Review by Sean Boelman
Audiences may not recognize the name of documentarian Louie Schwartzberg, but he has directed some of the most influential nature documentaries of the past two decades — including the 2016 version of the Disney ride video Soarin’ Around the World. His newest film, Gratitude Revealed, takes a more philosophical angle but is no less appealing to the eye.
Like the highly-acclaimed Fantastic Fungi, the biggest strength of Schwartzberg’s newest movie is its beautiful nature cinematography. Although this film is much more scattershot with what it depicts — a majority of the imagery being loosely-connected shots of people living in harmony with nature — it is a joy to look at nonetheless. Indeed, this is the type of movie that audiences will likely enjoy the most if they put it on after a long day at work and simply want to unwind with something relaxing and radiating positivity. It’s not a film that requires much complex thought, encouraging quiet introspection rather than challenging the viewer’s entire way of being. There is no denying that Schwartzberg’s message of finding joy and importance in the little things of life is a positive one that audiences need to hear, but did there really need to be an eighty-minute documentary about it? Schwartzberg is using the opportunity of the movie’s release to ignite what he calls “World Gratitude Day,” and in a way, the film almost feels more like a promotional tool for that than a documentary in its own right.
For interviews, Schwartzberg consults people from all walks of life, from famous people like Norman Lear to everyday people who simply excel at what they do. For the former, Schwartzberg likely called in a few favors with friends and asked them to appear in a movie supporting this wholly agreeable message.
At a certain point, the audience will begin to question whether the information that the interviewees are spouting is true wisdom, or if it is just them rambling. Many of the subjects make decent points and interesting arguments, but others speak in vaguely philosophical rhetoric that doesn’t mean much of anything when it is put under scrutiny. Schwartzberg discusses in the opening moments of the film how his first experiences with the idea of gratitude were thanks to his family’s experience as Holocaust survivors. It’s clear that he embarked on the journey of making this movie in the search of some greater form of enlightenment — and it seems as if the process was certainly very cathartic for him. However, for most viewers who will end up watching Gratitude Revealed, it is hardly a spiritual experience. Schwartzberg once again delivers what is some of the most gorgeous cinematography possible in nonfiction filmmaking, but in terms of content, the film is far less profound than Schwartzberg thinks it is. Gratitude Revealed hits theaters on September 16. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Cole Groth The storming of Area 51 was one of the more surreal events of 2019. Based on a joke, millions of people signed up to storm a military base in Nevada known for its large number of UFO sitings. For a few weeks in September of that year, it became an internet phenomenon, but when it finally came time to meet up, those millions of people turned into a few hundred. This disappointing turn of events makes up the inspiration for Dreamland: A Storming Area 51 Story, a documentary that takes itself about as seriously as the event itself. Directed, written by, and starring comedian Brian Moreno, this film follows Moreno and a goofy crew as they attempt to document the admittedly disappointing event. From the get-go, it's hard to tell if the documentary is supposed to be funny, if it's supposed to be a parody, or if it's just bad. This question remained in my brain throughout the movie and wasn't clarified by the end. It at first seems like Moreno is just inserting his style of humor into the actual events he's documenting, but there are moments later when it seems like a complete mockumentary. Many crew members openly talk trash about the filming process going wrong, which is darkly hilarious but tonally confusing. There needed to be a more smooth bland of the mockumentary style of filmmaking and the actual documentary filmmaking because it covers a real-life event. Even if the audience can accept that it's a mockumentary, it's confusing when Moreno decides to dedicate nearly thirty minutes of the 85-minute runtime to interviewing some of the zany personalities surrounding the Storm Area 51 event. Instead of evenly working this throughout, he slaps it all in toward the ending, which seems lazy. Even if these interviews seem poorly placed, they are both funny and interesting enough to be consistently entertaining. Watching these wild-looking people provide their best theories on what extraterrestrial life might look like is fascinating, but even more so when their theories seem somewhat sane. Moreno didn't find these people to mock them for their ideas; instead, he presented them respectfully, which ended up seeming like a very kind gesture when most other filmmakers would take their time to paint them in a negative light. However, these segments are missing some very important graphics. News footage is scattered throughout the film, but it would've been nicer if there were personalized graphics for the theories that these people were presenting rather than segments from the Joe Rogan Experience. The graphics eventually chosen for the film boil it down into a mish-mash of interesting ideas and poor execution that's ultimately too uneven to be fully enjoyable. It feels like a long YouTube documentary that's fairly interesting but stretched out to be full-length. If more time were taken in the editing room to keep only the best moments, it would've been a really solid 45-minute documentary.
