Review by Sean Boelman

In 2023, the Gasparilla International Film Festival is back and better than ever in Tampa, Florida, with a lineup of some of the hottest films that have played the festival circuit in the past year, alongside some exciting world premieres from filmmakers — from everywhere from the Tampa Bay area to internationally. But the big draw of this year’s festival is some of the high-profile celebrity guests who will be in attendance, including Sung Kang (the Fast Saga) for his directorial debut Shaky Shivers, and filmmaker Matt Johnson (The Dirties, Operation Avalanche) with his new film, BlackBerry.

We at disappointment media are excited to again be covering the Gasparilla International Film Festival in our home base of Tampa, Florida. We’re excited to catch up with some of the films we have missed on the rest of the festival circuit, but there are also a few films in the lineup that we have already seen, and we want to point them out to you so you can check them out.

One of the highest-profile films playing at GIFF this year is Stephen Williams’s Chevalier. The film tells the story of the composer Joseph Bologne, who rises through the ranks of being the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and a slave to becoming the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Chevalier is driven by a show-stopping performance by Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Waves, Luce) as the unlikely tragic hero. The first ten minutes of the film are also simply extraordinary, and one of the most kinetic sequences you will see in any movie this year.

Another buzzy movie that Tampa cinephiles will want to check out is Chandler Levack’s I Like Movies, a film which debuted to an enthusiastic reception at last fall’s TIFF and seems destined to gain a cult following. Telling the story of a high school senior who gets a job in a video store as he applies to get into film school, this will certainly be a nostalgic watch for many festival-goers. But as is the case with any great coming-of-age movie, the film is also both extremely endearing and entertaining.

For those looking to see a film with more of a local connection, look no further than the hybrid documentary Starring Jerry as Himself. Shot and taking place in the Central Florida area, the film follows a family whose father — a recently divorced and retired immigrant — begins to believe that he has been recruited by the Chinese government as an agent. Law Chen’s film took home both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards in the Documentary Competition at this January’s Slamdance Film Festival. In other words, it’s not just an exceptionally well-made film — it’s also a crowd-pleaser in a way that few other documentaries are. 

With all of these amazing films in the lineup, cinephiles in the Tampa area should certainly have plans this weekend. Taking place over the next four days, be ready to see a showcase of some of the best films you will see this year.

The 2023 Gasparilla International Film Festival takes place in Tampa, FL from March 23-26.

By Sean Boelman

After a 2022 edition that brought fans back to Austin for an in-person component in a hybrid festival, the SXSW Film Festival came back better than ever with a 2023 edition that was in-person only and boasted one of the most impressive lineups of any festival in recent memory.
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We at disappointment media were so excited to cover the festival and see the many films in its lineup that it would have been impossible to do a full review for everything we saw. However, we wanted to make sure we gave you a brief rundown of the many films (and a few shows) we checked out at the festival.

Another Body is certainly one of the hardest-to-watch documentaries that played at this year’s SXSW. Following a college student who discovers deepfake pornography of herself online, the film shines a light on some of the most disgusting corners of the internet. Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s documentary plays out in a way that almost feels like a thriller, but not in a manipulative way, as it follows the subject’s quest to discover the truth and get justice for the wrongs committed against her and several other women. It manages to feel both inspiring and distressing at once.

Cora Bora has a very talented ensemble cast buoyed by a charming lead performance from Megan Stalter. Unfortunately, this story of a woman in an open relationship that she discovers might not have been as open as she thought is frustratingly insubstantial and lacking in enjoyable humor. There’s tons of potential here, and a few moments that will even have viewers giggling, but it feels like a bunch of ideas thrown to the wall — and very few of them stick.

Lance Larson’s Deadland has an interesting concept, following a U.S. Border Patrol agent who is haunted by the consequences of his actions. It had the potential to be a timely commentary on the immigrant crisis, but the execution is so lacking that the film feels like a hollow shell of what it should have been. The only thing that stands out here is solid cinematography by Jas Shelton that showcases some desolate landscapes quite well, but otherwise, it’s uninspired and vague.

Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life is pretty much exactly what one would expect from a standard biographical documentary about an artist. It’s lighthearted and breezy, shot with an artistic eye, and offers moderate — if not too prying — insight into its subject’s artistic process and personal life. For cinephiles, the highlight of the film will be getting to see McFetridge talk about his collaborations with filmmaker Spike Jonze. Otherwise, it’s just an altogether pleasant film that, at under an hour and twenty minutes, it’s hard to deny its charm.

Inspired by Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone, the flashy documentary Join or Die is the type of film that could be exactly what America needs to see — or it could also do some tremendous wrong if it lands in the wrong hands. Although the film’s overall message, encouraging civic involvement, is a positive one, there are some significant leaps in logic that could be read by uncanny viewers the wrong way and lead them to being indoctrinated. Showy editing and interviews with well-known subjects like Pete Buttigeg and Hillary Clinton are likely to give this film a high profile, but viewers just need to be wary of its content.

