By Sean Boelman

Although he is best known for his own work as a director, Martin Scorsese has also done some significant work to preserve the legacy and availability of historically significant films. Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 features six films from around the world that have been identified by the director’s efforts as films worthy of note and preservation.

Previous editions of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project have made an effort to highlight historically important contributions by women directors, and Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga is that film in this volume. The first woman to direct a film in Africa, Maldoror documents Angola’s independence movement in this powerful fictionalization.

For those who are fans of Latin American cinema, Mario Soffici’s Prisioneros de la Tierra is likely to be one of the most exciting offerings in this edition. A work of social realism, the film provides a glimpse into the oppression of workers in Argentina in the 1930s, making it an important document of cinematic history and history as a whole.

The Iranian film Chess of the Wind recently received a theatrical re-release with its restoration recently through sister company Janus Films, and is finally making its way to home media through the Criterion Collection in this box set. It’s a genre-bending film that, as is the case with so many films from the country, has an important social commentary.

Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa’s Muna Moto (The Child of Another) is one of the more soft-spoken films included in this particular collection. Exploring the role of customs in conservative African society, this is a heartbreaking love story if there ever was one, making this film resonate in unexpected ways.

Directed by André De Toth, whom you might know as the director of camp horror classic House of Wax, Two Girls on the Street is one of the most formally impressive films in this altogether beautiful collection. It’s a stylish melodrama, exuberant in the way you’d expect a film by a maverick Hollywood designer to be.

An early work of meta cinema, Kalpana is without a doubt the most epic film in this box set. The only film by dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar, this is the type of kinetic, transfixing film you will wonder hasn’t already received a wider release, but with this box set, you’ll be able to discover it.

All of the editions of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project have brought some exciting international films to the forefront, but No. 4 is particularly exciting in the variety of voices it showcases. For cinephiles looking to discover a great, historically significant film, this is a must-buy.

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 is now available via the Criterion Collection.

By Sean Boelman

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the hottest film events of the Fall, often acting as the introduction of several high-profile awards contenders on the scene. This year featured the World Premieres of some of the biggest films for the rest of the year, but also plenty of other films that audiences will certainly want to pay attention to.

We at disappointment media got the opportunity to cover TIFF again this year, and for the first time on the ground in Canada. Here are some of our brief thoughts on some of the films we saw.

Hlynur Pálmasson’s previous film, A White White Day, was a unique spin on the revenge thriller genre, so hopes were high for his religious epic Godland. Unfortunately, this story of a Danish priest traveling to remote Iceland to build a church and photograph its parishioners explores themes that have been done before (and much more effectively) in other anti-colonialist commentaries like Silence and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, by which this is so clearly inspired. It’s unquestionably one of the most gorgeous film’s to play at TIFF this year, but the narrative is an absolute slog.

TIFF usually has one or two movies that could have earned a place in the Midnight Madness program make an appearance in another section, and this year, it’s Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s Fixation in the Contemporary World Cinema program. This psychological horror film has an intriguing concept, but it is told in a way that is almost unbearably pretentious. The production is cheap, and it thinks that it is much smarter than it is, when it really only offers a shallow exploration of its themes.

The premise of ​Luxembourg, Luxembourg reads as if it’s a pretty standard road trip comedy, but it’s something much harder to connect to. This story of two brothers hoping to reconnect with their dying father who left them years before sounds like something that could be really compelling, but it’s shockingly difficult for the audience to find some sort of connection with the characters. The film feels disappointingly cold, and that makes it not worth watching.

John Barker’s The Umbrella Men offers an interesting premise — a group of jazz musicians teaming up for a heist to save their beloved, indebted nightclub. It’s a pretty standard heist movie, but it’s enjoyable enough for what it is. It is the musical flairs that give this film the personality it so desperately needs to succeed, creating a fun atmosphere even if it is entirely predictable at every beat.

The main draw of Christophe Honoré’s Winter Boy is a supporting turn from Juliette Binoche, but she feels entirely wasted in a role that is largely insubstantial. Unwitting viewers who go into this hoping to see the next great Binoche film will instead be met with yet another bleak queer coming-of-age drama. It’s the type of dour film about self-loathing that the community likely thought it had grown past. It desperately wants to be Mysterious Skin but isn’t anything close.