One of the film's best moments comes toward the end when Moreno decides to have a good time at the festivals that ended up taking place near Area 51. Instead of keeping his rather obnoxious on-screen personality, he becomes a much more down-to-earth leading man and embraces the actual moment he's celebrating. He's an admirable choice to direct and lead this film because it actually seems like he learned something himself by the end. Dreamland struggles in many filmmaking aspects, but with a film about real-life subjects, it certainly has enough personality to keep it going to the finish line. Don't expect anything riveting, but if you're a fan of weird moments in modern history, this documentary satisfies. Dreamland: A Storming Area 51 Story beams into theaters, video on demand, and digital on September 13. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
People may recognize Abigail Disney as the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, older brother of Walt and the business mind behind the Walt Disney Company. However, she is also a documentary filmmaker in her own right, and her newest film, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, points her camera back at her family’s empire.
In the movie, Abigail Disney uses an exploration of her grandfather’s own company, the Walt Disney Company, to expose how the American economy is unfair to lower-class workers, making the American Dream a myth. However, rather than proposing legitimate solutions, Disney just points fingers at who is to blame for the issue. Abigail Disney’s role in the film is questionable in and of itself. Her ability to make this movie is largely tied to nepotism and the fact that she lived her life in privilege as an heiress to the Disney empire. Although she isn’t exactly in the inner circle of the Walt Disney Company, her role is still largely that of a savior. It has slightly more emotional authenticity than an Undercover Boss episode, but not by much. The film does make some decent points, but many of them are things that people already know. Audiences will already know that the executives of the Walt Disney Company are paid disproportionately more than the average Disneyland employee and that the wages earned by entry-level employees are hardly livable, but the movie fails to put this into context of the larger wage gap issue plaguing the American economy.
Instead, the film attempts to appeal to the audience’s emotions by presenting case studies of Disneyland employees who have been affected directly by the wage inequalities of the Walt Disney Company. However, what the movie fails to acknowledge is that the number of people who are working in these low-paying positions as their long-term career is actually rather small.
Indeed, a majority of people working at these theme parks tend to be pursuing something else — whether it be moving up in the company, a degree in hospitality or a related field, or have retired and are doing this job for supplemental income or to fill their time. Although the wage gap certainly is frustrating, and people should be able to make a livable wage, there are people for whom this structure is exactly what they need. The format of the documentary is pretty straightforward. There are some sequences which incorporate animation or archive materials in intriguing ways, but for the most part, it’s mostly a bunch of interviews that Disney conducts. Worse yet, it’s pretty obvious that Disney is asking loaded questions to guide the conversation in the way she hopes it will go. The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales explores an issue that is undeniably important, but Abigail Disney’s approach is questionable to the point of defeating its point. It’s clearly meant to start a conversation around the topic, but it hardly adds anything new to the conversation. The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales hits theaters on September 16. Rating: 2.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Biopics are a dime a dozen, but every once in a while, a filmmaker comes along that takes the bones of the biopic genre and spins them on their head, creating something wholly idiosyncratic. That is exactly what Agnieszka Smoczynska does with her movie The Silent Twins, a bizarre crime drama elevated by its unique stylistic flair.
