who embarks herself on a desperate journey to reach a mysterious sanctuary to save her daughter’s soul from the eternal damnation of Limbo. Starring: Celeste Cescutti and Ondina Quadri.
Continue reading “Review: Small Body”
Film Carnage 