Marie Clements’s Bones of Crows is a condensed version of an upcoming CBC miniseries, and it shows. This story of Indigenous oppression is undeniably well-intentioned, but it is told in such a maudlin way that it is hard to get behind. It’s the type of film that clearly wants to be something extraordinary and even awards-worthy, but it has such a limited budget and poor execution that it feels like a Lifetime movie.

The late Sidney Poitier is certainly a legendary actor, but some people might not know the contributions he had on society as a whole. Reginald Hudlin’s documentary Sidney takes a very standard approach to telling the story of the actor and activist, but Poitier is such an extraordinary subject that the story speaks for itself. Cinephiles will love hearing from some of the most notable Black actors of today as they talk about Poitier’s legacy, but the true highlight is the interviews conducted with Poitier slightly before his passing.

Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu’s first film in six years, R.M.N. starts out really slow, but has an absolutely explosive second act that sets it apart as one of the year’s most extraordinary films. This exploration of xenophobia and masculinity is shocking and harrowing, and even though it takes about an hour for the film to find its footing, once it does, it will stick with viewers long after the haunting final image.

The Mexican film Love and Mathematics is the type of movie that is best experienced if you go in blind. Blending genres seamlessly, it is an exploration of the mundanity of the life of a once-famous member of a boy band. It’s unsettling and occasionally darkly funny, powered by a strong performance from Roberto Quijano. Claudia Sainte-Luce is certainly a filmmaker to look out for in the future.

Sheila Pye’s The Young Arsonists presents itself as if it is going to be some profound experimental art film, but in reality, it’s just a pretty standard coming-of-age tale with a decent sense of visual style. It’s just another story about a group of girls who find solace in one another after they are rejected by the community around them. From a narrative standpoint, it’s nothing special, but Pye does show some potential as a director in her feature debut.

Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani’s newest feature, The Blue Caftan, gathered quite a bit of acclaim after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. While it is exquisitely shot and well-acted, from a narrative standpoint, it’s just another story of forbidden love. The film hardly explores any of its themes in a deeper level, resulting in a film that is disappointingly inoffensive and unprovocative, even if it is well-made.

Many times, critics will describe films as being “style over substance,” but what is really frustrating is when the film thinks it has substance but has nothing to it at all. Darlene Naponse’s Stellar has an extremely thin narrative that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, resulting in the film being nearly unwatchable. Perhaps it could have been forgiven if the visuals were at least somewhat interesting, but the film’s low budget really makes it just a big waste of time.

Cyril Schaüblin’s Unrest has an intriguing concept — new technology transforming labor in a watchmaking town in 19th century Switzerland — but it doesn’t do anything particularly interesting with it. The visuals of the film are undeniably gorgeous, but even at just over ninety minutes, the film will struggle to keep viewer’s attention due to the highly technical nature of its story.

Marie Kreutzer’s slightly anachronistic biopic Corsage is one of the most enjoyable period pieces you will see this year. The film isn’t over-the-top with its modern flair, resulting in a film that doesn’t feel tacky whatsoever and explores gender dynamics in a fantastically interesting way. Of course, the highlight of the film is Vicky Krieps’s knockout performance as the Austrian monarch.

Ariel Escalante’s Domingo and the Mist is an interesting ghost story that is quietly affecting in unexpected ways. Following a man who is visited by the ghost of his dead wife in the mist as land developers attempt to kick him out of his home, it’s a gorgeously-shot film, but also one that offers profound ruminations on life. It’s not the type of film that everyone is going to be on the same wavelength as, but those who get on board with its unique style will find it to be quite compelling.

Ashley McKenzie’s Queens of the Qing Dynasty explores the theme of mental health in a way that is more sensitive than any other movie has in quite a while. McKenzie takes an almost clinical approach to telling this story, and while that may put some off, it makes sense given the tone that the film is aiming for. The character work in the film is extraordinary, approaching these characters with nuance and sympathy rather than pity.

Henry Selick is one of the best filmmakers in animation of all time, and Jordan Peele is one of the most exciting voices in horror, so a collaboration between the two was certainly very exciting. However, Wendell & Wild is an unfocused film that bites off more than it can chew with its story. At once, it’s both very generic and has too many moving parts for its story to work. However, most disappointing is the fact that the world Selick and Peele built isn’t visually distinctive enough to work.

The Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott two-hander Sanctuary might not have much in the way of substance, but it’s a very sleek film that is undeniably fun to watch. Following a dominatrix and her wealthy client with whom she shares an unorthodox relationship, the film unfolds with plenty of twists and turns that you’re not really sure where it’s going. Qualley’s performance is fantastic in what could have been a caricature, and Abbott serves as a perfect foil to her.

Carly Stone’s first feature The New Romantic was edgy and hilarious, so it’s disappointing that her sophomore film North of Normal is so straightforward. Following a teenage girl who has to adjust back to society after living most of her life off-the-grid, there are certainly some charming moments here, but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. It’s crowd-pleasing enough to be diverting, but it could have been so much more with the talent involved.

Sebastián Lelio is one of the best filmmakers working today, so it’s absolutely shocking that The Wonder is one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Based on a novel by acclaimed author Emma Donoghue, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where this film went wrong. The score is absolutely gorgeous, one of the best of the year even, but everything else about the film is so standard that it’s truly a chore to suffer through.

Brett Morgen’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream is supposedly a transcendent experience, but that might just be code for something that’s shallow but gorgeous. There’s no denying the power of the way in which Morgen combines images and sound in the film, particularly if you get to see the film in the wonders of an IMAX presentation, but viewers will leave the film having learned disappointingly little about Bowie or his art.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish is one of the most influential investigative documentaries of the past decade, so her next documentary, The Grab, was certainly an exciting prospect. And while the story it is telling — an exploration of the power dynamics that go into land grabs — is fascinating and shocking, the presentation becomes repetitive after a while. Not only does the film’s argument begin to grow redundant, but so does the evidence that is used, making this less powerful than it should have been.

Although the Rosemary’s Baby trope has been done time and time again, there is a reason that filmmakers continue to attempt to explore motherhood in this way. Playwright Bess Wohl’s debut as a filmmaker, Baby Ruby, is an interesting psychological horror flick, and while it follows familiar beats, it adds some interesting commentary on its themes. At times, Wohl’s direction does feel amateurish, but other portions are shockingly effective and haunting.

Like the rest of Albert Serra’s films, Pacifiction is an excessive portrait of excess. The nearly three-hour runtime of the film may not be earned, and the film’s message may boil down to “colonialism bad,” but fans of art house cinema will certainly find something to enjoy here. The gorgeous visuals, sharp dialogue, and a tremendous leading performance from Benoit Magimel keep this afloat even when it feels like it may be sinking.

The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran September 8-18.

By Sean Boelman

The Toronto International Film Festival was one of the first to embrace the hybrid format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now one of the first to bring back filmmakers, journalists, and fans from around the world to celebrate some of the highest profile films the fall has to offer.

We at disappointment media are covering TIFF for the third year in a row — and this year, for the first time ever, on the ground in Toronto. We’ll be providing plenty of coverage throughout the festival, but for those of you who will be joining us in Canada, we wanted to make sure you knew which films we think you shouldn’t miss!

The Pakistani film Joyland, directed by Saim Sadiq, largely went under the radar at Cannes until it won one of the top prizes in the Un Certain Regard section. Telling the story of a man from a traditional Muslim family who falls in love with the transgender leader of an underground dance troupe he joins, this is a fantastic dissection of gender dynamics in a patriarchal country. Ali Junejo’s extraordinary and vulnerable lead performance is reason enough alone to see this film.

Having debuted at the virtual edition of Sundance 2022 to great acclaim and quickly getting snatched up by Sony Pictures Classics, Oliver Hermanus’s Living is making a quick stop at TIFF before its prime awards season release date in December in the US. This remake of master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru isn’t particularly flashy, but therein lies its charm. It’s a simple, powerful film, in large part thanks to a commandingly subtle turn from Bill Nighy.

Alice Winocour’s Paris Memories may not have been one of the buzziest titles to come out of this year’s Cannes — not even picking up a US distributor as of yet — but that doesn’t change the fact that it is one of the finest. The film explores the ways in which we deal with trauma to absolutely harrowing effect. Virginie Efira got much acclaim for her performance in last year’s Benedetta, but her turn in this film shows that she is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a haunting film in unexpected ways, so don’t miss this one.