Filmmaker Dawn Porter is known for her amazing use of archive footage to tell stories of important historical footage, and in First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson’s extensive library of recordings, Porter has plenty of archive materials to pull from. That being said, Porter paints in very broad strokes, offering an unexpectedly vague look at the life of the influential political figure. Nothing is said in The Lady Bird Diaries that reveals anything audiences won’t already know, and the result is a film that is good, but not as good as it could have been. 

Love & Death is the second miniseries to come out telling the story of small town ax murderer Candy Montgomery after last year’s Candy on Hulu. The SXSW premiere only showcased the first episode of the show, and it’s hard to make an accurate judgment as to its quality based on that alone — as it’s largely the setup, making it feel more like a romantic comedy than a true crime drama to this point. Still, Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons both give fantastic performances, so it will be exciting to see where they take the rest of the material.

The Global section at the SXSW Film Festival tends to be one of the weaker sidebars, and unfortunately, My Drywall Cocoon does not buck that trend. The film takes place in the events leading up to and following a tragedy occurring at a seventeen year old girl’s birthday party. You can see the potential in the film, but the nonlinear narrative structure creates an uneven melodramatic tone in a way that makes it almost feel like a telenovela. They are clearly trying to use this structure to turn the film into a mystery, but instead, they simply make it frustrating.

There is no denying the technical competence of Ondi Timoner’s The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution. However, the arguments made in the film are so backwards that it is difficult to get on its level. Although there are certainly flaws with many of the institutions that the film targets — namely Robinhood — the film also takes aim at the principles they represent, mainly the democratization of the financial market. As a result, the film feels strangely opposed to the average American, which is a concerning approach to take.

Peak Season is the type of movie where it’s hard to say anything bad about it because it is utterly harmless, but there’s also very little to recommend it for the exact same reason. The story of a woman who, facing an increasingly distant relationship, finds kinship in a fly fishing guide, simply isn’t very interesting. The film also largely lacks the poignancy or insight that it thinks it offers. The only thing that the film does unquestionably well is its cinematography, which beautifully showcases some wonderful landscapes, but that alone is not enough to make the movie worthwhile.

Periodical is a very well-made documentary containing lots of great information. Unfortunately, this very solid film will likely be put to waste, as the audience that needs to see this movie has very little overlap with those who will see it. The whole film feels like it is preaching to the choir. That’s not to say that there is no reason to watch it — some of its statistics could be used as ammunition against uninformed opponents in arguments, or it could be used to inspire young women to take up activism — but this discussion needs a platform that will better serve it being seen by the people who need to hear it.

There are a lot of things that can be forgiven about festival indies — such as poor production values, bad acting, and the “first-time director” jitters — and Pure O falls victim to a lot of those mistakes. But there’s one thing that can’t be forgiven about this film: its toxicity (and that’s putting aside its strangely conservative politics). The film obviously has a lot to say about second chances and forgiveness, and while yes, people are deserving of sympathy, this should not come at the expense of others. This semi-autobiographical story clearly means a lot to its filmmaker, and he certainly means well, but he doesn’t seem to realize that sometimes it’s not necessary — much less healthy — to subject other people to your pain.

Queendom is a verité documentary about a young queer artist and political activist in Russia. Although the film shows a lot of potential with regards to commentary on the stark reality of oppression and censorship in the country, Agniia Galdanova strangely pulls many of her punches and decides to go with a much more broadly tear-jerking approach. It’s still harrowingly effective at times — and the sequences showcasing the subject’s performances are gorgeous — but it feels like this could have been something more.

This World Is Not My Own desperately wants to be more than a conventional biographical documentary, and while it boasts impressively ambitious editing and technical aspects, it’s never able to overcome its somewhat standard storytelling. The story of artist Nellie Mae Rowe is interesting, and the use of animated sequences performed through voiceover and motion capture by acclaimed actress Uzo Aduba is intriguing, but it still feels like a somewhat bland overview of the subject’s life and career.

Rocio Mesa’s Tobacco Barns (also known as Secaderos in its original language) is a visually striking film, but it does little to impress from a narrative standpoint. Following a group of children growing up in an impoverished rural area of Spain filled with tobacco fields and barns, this feels like just another magical realism film about kids in poverty. In other words, it’s another movie that desperately wants to be Pan’s Labyrinth but doesn't quite capture what makes that film great. Although it’s hardly a bad film, the script certainly leaves something to be desired.

Until Branches Bend played at last year’s TIFF, and reappeared at SXSW this Spring. And ultimately, it’s one of the most slept on films of the festival circuit. Although Sophie Jarvis’s psychological drama about a woman who her community refuses to believe suffers from some common first-time director pitfalls, it’s very compelling nonetheless, and there are some starkly affecting moments and imagery that will linger in viewers’ heads for a long time.

Tayarisha Poe’s Selah and the Spades was one of the most kinetic directorial debuts in recent memory, so her sophomore feature — The Young Wife — was one of the hottest prospects of this year’s SXSW. Although Poe’s distinct style worked better in service of a high school melodrama than a more restrained character study, it goes a long way in making The Young Wife more captivating. It’s an imperfect film, but transfixing visuals and strong performances elevate the underdeveloped script.

The 2023 SXSW Film Festival ran from March 10-18 in Austin, TX.

