Tribeca 2023: Cinematic Cerebrations

By Sean Boelman

The Tribeca Film Festival returned in 2023 with an in-person edition offering some of their biggest premieres and films since the pandemic, followed by a (still ongoing) digital edition featuring some highlights from the lineup.

We at disappointment media were able to see more than 50 films at this year’s festival — in-person and virtually — and here are some brief thoughts on some of the films that played as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

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The Adults

Dustin Guy Defa’s The Adults feels like the type of movie that Noah Baumbach would have made early in his career. It’s awkward yet endearing and often quite hilarious. The characters are frequently frustrating and make a lot of decisions that will be frustrating to audiences, but their charm lies in their flaws. The cast is also excellent, led by a trio of strong performances by Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, and Sophia Lillis. If you don’t mind a bit of an uncomfortable laugh, The Adults is definitely the movie for you.

Bad Things

If you’ve ever heard the adage “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” you will immediately feel like Stewart Thorndike’s psychological horror film Bad Things is *extremely* flattering to Stanley Kubrick. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that this Shining homage owes so much to the auteur, as Thorndike did work as an actor on Eyes Wide Shut. Although the story is unlikely to be very impressive because it is hardly original, the cast is excellent — led by Gayle Rankin and Hari Nef — and the atmosphere is effectively unsettling (probably because it so overtly rips off some of the iconic imagery from the original film).

Blood for Dust

Rod Blackhurst’s Blood for Dust has a star-studded cast and a crime drama plot that should at least be entertaining. Unfortunately, despite the fact that there is so much happening in the plot, the film is inexplicably dull. Scoot McNairy, Kit Harrington, Josh Lucas, Stephen Dorff, Ethan Suplee, and more are actively trying to make the most out of this script, but they can’t get past the dour, derivative nature of the script.

Chasing Chasing Amy

Sav Rodgers’s documentary Chasing Chasing Amy is without a doubt one of the most personal and intimate films that played at this year’s Tribeca, and it ends up being thoroughly touching as a result. In the film, Rodgers explores the legacy of Kevin Smith’s film Chasing Amy, its unorthodox place in queer film canon, and how it inspired him on his journey of coming out as trans. The parts of the film about Rodgers’s personal story are fantastic, but what is even more impressive is how he manages to legitimately engage with the complexities of Smith’s film, asking some thought-provoking questions about what it means to appreciate flawed and problematic art.

Elemental

Pixar’s Elemental is as visually stunning as usual for the Disney offshoot, but it largely lacks creativity in its writing. The premise, following two star-crossed lovers from families of different elements, is relatively standard when it comes to the studio’s storylines. Although the immigration allegory lends itself to some expectedly tear-jerking moments that are occasionally effective, it also creates some racial stereotypes that feel frustrating in a film that is meant to be preaching acceptance. It’s worth seeing for the visuals — especially if you can catch it in 3D — but it’s clearly one of Pixar’s worst outings.

Final Cut

After canceling its premiere at Sundance 2022 because of the events online-only pivot, Final Cut premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and has been playing the festival circuit, now making a stop at Tribeca before its theatrical release next month. Michel Hazanavicius’s remake of the Japanese cult classic One Cut of the Dead is surprisingly faithful to the original, meaning it will lose much of its luster to fans. Still, for those who have not seen the extraordinary original, this is pretty well-made and will be mostly entertaining.

The Future

Director Noam Kaplan’s film The Future has a premise that shows a ton of promise, but simply isn’t that interesting in execution. Kaplan clearly has a lot on his mind, but instead of focusing on one issue or theme and exploring it in depth, he casts a wide net, not saying anything of substance about any of them. Samar Qupty and Raymond Amsalem both give strong performances in their leading roles, but they are not enough to keep the viewer’s attention on a frustratingly dull film.

Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds

Glen Milner’s documentary Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds clocks in with a runtime of under one hour, which further cements the fact that it largely feels like a bonus feature more than a full-fledged feature documentary. However, what this film about the legendary Japanese video game creator does succeed in is helping the audience understand the video game medium not just as a technical feat, but also a work of art and storytelling. With a particular focus on Kojima’s award-winning sci-fi epic Death Stranding, this documentary is sure to be of interest to Kojima’s fans.