While everyone is going to be buzzing about the other two “filmmakers make their own Belfast” movies at TIFF this year — The Fabelmans and Empire of Light — it’s important not to forget their indie cousin, I Like Movies. Written and directed by critic-turned-filmmaker Chandler Levack, this film is an ode to all the cinephiles who grew up during the Blockbuster generation. Yes, it’s another coming-of-age story, but an endlessly charming one at that.

What is a good TIFF schedule without at least one Midnight Madness selection? This year, genre cinephiles should check out Jamari Helander’s brutal and fun WWII action flick Sisu. Like Rambo by way of Inglorious Basterds, this film follows a seemingly-immortal commando who takes a stand against a group of Nazis with the type of gory results Midnight Madness fans have come to expect. It’s definitely worth the late night to see this one with the crowd at the Royal Alexandra.

These are just a few of the films playing at this year’s TIFF that you absolutely will not want to miss. From high-profile world premieres to some of the hottest films that have played other festivals, there is certainly something for everyone to check out at this year’s festival.

Review by Sean Boelman

One of the best things that the Criterion Collection does is bring historically significant cinema that was once largely unavailable to the forefront. With a new 2K restoration available for the first time on Blu-Ray in the United States, Marcel Carné’s Hotel du Nord is a heart-crushing romance that any cinephile should be glad to have on their shelf.

The film follows the guests of a hotel in the low-income part of Paris as a young couple is torn apart by a suicide pact gone wrong. For some reason, the movie is billed on IMDb as a comedy, but don’t believe it. It’s actually a very depressing film — and while viewers are unlikely to finish the movie feeling good, that doesn’t make it any less of an essential watch.

Based on a novel by Eugène Dabit, the film uses its sometimes melodramatic storylines to explore themes that were then very timely about the plight of the French working class. And yet, while the movie was specifically made as a response to the zeitgeist of the 1930s, there are several aspects of its story that still ring true today.

Like many of Carné’s films, Hotel du Nord is an essential piece of cinema history in the movement that was poetic realism. With his contemporaries including Jean Renoir and Pierre Chenal, Carné was shining a light on the social issues of the time, albeit with a lens that has a very longing, almost fantastical view of life.

In the movie, audiences will see the star-crossed lovers’ plight and be absolutely heartbroken by the tragic romance that follows. It’s a classically trope that is virtually as old as literature itself, peaking in popularity with Shakespeare but standing the test of time thanks to its emotional resonance.

Much of the acting in early French cinema is theatrical in nature, and that is also the case here. The emotions on display from all involved, particularly lead actress Annabella, is exaggerated and grand in nature. But given the lens through which Carné is making the film, it’s a perfect fit for what he intends to accomplish.

The bonus features on this Criterion Edition are led by a new conversation between iconic modern French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet and journalist Philippe Morrison. The disc also includes a making-of program from 1972 and a 1994 documentary on the life and career of Marcel Carné.

Hotel du Nord is a quietly influential work of French cinema, and while its depressing tone can make it hard to watch at times, it’s something that cinephiles need to see. The new restoration is absolutely gorgeous on Blu-Ray, so you should absolutely pick this edition up.

The Criterion Collection edition of Hotel du Nord is available August 23.

By Dan Skip Allen

The Cinequest Film Festival champions filmmakers from different backgrounds with unique visions. Based out of San Francisco, the festival showcases films from all over the world. There are loads of narrative films, documentaries, and shorts, many of which deal with the human condition. After a couple years of virtual editions, the festival is returning to an in-person format from August 16-29. Here are some films playing in the festival that we recommend you check out!

Linoleum takes place in Fairview Heights, where the lead character Cameron Edwin (Jim Gaffigan) hosts a children's science show, a la Bill Nye the Science Guy, called "Above and Beyond." He is married to Erin (Rhea Seahorn, Better Call Saul), who sometimes helps him on the show but works at a science & space museum in town. They have a daughter named Nora (Kathryn Nacon) who goes to a private high school, but she doesn't fit in. She meets a boy in school, but he's the son of her father's rival. When a rocket lands in Gaffigan's backyard, he decides it's time for a change in his own life. ​

This film is trying to say something about motherhood, parenting, and how parents interact with their children. It uses some weird ways to do this, but they work in an odd way. It wasn't easy to be a parent in the '80s or today, for that matter. Director Colin West creates a very existentialist film but uses the weird things going on in the movie to tell a straightforward story.