By Sean Boelman

One of the most in-demand titles in the Criterion Collection is the out-of-print edition of John Woo’s Hard Boiled. It only makes sense that Criterion would add more of the filmmaker’s movies to their lineup, and the next one to join the fold is an early film of his — the Wuxia romp Last Hurrah for Chivalry.

The film is an epic adventure about a nobleman seeking vengeance with the assistance of two expert swordsmen. As is the case with many martial arts movies, the story is convoluted, with it being hard to follow whose allegiance rests with whom, but the fun is the absurd and larger-than-life nature of the narrative.

This type of film falls firmly within the wheelhouse of Hong Kong action director John Woo, whose movies are known for being heavily stylized and ridiculous, but impressive technical feats nonetheless. The same is very much true here, even though it is one of the earlier works in his filmography.

Although Wuxia films have existed for decades, they weren’t really popularized in Western culture until the early 2000s. As such, it’s always fascinating to see an early work in the genre, especially when it is made by a filmmaker with such technical prowess and maximalist tendencies as Woo.

As one would expect from a Wuxia film, there are some amazing martial arts fight sequences throughout. And for a movie that was made in 1979, the special effects are shockingly good, allowing the film to make the most out of its surreal and buoyant tone and action sequences. At a point, the swordplay begins to become somewhat monotonous, but then the action choreography takes a turn that is far more ambitious.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry contains what might be one of the greatest sequences ever committed to film. The candle room sequence includes both amazing choreography and some absolutely insane pyrotechnic effects. It sets a very high bar for the rest of Woo’s career, but fans know that the master action filmmaker one-ups himself with each and every movie he makes.

The only new bonus feature on this edition is a new interview with kung fu cinema scholar Grady Hendrix. Otherwise, it’s a bit bare-bones in that regard. Still, the film’s 2K restoration is pretty great, its crisp image being more than enough reason alone to pick up the Blu-Ray edition of this previously hard-to-find classic of Asian cinema.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry is exactly as enjoyable as you would expect from a Wuxia movie made by John Woo. Genre cinephiles will certainly want to pick up this pivotal piece of martial arts cinema history.

The Criterion Collection edition of Last Hurrah for Chivalry is now available.

By Sean Boelman

In 2022, SXSW resumed its in-portion activities with a hybrid festival and conference that welcomed cinephiles back to Austin for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that was just a splash in the bucket compared to what SXSW has in store for 2023, with a lineup that features some of the most exciting films from the rest of this year. 

After covering the festival remotely for the past few years, we at disappointment media are excited to be again covering the festival from the ground this year for the first time since 2019! In advance of the festival, we have gotten the opportunity to screen a handful of the titles playing in the lineup, and here are some of the films we think you should keep an eye on:

Bomani J. Story’s The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster certainly lives up to the anger in its title. It is a candidate for the most politically-charged film in this year’s lineup, and while it can be a bit on the messy side, its palpable anger when it comes to hard-hitting political issues really makes it stand out. It’s a nice little genre film — a riff on the Frankenstein tropes — that opens the door for a bright future of these Crypt TV feature films.

This year’s SXSW lineup is highlighted by new documentaries from some of the greatest nonfiction filmmakers working today — Sam Pollard, Jimmy Chin and Elisabeth Chai Vaysareli, Dawn Porter, and Penny Lane. Lane’s film, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, is a shining spot in her already amazing filmography. A personal dive into her decision and journey to become an altruistic kidney donor, the film contains plenty of both the probing questions and humor for which Lane’s films have come to be known.

Tomás Gómez Bustillo’s Chronicles of a Wandering Saint starts out with a relatively straightforward narrative that feels like a pretty standard domestic drama, then something happens around the thirty minute mark that changes the entire course of the film. It ends up being one of the most creative, visionary works of cinema that you will see at SXSW this year, with plenty of the weird genre flair that defines the festival.

The immediate reaction you may have to Story Ave will likely be that it’s very Spike Lee-esque. It’s an easy comparison given the thematic and stylistic similarities — it even contains one of Lee’s iconic double-dolly shots early on. But there’s something so undeniably personal about Aristotle Torres’s directorial debut that it can be forgiven for its occasionally heavy use of homages. And the lead duo, Asante Blackk and Luis Guzmán, deliver some of the best performances you will see at the festival.

Watching the 2020 film Becky, you likely never thought that it would be a candidate to receive a sequel. But here we are, three years later, and we’re getting a follow-up in the form of The Wrath of Becky. Of course, being a sequel, it’s only natural that this film goes even bigger (and better) with its massacre of white supremacists. It’s the type of bonkers, balls-to-the-wall genre cinema that fans love the SXSW Midnighters section for. 

The 2023 SXSW Film Festival runs March 10-18 in Austin, TX.

By Sean Boelman

Every spring, Film at Lincoln Center’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema series highlights some of the best French films that played on the previous year’s festival circuit. This year’s program is an absolute wealth of riches and hidden gems, with one of the best-programmed lineups you’ll see this year, even rivaling larger festivals.

The biggest draw of the festival is a duo of films that has taken the festival circuit by storm, both starring Virginie Efira: opening night film Paris Memories and Other People’s Children. Both are exceptional — especially Other People's Children, which was one of the best films of last year’s fall festival circuit — and Efira (as well as the films' respective directors) will be in attendance for opening weekend screenings of the two films.