The film tells the story of two identical twins who refuse to communicate with anyone other than themselves, eventually leading them into a life of crime. The movie is based on a book by Marjorie Wallace telling the true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, but it takes a very abstract and bizarre approach to this story. The main strength of this film is the many ambitious stylistic choices made by Smoczynska. Although they don’t always pay off within the greater context of the story, this is not a movie that can be faulted for being by-the-book. Several sequences of the film are done in stop-motion animation, lending it a sense of childlike fantasy and wonder that plays perfectly against the characters’ arcs. Other sequences spontaneously become dance numbers with an almost lyrical quality to them. It’s gorgeous and mesmerizing, even if these slightly abstract sequences don’t always serve the themes as well as the filmmakers clearly hoped they would. Still, the vibes are great, largely thanks to the soundtrack full of riffs on familiar tunes.
The highly unorthodox character development could end up feeling off-putting to some, but it’s such a fascinating exercise in characterization that it’s hard not to at least admire the work done by screenwriter Andrea Seigel. The movie does not present the sisters as typical criminals with a good soul, but as almost mythically cryptic characters drifting through their own world.
Letitia Wright and Jodhi May bring the two lead roles to the screen in a way that is wonderfully complex and nuanced. Their chemistry together is truly astounding, with their performances managing to be similar enough to be unsettling but disparate enough to feel compellingly distinctie. May, in particular, knocks it out of the park with her performance that feels like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. The only thing about the film that doesn’t work well is its scattershot pacing. The narrative covers the lives of these twins, spanning decades and jumping through the significant events in their lives. While this is clearly done with the intention of creating a dream-like atmosphere, it can be frustrating just as, if not more often than it is effective. It would be understandable if general audiences completely reject The Silent Twins due to its unorthodox approach to its narrative. And while Agnieszka Smoczynska’s very ambitious style isn’t always consistent enough for the movie to be a slam dunk, it’s formally interesting enough to be an alluring watch nonetheless. The Silent Twins hits theaters on September 16. Rating: 4/5 Review by Camden Ferrell The Woman King is a new historical epic film from director Gina Prince-Bythewood whose most recent film was 2020’s The Old Guard. This movie premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film festival and boasts a strong lineup of established and up-and-coming actors. This story is large in scale and emotion, and it’s an exhilarating film that is strengthened by Viola Davis’ phenomenal performance. The Agojie were an all-female military regiment from the African Kingdom of Dahomey, and this film is inspired by this group of soldiers and their role in the dynamics of 19th century Africa. The film follows Nanisca, a general, as she tries to train the next generation of soldiers to combat warring groups that are participating in the African slave trade. This story is rooted in significant and culturally rich history that makes this ripe for adaptation into a historical epic of this size. While the movie is ambitious in its narrative reach and scope, the script remains humble and relatable. It does a great job of characterizing its ensemble and endowing them with humanity. Despite being a film set in the 1800’s, the characters feel relatable, and it allows the audience to empathize with their motivations and ambitions. The movie will surprise audiences with its unexpected emotional core that makes the movie deeply moving at times. One can’t overlook the incredible cast assembled for this movie. Viola Davis as always commands the screen powerfully with her leading performance as Nanisca. She is entertaining, convincing, and as captivating as ever as she plays this general with great depth. She’s joined by Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and John Boyega who all give great performances that further establish them as the talented actors they are. Being a war movie, one would hope that the action and fight sequences are well done. This movie delivers on that front more than it doesn’t. The fight choreography and actual battle scenes are great and as brutal as one could expect from a PG-13 movie. However, it does feel hindered significantly by that rating, and it relies a lot on quick edits and clever framing to keep it tame. With a more severe rating, the movie could have been free to double down on the quality of the action scenes.