​A young woman, Mack (Madison Lawlor), leaves home to spend time alone at a secluded cabin after her sister's death. Unexpectedly, her friend from childhood, Alex (Decker Sadowski), and her college roommate Dylan (Olivia Blue) show up to console her in a time of need. And then a couple of guys, one the brother of Alex, show up as well, making it five people at the cabin.

The director Kathrine Dudas brings these people together so they can work out their differences and grieve in a way that's not normal for most people. The drama between the characters seems forced, and the acting doesn't seem genuine. The location is fine, but the overall execution of the story and characters seemed off. They didn't seem authentic, and neither did the entire situation.

By Sean Boelman

Fantasia is known as one of if not the single best genre festivals in the world, so cinephiles both local to Montreal and across the world are coming together to celebrate the best in weird and niche cinema that the year has to offer. With a lineup that is diverse as ever, the 2022 edition of the festival has returned to an in-person-only format after a virtual edition in 2020 and a hybrid one in 2021.

We at disappointment media are excited to again be providing remote coverage of the festival in its 26th year. As we are able to screen some of the films from the lineup, we will continue to bring you our brief thoughts here, so make sure to keep an eye on this page for more updates.

Fresh off its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the Korean film Next Sohee now made an appearance at Fantasia where it is a highlight among this year’s Asian showcase. The film is carried by a powerhouse performance by Kim Si-Eun as a young worker in a call center whose job causes a tremendous amount of emotional pressure on her. It’s a very depressing, sympathetic film, and while the second half pivots in a way that is slightly less compelling, July Jung’s sophomore feature is still wonderful.

The Filipino film Whether the Weather Is Fine has been touring the festival circuit since last fall to a great deal of acclaim. Carlo Francisco Manatad’s film, set in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, is a slice-of-life film that has a lot of potential but ends up feeling a bit underdeveloped. Daniel Padilla, Charo Santos-Concio, and Rans Rifol make this a solid three-hander, but it is missing the sense of urgency — emotional or otherwise — that would have made this really powerful.

Led by acclaimed French actor Gérard Depardieu as the legendary eponymous detective created by author Georges Simenon, Maigret is a brisk ninety-minute mystery. And while the film is certainly short enough to not be dull, the mystery isn’t all that compelling or unpredictable. Depardieu’s performance is the main reason to watch the movie, and while this story itself might not be very interesting, it shows a lot of potential should there be further adaptations of the detective’s other cases.

Review by Sean Boelman

Bong Joon-ho already had a couple films in the Criterion Collection (Parasite and Memories of Murder), and while fans are waiting for the inevitable box set for the South Korean auteur, his 2017 Netflix satire Okja joined the Collection this month. Making it even more special is that this is the first time the movie has been made available on physical media, meaning this is one fans will surely be excited to add to their shelves.

The film is an environmentalist satire, and while it’s imperfect, like the rest of Bong’s work, the script sharply uses its genre leanings to explore its themes. And even five years after its release, what the movie has to say about industrial farming and the dangerous path the world is on still rings true.

What allows the film to work so well is that the script by Bong and Jon Ronson really emphasizes getting the audience invested in the story of this young girl and her pet “superpig.” It has all of the emotional resonance of a kid-and-their-pet movie without being as trite or manipulative. 

The real highlight of the movie is the acting, though. Child actress An Seo Yeun is simply extraordinary as the protagonist, giving a performance that is stunningly restrained and emotional. Paul Dano’s chemistry with her as her animal rights activist ally is also fantastic, and he gives a performance that is typically brilliant.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton, who are also fantastic but giving thoroughly flamboyant performances as the antagonists. It’s particularly fun to watch Gyllenhaal chew up the scenery, and it fits given the surreal, whimsical nature of the film.

The visuals of the movie look quite good on the Criterion Blu-Ray, but it’s not an upgrade or anything given that the film was already released in high definition on streaming. Still, the world which Bong has built for this movie is immersive, and it’s nice to see it preserved in a format like this.

Admittedly, the biggest disappointment about this Criterion edition is that it is a little minimalistic when it comes to bonus features. While it does include a few new interviews and such, the truth is that it will take a lot more to get anyone who isn’t a diehard fan to purchase a film that they can already watch on streaming, and this doesn’t quite justify it.