One of the most acclaimed films playing in this year’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema lineup is Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which had the most films out of any of the nominee’s at last month’s César awards. It is a star studded and twisty comedy with a great ensemble of Garrel, Noémie Merlant, Roschdy Zem (also seen in Rendez-Vous selection Other People’s Children), and Anouk Grinberg. Audiences will want to see this early showing of the film before its release later this month.

Also starring Garrel is Forever Young — which played in last year’s Cannes Film Festival under its French title, Les Amandiers. A wonderfully meta slice-of-life comedy, the film follows the students and teachers of one of France’s most prestigious acting academies. It’s a really compelling, almost mosaic-like film, and the use of Chekov in the story (not unlike the Japanese critical darling Drive My Car) really accentuates it.

For the midnight movie lovers of New York City, Rendez-Vous has a special treat in store: Quentin Dupieux’s newest film, Smoking Causes Coughing. It’s a wild adventure comedy inspired in equal parts by Power Rangers and anthology horror, and it’s his funniest and most creative movie in years.

Other highlights include the mysterious thriller The Origin of Evil, which is extremely fun in a pulpy way, and the restrained drama Mother and Son, which offers some of the finest performances and visuals of any films in this year’s lineup.

For those in the search for something more star-studded, consider The Five Devils, a supernatural coming-of-age drama starring Adéle Excharpoulos, or Brother and Sister, the latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin starring Marion Cotillard. Both are sure to be hot tickets at the festival due to their star power.

One thing is clear, and it is that this year’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema lineup is stronger than it has maybe ever been before. It has several bonafide masterpieces, and plenty of star-studded and otherwise acclaimed films to fill out the rest of the schedule. If you live in New York city and *aren’t* taking advantage of this program, what are you waiting for?

By Sean Boelman

French filmmaker Marguerite Duras’s filmography has been a mainstay on The Criterion Channel for a while now, so it was only a matter of time before her films were added to the physical collection. Two Films by Marguerite Duras is a two-disc set that collectors will want to add to their shelves, as it combines two important works of woman-helmed experimental cinema.

For those unfamiliar with Duras’s style, it’s known for being very experimental — with gorgeous visuals, interesting uses of sound, and lots of poeticism in its dialogue. She is arguably better known for her literature and for writing the French New Wave classic Hiroshima Mon Amour, but cinephiles are certainly familiar with her directorial efforts.

The set is primarily defined by its inclusion of Duras’s visually splendid period piece, India Song, following the wife of a French diplomat in 1930s India as she drifts through her unsatisfying life. It’s long and talky — and perhaps even outstays its welcome — but it’s an impressive feature nonetheless.

As the “Side B,” if you will, the Two Films by Marguerite Duras set includes Baxter, Vera Baxter, which is arguably the superior of the duo despite getting second billing. Like India Song, this film is quite visually stunning despite its restrained use of setting. The use of music in this one also stands out, with a catchy island tune recurring throughout.

It makes sense why these were the two films picked for the set — beyond being Duras’s two most recognizable films behind the camera: they feel very thematically connected. Both are about women stuck in unhappy marriages and having affairs, but the approach that Duras takes is quietly internalistic rather than the melodramatic love triangles we are used to seeing in the genre. 

Both films also boast impressive leading performances. Delphine Seyrig — whom cinephiles may know as the eponymous protagonist from Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles — is just tremendous as the discontent diplomat’s wife in India Song. She also has a supporting turn in Baxter, Vera Baxter, but the more inspiring performance in that film is from Claudine Gabay as the eponymous character.

This set has what might be one of the most interesting bonus features on any Criterion Collection edition to date: a newly-discovered alternate English-language audio track to India Song that was directed by Duras herself. Although dubbing is usually something to stay away from, it’s interesting to see that option on a set like this and may be worth considering checking out.

The work of Marguerite Duras is an acquired and very particular taste, but Two Films by Marguerite Duras is a worthy addition to the collection. Both films mean a lot to the world of experimental cinema, and it’s nice to see them getting their time in the spotlight.

The Criterion Collection edition of Two Films by Marguerite Duras is now available.

By Sean Boelman

The short film categories at the Oscars tend to be exciting for two reasons: they are a chance to recognize some of the most exciting new talents in the field, and they tend to be some of the more unpredictable categories to guess. Every year, ShortsTV puts out showcases of all three categories — Live Action, Animation, and Documentary — so that audiences get the opportunity to see the nominees.

This year, your time is probably best spent catching the Animation category, as it is the most consistent of the three. However, we at disappointment media have gotten the chance to watch all fifteen nominees, and we wanted to share our rankings by category. What do we have pegged to win? Le Pupille, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, and The Elephant Whisperers — however, as you will see, these aren’t necessarily what we hope will win in their respective categories

5. Night Ride

Many times, the Live Action short category contains a film whose heart is undeniably in the right place even if the execution does not allow it to live up to its potential. Night Ride is that short this year, following a woman with dwarfism who hijacks a trolley, only to have to stand up for a passenger being harassed onboard. The film attempts to juggle the weighty themes of prejudice and discrimination while also being a goofy comedy, and the result is supremely frustrating and off-putting.