The movie is also well-paced. Despite being over two hours, it moves by breezily except for its final moments. By that point, the movie can overstay its welcome ever so slightly, but still revels in the emotional payoff that makes up for its flaws. The cinematography of the movie is quite great throughout as well. It’s not mesmerizingly gorgeous, but it feels thoughtful and intentional. The framing and composition are creative and helps tell its story and develop characterizations and dynamics in ways that enhance the final product. The Woman King is thrilling, emotional, and a great showcase for its ensemble. Every audience member is going to find something to appreciate and enjoy in this movie. It has all the culture and richness of a historical epic while blending in its own unique sense of stylistic and captivating action. Viola Davis proves to be one of film’s most valuable actresses yet again while also giving several other actors a chance to shine alongside her. The Woman King is in theaters September 16. Rating: 4/5 [TIFF 2022] STORIES NOT TO BE TOLD -- An Anthology Film That Would Have Been Better Off Untold9/9/2022
Review by Sean Boelman
Everyone knows that film festivals value their alumni — filmmakers who are willing to come back time and time again with their high-profile premieres. However, this can sometimes result in less-than-stellar movies being included in a festival lineup. That is the case with Cesc Gay’s Stories Not To Be Told, a horrid Spanish anthology film that might be one of the worst movies TIFF has ever selected.
Telling five supposedly “comedic” interconnected stories, the movie’s issues begin with the fact that all of the characters are pretty detestable people. The official festival description of the film describes it as “awkward and sardonic” with “flawed characters,” but in reality, that’s code for the fact that the movie is about a bunch of people who are absolute pieces of shit. The first story starts out decently enough, exploring a love triangle between a woman who has fallen out of love with a man that desperately wants to keep her, and the new guy who appreciates her for who she is. Granted, the short-form nature of the film prevents it from saying anything interesting about the patriarchal structure of relationships, but it is inoffensive enough. However, it is in the second story that things begin to go off the rail. This portion follows a man who, unbeknownst to him and to the dismay of his friends, falls in love with a trans woman. Yes, it is exactly as transphobic and regressive as it sounds, and while it may have been Gay’s intention to satirize the people who hold this outdated belief, it is ineffective at doing so.
Indeed, one of the supporting characters in this segment even points out the fact that their actions might be wrong, but another character defends it as sticking up for his pal’s “best interests” and everything continues as normal. And again, because of the short length of the segments, there isn’t a whole lot of time for them to learn a lesson about the error in their ways.
It’s really a shame, because Alex Brendemühl gives a legitimately good performance in his role as the down-on-his-luck loner in the movie who finds unexpected love. He’s also maybe the only character in the film who isn’t to some extent annoying or a total asshole. However, the people around him are so overwhelmingly bad that he cannot thrive. It might just be the residual anger from the second segment, but the remaining three aren’t particularly good either. Although nothing ever matches the offensive nature of the second segment, none of them are particularly entertaining either. Exploring kinks, age gap relationships, and people who are being cheated on, these are things that we have seen dozens of times — just a stupider version of it. It likely wasn’t purposeful, but the title of Stories Not To Be Told perfectly describes what should have happened with this production. One of the stories is offensive, and the others are plain boring, making this a movie you should skip this TIFF. Stories Not To Be Told screens at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 8-18. Rating: 1/5
Review by Alan French
Oral storytelling rarely feels cinematic, yet filmmakers have mined it as the basis of film for nearly a century. From the earliest films to George Miller’s recent extravaganza, the power of stories has long held a place within cinema. One of our most common depictions of oral storytelling in 2022 has become the car ride, whether via taxi or the hiring of a driver. Given its commonplace nature in our culture, and our need to pass the time without silence, the setups seem apparent. While the “front seat, back seat” storytelling method may be overdone, it remains a fertile ground for elegant stories. Christian Carion returns to the director's chair with Driving Madeleine, a saccharine feature that breathes life into the format.