The Last Night of Amore

Andrea Di Stefano’s The Last Night of Amore is a somewhat straightforward procedural drama set in the criminal underworld of Italy, but it’s entertaining enough, largely thanks to a great leading performance by Pierfrancesco Favino. The film leans very heavily into melodrama, and some of its beats are somewhat convoluted despite the story feeling generic. Still, Favino’s screen presence and strong technical aspects will keep viewers engaged.

Let the Canary Sing

Cyndi Lauper is an amazing musician, and the new documentary Let the Canary Sing hopes to have audiences walking away with a deeper appreciation of the singer beyond her most famous hits. Everyone knows her catchy songs like “Time After Time,” “True Colors,” and of course “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” but filmmaker Alison Ellwood does an amazing job of diving into Lauper’s personal life and the larger cultural and social impact that she and her work have had.

The Listener

Tessa Thompson is an extraordinary actress, and her lead performance in The Listener is worthy of note. And while the premise — the operator of a call-in emotional support line — is really interesting, the film bites off a lot more than it can chew. In trying to discuss nearly all of the important issues we face today, from mental health to the homelessness crisis and toxic masculinity, the film ends up feeling extremely cringe-worthy. Add in direction from Steve Buscemi that’s disappointingly uninformed — with blocking and set dressing choices that feel meaningless and random — and you have a film that’s simply not very good.

One Night With Adela

Hugo Ruíz’s revenge thriller One Night With Adela is the latest in a line of gimmicky “one-take” thrillers whose central conceit is that they are shot in a single, unbroken take. The film follows a woman who goes on a violent rampage against those who have wronged her, and while there are certainly some effectively messed up moments throughout, the film simply does not have the narrative momentum that a real-time thriller like this needs to succeed. Lead actress Laura Galán (last year’s Sundance hit Piggy) gives another brilliant performance here, but isn’t enough to save a film that is lacking in depth.

Perpetrator

Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is not only one of the worst films to play the festival circuit this year, but one of the worst films of the year in general. The core coming-of-age arc is generic, and buried below layer upon layer of nearly incomprehensible genre bullshit. As for the direction of the film, it’s wildly uneven. There are some undeniably striking images, but other scenes are laughably cheap-looking. Even usually campy actors like Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Lowell are unable to salvage this terrible genre picture. It’s clear that this was meant to be a scrappy B-movie throwback, but the result is nearly unwatchable.

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is a pretty standard biographical documentary, but its subject is such an extraordinary figure in Hollywood and LGBTQIA+ history that the film still manages to be pretty fascinating. When it comes to the recollection of Hudson’s career and life, little is said that won’t be known by cinephiles. However, the film’s discussion of Hudson’s AIDS diagnosis and how he was a pivotal figure in the movement for AIDS awareness and research makes this a welcome bit of representation for Pride Month.

The Space Race

Lisa Cortes and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza’s documentary The Space Race is an inspiring look at the first group of Black astronauts who blazed a path forward in space exploration. Although the core story of the film is fascinating, and it features plenty of excellent archive footage, the film’s storytelling is somewhat unfocused. Although the film’s attempts to provide context to its extraordinary subjects’ contributions is noble, it often starts to feel like the film is going off on tangents.

A Strange Path

The Brazilian film A Strange Path won the Jury Prize in the International Narrative Competition at this year’s festival, and like the narrative winner Cypher, it seems like this award was more for the film’s formalism than its narrative. Aesthetically, Guto Parente’s film is amazing, with some fabulous cinematography by Linga Acácio. However, the film’s narrative following an experimental filmmaker’s relationship with his father is a bit too anemic to resonate as deeply as it should.

This Is Not Financial Advice

Zach Ingrasachi and Chris Temple’s This Is Not Financial Advice stands out among documentaries about cryptocurrency because it takes an unusually critical approach towards the technology that has rocked the financial market. In showing the stories of people who lost their life’s savings in the crypto market, as well as inexperienced financial “gurus” who led others to do the same, Ingrasachi and Temple have created an important cautionary tale about not falling into traps that seem too good to be true. The presentation is standard, and the film gets its point across rather quickly, but that doesn’t make its story any less essential.

Transition

Jordan Byron and Monica Villamizar’s documentary Transition is the type of film where it’s a miracle that it even exists. The film follows Byron, a trans Australian journalist who is reporting on the actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan as he attempts to receive gender-affirming surgery in the Middle East. Given the oppression that the trans community faces even in free and developed countries right now, Byron’s story needs to be heard more urgently than ever.

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The 2023 Tribeca Festival ran June 7-18 in NYC and June 19 through July 2 online.