4. An Irish Goodbye

Oscar voters might resonate with An Irish Goodbye, a saccharine and sentimental short about a man with Down syndrome and his older brother who decide to complete their recently deceased mothers’ bucket list. It’s entirely harmless, and offers a few laughs, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have enough momentum to sustain even its twenty-three-minute runtime. While the premise is there, it’s not expanded upon in a satisfying way and at a certain point, the bucket list begins to feel like a montage.

3. Ivalu

Ivalu is a beautifully-shot short, and it features some absolutely wonderful visual symbolism. That being said, Anders Walter and Pipaluk K. Jørgensen are directing the hell out of a script that doesn’t have a ton of depth. The attempts at poeticism aren’t as meaningful or resonant as one would hope, and the short film format doesn’t lend itself to the character development that would have been needed to make this story work as well as it deserved. It’s still fine, but it can’t escape the feeling of seeming to be a proof-of-concept.

2. The Red Suitcase

The Red Suitcase thankfully avoids the trauma porn trappings that typically drive any short film dealing with a timely topic like this. Still, this story of a young woman trying to escape oppression isn’t as compelling as it should have been — likely because it feels somewhat incomplete. The first ten minutes provide the set-up, and the remainder is a pretty riveting thriller, but this still feels like it is only the beginning to what should have been a longer short or feature. Who knows? Maybe its recognition in this category will lead the filmmakers to expand it.

1. Le Pupille

I don’t usually like to root for films made by established and already acclaimed filmmakers in the short film categories — as they are some of the few spaces at the Oscars that tend to discover talent — but Alice Rohrwacher’s Le Pupille stands out so far above the rest of the pack that it’s hard to deny its charm. An adorable little Christmas fable, this short excels in its production value, score, and ensemble of gifted young performers. Honoring it may not be taking advantage of the opportunity to recognize an exciting up-and-coming voice, but it’s clearly the best in the category.

5. The Flying Sailor

The Flying Sailor is based on a bizarre and entertaining true story, and has playful storybook-like animation, but as soon as the credits roll, viewers will be left to ask, “That’s it?” It’s not a poorly-made short, but the filmmakers are clearly trying to make a film out of emotions that simply aren’t there. The attempts to go metaphorical and philosophical ring hollow, the end result being a short that is rather unimpressive.

4. An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

Beyond having the (arguably) most absurd title of this year’s nominees, An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It is probably the most ambitious of the animated shorts, and it deserved its praise for that. The claymation is certainly creative and well-done, and it’s a premise that gives viewers a decent little chuckle. Unfortunately, the meta humor in this film isn’t able to be fully explored in the eleven-minute runtime, meaning that the film ends up feeling zany just for the hell of it, like a lite version of Charlie Kaufman.

3. Ice Merchants

Visual, non-linguistic storytelling and animation are two techniques that seem like they were made for each other, but the non-linguistic animated shorts nominated for the Oscar tend to be pretty hit-or-miss. Thankfully, João Gonzalez’s Ice Merchants is more hit than miss, but it does leave something to be desired. This story of an exciting and unusual father-son relationship is gorgeously animated, but what it is missing is the personal touch to make it feel emotionally resonant.

2. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse

Since there is no Disney/Pixar nominee this year, the Apple TV+/BBC co-production The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse is this year’s “mainstream” pick, and it’s predictably quite good. Based on the children’s book of the same name, this is an adorable little fable boasting a superb (but small) voice cast of Tom Hollander, Idris Elba, Gabriel Byrne, and newcomer Jude Coward Nicoll. Since the Animated Short Oscar tends to go to something less edgy and more kid-friendly, this seems to be the clear frontrunner at this point — and it would be hard to be upset if it wins.

1. My Year of Dicks

Many people might be rooting for My Year of Dicks just so that they can hear the announcer giggle when they read its name as a nominee and potential winner, but it’s also the best of the bunch by a large margin. Directed by one of the animators from the acclaimed coming-of-age hybrid feature Diary of a Teenage Girl, the film tells the extremely personal, incredibly awkward story of the writer’s quest to lose her virginity. It’s hilarious, poignant, and best of all — ambitiously animated with a style that has plenty of variety.

5. Stranger at the Gate

Stranger at the Gate is quite possibly the worst film to have ever been nominated for an Academy Award, across all categories. The film follows a U.S. Marine who finds redemption after canceling his plans to attack a small-town American mosque. You can tell that this film’s heart is in the right place, and compassion and empathy are great and all, but do we really need to be teaching it by making a hate crimer empathetic? Sure, maybe he didn’t *actually* commit the crime, but the film’s perspective is still unquestionably broken.

4. How Do You Measure a Year?

Jay Rosenblatt got nominated in this category last year with his controversial short When We Were Bullies. While his contender this year, How Do You Measure a Year?, is certainly less divisive, it’s also far less thought-provoking. A video diary following Rosenblatt’s daughter as she grows up by showcasing a few minutes of her life on each of her birthdays, this film simply isn’t particularly interesting. Rosenblatt fails to engage with the potential themes in any remotely interesting way, resulting in a film that feels overwhelmingly shallow.