A middle-aged taxi driver, Charles (Dany Boon), faces another challenging day. He owes money to the wrong people, struggles to hold onto his marriage, and is one violation away from losing his license. Charles jumps at the high-priced fare when a call comes into dispatch to drive an elderly lady across town. On the trip, Madeleine (Line Renaud) recounts her life story. The two develop a bond within hours as Madeleine tells her incredible story. Much of Driving Madeleine speaks to this moment. As global movements have restricted women's rights, Carion puts a woman suffering from abuse at the center of his tale. As the film evolves through Madeleine’s story, Renaud gets several showcase sequences. Alice Isaaz also shines while portraying a younger, more brutalized Madeleine. The two performers may showcase different aspects of their characters, but each key into commonalities, including a fierce internal strength. Their combined efforts drive most of the film. They bring the emotional heartbeat to the film that ultimately helps this story stand out. Renaud brings a more nuanced performance as a woman on the other side of tragedy. Meanwhile, Isaaz adds a physicality and sadness one expects from her circumstances yet also channels the internal rage of a woman who pushes back against her abuser. Carion frames the story in a way that walks us through the tragedy, happiness, and resolve of a woman fighting back against unfair laws. Boon also delivers a heartfelt role, a surprising turn from the angry character introduced to us in the first five minutes. As Charles faces trials and tribulations, Boon opens himself up. The vulnerability on display helps us connect and provides weight to Madeleine’s story. Ultimately, his turn is overly sentimental, as his growth occurs at lightspeed. Still, Boon radiates charisma that will likely win over most doubters. Carion embraces the sentimental aspects of his story and deserves credit for leaning into that approach. Unfortunately, too many directors and storytellers try to subvert their own stories to make them feel fresh. Wisely, Carion allows Renaud, Isaaz, and Boon to shine. Some intense sequences in the middle of the film show a darker side to this tale, but the conventional tale ultimately holds Driving Madeleine back from excellence. Driving Madeleine screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 8-18. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Alan French
History is often unkind to minority communities, and the LGBTQ+ community is no stranger to being erased. For centuries, little information about queer couples that were allowed to embrace their sexuality has existed. In most areas of the United States, local communities punished those willing to be open about their sexuality through literal and social methods. While the fight for same-sex rights continues today, those transitioning are at the center of a culture war. While many seek to support this choice, others create toxic environments where violence reigns. That makes the discovery of a haven, like the one depicted in Casa Susanna, a miracle worthy of celebration.
Directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, Casa Susanna brings a safe space into the light. During the 1950s and 1960s, a community of cross-dressers and trans women found refuge in the Catskills. Susanna provided safety in two ways. First, she opened a club for performers, which drew in crowds from around the state. Second, Susanna offered to lodge those performers in the Catskills. She would bring family and friends to a house and barn, where they were free to be women. For years, the house brought women from around the globe to the community as each person sought discovery. Told with a talking head format, much of Casa Susanna involves historical tales and reminiscing. This style sets up the narrative while allowing the film to take on an ethnographic lens. This process, including recovering lost images and stories, becomes an important project for Lifshitz and their team. In that regard, it becomes a reclamation project that opens the door for more stories to share.
Perhaps the most enduring aspect of Casa Susanna is the celebratory attitude. These are individuals who continue to fight for fundamental human rights. The growth we observe paints a picture of hard-fought progress. These women went from hiding in Catskills barns vehemently denying their deepest desires to the women who transitioned and lived the life they deserved. Not every story has a happy ending, but for these women, life became too important to throw away. Each woman deserves credit for their actions and is a pioneer of the movement.
There is a limit to the quality of a talking head documentary, especially one that relishes data collection over style. In this way, the filmmakers emphasized the historical unearthing of new stories. While Casa Susanna contains a different kind of heartbreak than one may associate with hard-hitting documentaries, the stories told burst with pathos and love. Do not ignore this film. It teaches us too many important lessons about the dangers of ignorance. Casa Susanna screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 8-18. Rating: 4/5
Review by Alan French
Finding our place in our communities can be difficult. However, finding out how we fit within a family unit can be far more emotionally taxing. For the characters in This Place, the debut feature from V.T. Nayani, the idea of belonging in a specific place remains in flux. Both of the women at the center of the story find themselves torn between forging their own future and respecting the legacies of their family.