3. Haulout

Working in Haulout’s favor is that it is certainly the most visually stunning documentary of the bunch. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all the film has on its side. The film follows a scientist who is waiting to observe an annual walrus migration event. There is very little else to the film. It’s verité to the extreme, with almost no dialogue or narrative — we’re just observing this guy observe the walruses. The final captions end the film with an urgent environmentalist call to action, but it would have been nice to see this more evenly spread throughout the entire runtime.

2. The Elephant Whisperers

The Elephant Whisperers is another visually impressive documentary, and it gets the slight edge over Haulout because there is more substance to be found here. That said, the film still doesn’t seem to do everything it needed to do in its forty-minute runtime. There is a clear conservationist angle to be taken here, but the film also attempts to juggle the impact that this elephant refuge has on the surrounding community and its people. As a result, it ends up feeling like a documentary that is meant to be inspiring, but isn’t especially stirring.

1. The Martha Mitchell Effect

The Martha Mitchell Effect is the type of sleekly-produced biographical documentary that is regularly snubbed in the feature-length documentary category, so it’s interesting to see that rule apparently doesn’t apply to shorts. It’s an all-around decent documentary that, while not particularly impressive, ends up being the best of the batch by default — if only because it accomplishes everything it sets out to do. The use of archive footage to tell the story of the Nixon whistleblower is kinetic, but it’s hardly the essential viewing one would expect to dominate this category.

The 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films are showing in theaters beginning February 17.

By Sean Boelman

Terry Gilliam is no stranger to the Criterion Collection, with the editions of his films Brazil and Time Bandits being among the most popular ones available. His cult classic fantasy epic The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is the most recent of his movies to enter the fray, and watching the film, one will be reminded of how they just don’t make ‘em like they used to anymore.

The movie is an exaggerated retelling of the story of Baron Munchausen, a fictionalized character itself inspired by a real baron. In typical Gilliam style, the film is exaggerated beyond belief, but it’s perfectly fit for a movie like this that is all about tall tales and how storytelling is exaggerated as it passes through the generations. 

Of course, Gilliam is known for infusing his films with an absurd, whimsical sense of humor — being one of the founding members of Monty Python and all — and there is no shortage of that humor here. The adventure comedy premise is rife with opportunities for slapstick comedy, and there are also just plenty of moments that feature Gilliam’s characteristic weirdness.

It’s no secret that, like many of Gilliam’s other movies, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen has a troubled production history. However, perhaps one of the most interesting quirks of the film is that it features a supporting turn by Robin Williams — who is absolutely hilarious here, mind you — that was not allowed to be credited so as not to use his name to market the movie.

Gilliam’s sense of visual grandeur also resulted in the film going massively over-budget, but every penny that was spent on the movie is seen on the screen. The film received four Academy Award nominations — Set Decoration, Costume Design, Visual Effects, and Makeup — and deserved every single one of them.

Thankfully, Criterion presents the movie in an all-new 4K restoration that is absolutely stunning. It’s already a visually splendid film, but getting to see it in the glory of a brand new restoration makes it even more impressive. The movie is being released on both Blu-Ray and 4K UHD for those with an upgraded system.

The only new bonus feature in the edition is a new video essay about the evolution of the eponymous character. However, there are still plenty of bonus features that give viewers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes drama that happened during the production, like a documentary on the making of the film, storyboards, deleted scenes and more.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is an amazing movie and it’s definitely worth adding to any cinephile’s collection. Terry Gilliam was in his heyday in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and this is one of his most ambitious pictures.

The Criterion Collection edition of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is now available. 

By Dan Skip Allen and Sean Boelman

The Slamdance Film Festival is known as the indie cousin of Sundance, taking place in Park City, UT at the same time and featuring a lineup composed of exciting independent features and short films. Offering an in-person event for the first time since the pandemic, Slamdance also continues to offer virtual access to the entire program through their streaming service, the Slamdance Channel.

We at disappointment media are again covering Slamdance remotely, and will continue to share our thoughts on films as we screen them.

Review by Sean Boelman

Where the Road Leads won the Audience Award and came in runner-up for the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature at this year's festival, and it's understandable why. It's a sleek, beautifully-shot feature that has stronger production values than the average narrative film at Slamdance, but it's more effective as an exercise in aestheticism than anything else. The film's narrative is needlessly convoluted, and it takes until the last five minutes for it to make its point. Still, it's gorgeous enough to be mostly transfixing despite the flaws.

Review by Dan Skip Allen

With Peter Bradley tells the story of the 80-year-old Black abstract painter from Connersville, PA. He was adopted by his mother, who wanted him to be an artist, at an early age. He now lives a secluded life with his wife in upstate New York. Forty-five years ago, he did two art shows but hasn't done any since. Bradley loves listening to jazz music while he's painting. Bradley has a lot to say about the art and jazz music world. He was a part of it for most of his life before being relegated to the sidelines. The film deals with his bitter side to some extent but also shows why he was such a revered painter by many in the art community in New York in the '60s and '70s. It's mostly talking heads answering questions from the director off-screen, but there is a lot of archival footage of him from the past and famous jazz musicians he knew or came in contact with. This is a good documentary about a fascinating man and world. He just wants people to sit and have a beer with him and get to know who he is as a man and as an artist.

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Silent Love follows Agnieszka, a woman who tries to get custody of her younger brother, Milosz, after their mother suddenly passes away. She also has a secret lover, Majka, in Germany and struggles to balance these relationships. She wants her lover to move in with them in Poland so that they can be one big happy family. In Poland, though, it is forbidden to have a lesbian relationship. She lies to the lady asking about caring for her brother because she can't live without her lover. "Weird Love Is Better Than No Love At All," a quote from The Green Mile, hangs around Majka's neck, encapsulating this documentary film's true story. It is a tale of silent love that I can get behind because I have a gay brother, and love of some kind is better than none at all.

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Set to some cool synth music, Love Dump follows an awkward, odd guy named Todd who meets a girl, Jessica, after he trips over her chasing his dog. He's a dog lawyer. She fixes his cut and his pants for him. Cut to 15 years later, his girlfriend, Leana, leaves him to go to LA. She leaves a bunch of stuff in his apartment, and he brings it to Jessica's shop, the Love Dump. Todd sees her again after fifteen years. She opened the shop with her dad when she was three years old. "One person's trash is another person's treasure" is a popular saying people use that makes sense in the context of the movie. Her dad passed away, and she's been lonely, looking for a man that can speak to her weird side. A contrived event where Todd loses Jessica's number causes some dramatic scenes, but this film is essentially a funny take on life and relationships. I enjoyed the absurdist comedy in the movie, and it didn't take itself too seriously, which was a breath of fresh air for me.

Review by Dan Skip Allen

In Mascot, a mother, Abbey (Maartje Remmers), works at a home for disabled people with her son but also sells her body for money. The son, Jeremy (Liam Jeans), has bad teeth and is a member of a fight club/league. He has a bad temper and takes his anger out on everybody, including his mother. She also has a daughter Emine (Drederike van Oordt), who dresses up in mascot costumes and goes to parties and dances. The kids are both estranged from their father. This film shows the difficulties of being in a one-parent household and how hard it is to raise kids no matter what country you are in. Mascot comes from Dutch filmmaker Remy van Heugten. He deals with a very serious subject matter in this film, and it's not for the faint of heart. As a young boy, my brother had anger issues, and as a younger man, so did I. Life is not easy for people, no matter their age. Anger and lashing out are sometimes the only way to express yourself, whether it's the right decision or wrong. I felt for this teen who thought he was on the outside looking in on his own life and his family.

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Waiting for the Light to Change follows Amy, Kim, Alex, Jay, and Lin as they take a break from college to stay at a lake house during winter break. These college-age teens and early twenty-somethings are a bit promiscuous, but this film is an emotional journey of discovery. They drink and smoke weed, take walks on the beach and sit around talking to each other at various times in the movie. They contemplate their existence in the world with each other and without. It's a typical coming-of-age type of story. Amy has the most emotional baggage and is by far the most interesting character of the bunch. The filmmaker Linh Tran tries to make her relationship with her best friend Kim an important aspect of the movie, but I wasn't emotionally involved with her as a character as I was with Amy. This is a good film about what goes through young people's minds at this age. I can see this becoming an indie hit this year.

The 2023 Slamdance Film Festival runs in-person in Park City, UT from January 20-26 and online from January 23-29.

By Sean Boelman

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off the year of independent cinema as a breeding ground for some of the most exciting films from around the world. Even before festival-goers began to convene upon the mountains in Park City, distribution deals were in the works for the movies that are going to be the next big thing. The most exciting part of attending a festival like Sundance is getting the opportunity to discover these indie gems.

We at disappointment media are covering the 2023 Sundance Film Festival remotely again, and we will be reporting on what we think may be the gems to look out for — many of which are accessible from your own home. (We will note if a film is not available for online viewing.) Be sure to check back in on this article, as we will be updating it with more brief thoughts as we continue to see more films!

There’s no questioning that Greenland Inuit lawyer and activist Aaju Peter is an extraordinary woman who has managed to accomplish some amazing things, and Twice Colonized does an excellent job of giving us an intimate, fly-on-the-wall look into her life. While the film’s call to action isn’t as urgent as one would hope, especially considering the breadth of the work that Peter is doing, the film asks some interesting questions about the idea of legacy and how the impact we make can last.

One of the signs of a great verité documentary is that it doesn’t even feel like a documentary, and that is the case with Against the Tide. Telling the story of two fishermen in a village torn between traditional and modern ways, the storytelling and cinematography in this film are so exceptional that viewers will feel as if they have been transported to this village and are among its villagers. The result is a really captivating, compelling look at this remote part of the world.

There’s no question why Going Varsity in Mariachi won the Jonathan Oppenheim award for Documentary Editing — it’s one of the most sleekly-produced documentaries in this year’s lineup. However, this unorthodox underdog story about a high school band participating in competitive mariachi runs a bit longer than it should. There are always a few documentaries at Sundance that would have been better off as a short than a feature, and while this is one of them, it’s still a ton of fun.