Kawenniióhstha (Devery Jacobs) begins her college career far from home. After being raised in a Mohawk community, she wants to meet the Iranian father she has never known. As she attends school and gains confidence as a writer, she meets Malai (Priya Guns), the daughter of a Tamil immigrant. As Malai’s attempts to reconnect with her ailing father, she faces considerable pressure from her professors and brother about her future academic career. As Kawenniióhstha and Malai grow closer, they reckon with the shadow of their family legacies. Jacobs and Guns’s performances each provide the actresses with material that showcases more subtle performances. While emotion courses through the dialogue, the restraint shown by different characters speaks to a more authentic experience. This also makes the moments where a character displays vulnerability even more impactful. As their relationship evolves, Nayani evokes dream-like qualities in the visuals and the musical score. The use of blues, reds, and purples helps set an otherworldly feeling as the women begin to fall for each other. The use of bisexual lighting might have been a little on the nose, yet This Place grips the audience during these sequences. With a gorgeous score accompanying the visuals, there seemed to be undeniable homages to Barry Jenkins.
At times, the film suffers from an uneven screenplay. There are sequences that feel extremely overwritten, specifically exposition dumps by Kawenniióhstha and Malai. Meanwhile, their parents feel like cardboard cutouts, simply there to get in the way of their journey. On one hand, this seems intentional. The women do not know much about their parents' struggles, and as a result, we are left in the dark as well. This approach undermines the first sequences of the movie, where we observe the unique anxieties and justified paranoia of the immigrant experience. We later see these anxieties echoed across generations, but by limiting our time with the parents of each woman, we are left with a void of information.
Nayani establishes herself as director to watch with This Place’s essential themes. One of the most diverse features of the year, both in terms of perspective and on-screen talent, This Place forces the audience to question their own experience growing up. However, the small screenplay issues pile up, hurting the film over its runtime. With an essential story, the film sneaks up on you as an emotional and rewarding experience. This Place screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 8-18. Rating 3.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
It has become the hot thing for major filmmakers to make a film exploring their childhood and how they came to love the cinema, but sometimes, the indie filmmaker’s version of it is even better. That is the case with Chandler Levack’s I Like Movies, a funny, awkward coming-of-age story that perfectly captures the childhood of a certain age group of cinephiles.
The film follows a young cinephile/aspiring filmmaker who takes a job at a video store during his senior year of high school. Most cinephiles likely had this experience or something similar — be it working in a video store or movie theater — so this film is certainly going to be very nostalgic for those who are fond of movies. Admittedly, it would have been nice had the references in the film not been so surface-level. When a character’s definition of a niche filmmaker is Paul Thomas Anderson (post-Boogie Nights), it’s clear that the film is weighed back by its desire to appeal to the masses. Granted, video stores weren’t exactly littered with copies of films by international masters like Bela Tarr or John Woo, but it would have been nice to see the characters talk about the few films that did manage to break this barrier. Nevertheless, Levack infuses her film with an excellent sense of humor that will have cinephiles rolling in their seats. The comedy is probably best comparable to something like Lady Bird, because the protagonist is constantly finding himself in awkward positions that leave the audience feeling uncomfortable but still have them laughing. Isaiah Lehtinen’s performance in the leading role is quite exceptional, especially given the character he has to play. The character is (purposefully) written in a way that is pretty annoying and unsympathetic at times, but Lehtinen has such a natural charm that it’s kind of hard to hate the character. Even when he’s making frustrating choices, the audience will be endeared to him, which is precisely what the film needed to succeed Romina D’Ugo is in a similar position in her supporting role. The character does some things that are pretty hard to like at times, but D’Ugo’s performance ensures that they come across as the character being humanly flawed, not that she is a bad person. She also gets one scene that is absolutely devastating, giving the film an even deeper level of emotional resonance. It’s pretty odd to describe a film that happened in the early 2000s as a period piece, but at this point, that’s over twenty years ago. Levack does an exceptional job of capturing the era in a way that is nostalgic without ever feeling overly cloying. It’s awesome to see these relics of the not-too-distant-past recreated in all of their glory. I Like Movies is just the perfect storm of nostalgia, great performances, and solid writing to make it a must-see film for any cinephile. Although it could have spared to be a bit more in-depth at times, there is still plenty here that is absolutely astonishing work. I Like Movies screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 8-18. |
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