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition, and it seems like an award more for the subject than the film itself. There’s no denying how amazing of an artist Giovanni is — and hearing her poetry spoken by herself or narrator Taraji P. Henson is wonderful — but the film otherwise follows a pretty standard biographical documentary format. Still, the film is powerful and captivating if only because of the power of Giovanni's presence and story.

Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice has a premise that sounds like it shouldn’t be terribly interesting: an aspiring hospital chaplain begins to experience self-doubt as she attempts to provide reassurance to patients on their deathbeds. However, Lorentzen’s storytelling is so intimate — providing a level of access that borders on feeling like voyeurism — that it’s absolutely riveting. There are some parts that feel unfocused, such as a subplot about the protagonist’s supervisor experiencing his own crisis of morality, but the core of the film is so quietly resonant that it is hard to shake.

Sing J. Lee’s The Accidental Getaway Driver isn’t differentiated as much by its story as it is by how it approaches it. The story is a somewhat straightforward crime drama — a taxi driver is accidentally caught up in a criminal scheme when three escaped convicts take him captive — but Lee tells the story with such a focus on humanity that it feels refreshing. Is it a tad sentimental? Perhaps. Still, Hiep Tran Nghia’s performance is absolutely exquisite and what makes the film successful.

This year, more so than average, the Sundance documentary slate is full of bleak and depressing films. As such, it’s nice to see something like Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis), a lighthearted music documentary that offers a relieving reprieve from the tension and devastation. Telling the story of the designers behind some of the most iconic album covers in music history, the documentary gives us the chance to hear from plenty of great musicians, and even more importantly, hear their music.

Like last year’s Klondike (which had an in-person encore showing at this year’s festival), the documentary Iron Butterflies tells the story of the downing of Malaysia Air flight MH17. While this is undeniably an important story and there is plenty more to learn and be told about this topic, the documentary’s overly abstract and experimental nature holds it back. The filmmakers were so devoted to creative expression and experimentation with form that they fail to capture what makes this story so powerful in the first place.

It’s no surprise that The Persian Version won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance, as it’s an inoffensive, crowd-pleasing comedy benefiting from its filmmaker’s extremely personal touch. However, even though it is nice to see a film with such great representation as this, its beats are so conventional and formulaic that it ends up being rather predictable. It’s not a bad film by any means, but it never ascends beyond its saccharine nature.

The Moroccan film Animalia is perhaps most effective as an exercise in atmosphere over anything else. Although the plot itself is rather simple despite putting up the guise of something more profound and challenging, strong direction by Sofia Alaoui and a great performance by Oumaïma Barid make this film an absolutely riveting watch. I do wish it had engaged with its themes a bit more deeply, but I was constantly engaged by the filmmaking on display.

Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi follows up her Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent with a film that is arguably equally sentimental. The Eternal Memory certainly presents a compelling look at the lives of a couple who are devastated by the effects of Alzheimer’s, but its attempts to get an emotional reaction out of the viewer by any means necessary become somewhat overwhelming at a certain point. It’s certainly a well-made documentary, and it’s hard to fault anyone for liking it, but Alberdi’s style simply isn’t for me.

One of the common things about many of this year’s Sundance documentaries is that they were extraordinarily stressful, and that is certainly the case with Beyond Utopia. Following a network of people throughout Asia who strive to help North Korean defectors reach safety, the film is shot and edited in a downright captivating way. Although this arguably could have used a tighter cut, removing some of the subplots in favor of the main family, it’s still one of the most captivating documentaries of the festival.

Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck’s Fantastic Machine won an award for Creative Vision in the World Documentary competition, and while its editing is nothing short of impressive, it grows somewhat monotonous at a certain point. Additionally, the film thinks it’s more profound in its statements than it really is, as its central thesis is actually very obvious and straightforward.

Angus MacLachlan’s A Little Prayer boasts a star-studded ensemble but suffers from overly minimalistic writing and direction. The film’s dialogue is very stilted, but it certainly doesn’t help that MacLachlan directs his actors as if they are performing in a play, leading to delivery that fails any attempt it makes at realism. Beyond that, the film’s clumsy handling of conservative politics comes across as it endorsing pro-life opinions, which is certainly frustrating.

Documentarian Laura Gabbert is known for making some of the greatest culinary documentaries of the past decade, so it’s shocking that Food and Country is such a dud. Exploring the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the food supply chain, Gabbert’s arguments are filled with fallacies and myths that might have done some good had they been shared a year ago, but instead reintroduce a problem that the industry has already managed to fix. The result is a film that feels both half-baked and entirely irrelevant to where we are right now.

Zackary Drucker and Kristen Lovell’s The Stroll is one of two documentaries playing at this year’s Sundance, and arguably the less effective of the two. In this portrait of the transgender sex workers of New York’s meatpacking district, the filmmakers can’t seem to figure out how we, as the audience, are supposed to feel about these subjects. Are we meant to be inspired by how these women were empowered by better trans rights and sex positivity, or are we to be disturbed by a system that continues to oppress them? Ultimately, the film wants us to feel a bit of both, and it struggles to make us feel anything as a result.