There’s no denying that Okja is a good movie, but the question is whether or not it’s worth picking up the Criterion Collection edition of it. While it is a bit on the bare side, the chance to complete your Bong physical media collection means it’s at least worth getting while the sale is still running.

The Criterion Collection edition of Okja is now available.

By Sean Boelman

When Drive My Car was picked up by specialty distributor Janus Films, cinephiles knew that it would only be a matter of time before the film was added to the Criterion Collection given the companies’ long-standing business relationship. Now, physical media collectors have the chance to bring home one of the finest movies of 2021 and add it to their shelf.

The moving three-hour drama follows a theater director who puts on a unique performance of Anton Chekov’s play Uncle Vanya two years after the passing of his wife. It’s a perfect fit for Criterion — literary but not too pretentious, and almost universally beloved among the film community.

Although the movie picked up much acclaim on its festival run — garnering several awards at the Cannes Film Festival, among other fests — few expected it to break out into such mainstream success at the Oscars last year. But that recognition has allowed it to find the audience it needed to be remembered as the masterpiece it is.

The film tenderly explores its themes, ranging from grief to artistic expression, and while its three-hour runtime can be a bit daunting to some, the opportunity to own the movie on home media allows you the opportunity to admire it at your own pace or the chance to rewind and watch some of your favorite scenes over and over again.

Hidetoshi Nishijima’s leading performance remains one of the most criminally unrecognized of last year. The amount of nuance he brings to the role is simply mind-blowing, as is the amount of emotion he is able to get out even the smallest of emotions. And his chemistry with Toko Miura is subtle but particularly impactful in the third act.

The Criterion release is a new 2K master, and while it would have been nice to see them take advantage of the 4K format in which they have been working recently, it’s still nice to be able to own the film in a physical format. After all, Hidetoshi Shinimiya’s gorgeous cinematography is going to look exquisite regardless of what format you see it in.

The bonus features on the disc do draw a lot from other sources, but there is a new interview with writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Given that this is the movie’s initial home media release, it almost makes sense that it resembles more of a standard Blu-Ray release than a Criterion Collection edition, but cinephiles are going to jump on it regardless.

Drive My Car is hardly a surprising addition to the Criterion Collection, but that doesn’t make it any less deserving of its spot. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film is an early contender to be one of the best movies of the decade, and having this Blu-Ray will ensure you remember that.

The Criterion Collection edition of Drive My Car is now available.

By Sean Boelman

The Fantasia Film Festival is known as one of the best showcases of genre cinema in the world. After leading the way for digital festivals in 2020 and pivoting to a hybrid format in 2021, the festival returns to an in-person-only edition in 2022. And as always, the lineup is full of exciting genre films that cinephiles will be clamoring to see.

We at disappointment media are excited to again be planning remote coverage of the festival, which runs in Montreal, Canada from July 14 to August 3. Here are some films playing in the lineup that you certainly aren’t going to want to miss:

Carlota Pereda’s Piggy debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it made quite the splash in the Midnight section. An expansion of her short of the same name, it’s a vicious little slow-burn thriller with some interesting social commentary. It’s one of those films where you don’t know exactly where it’s heading, and even once you think you know, it has a trick up its sleeve that will catch you off-guard, culminating in an ending that is without a doubt one of the most haunting you will see all year.

Lena Dunham’s coming-of-age film Sharp Stick is pretty much like any other sex comedy… until it isn’t. This isn’t going to be a film for everyone — it’s aggressively ribald nature is going to be too much for some — but for those who are able to get onto its uncomfortable wavelength, it’s going to be a pretty entertaining watch. The main reason to watch this film is the extraordinary cast, including a strong lead performance from Kristine Froseth and a memorable supporting turn from Jon Bernthal.

Genre cinema documentarian Alexandre O. Phillipe’s newest film, Lynch/Oz is perhaps his most academic yet, but it is nonetheless a must-see for any cinephile. A series of essays about the seminal 1939 masterpiece The Wizard of Oz and its influence on several filmmakers, including the eponymous auteur David Lynch. Although it is a bit on the unfocused side, anyone at Fantasia who is interested in learning about the inspiration for their favorite films will certainly want to check this out.

What is a great festival without some exciting retrospective presentations? At this year’s festival, Hong Kong action auteur John Woo is going to be honored with a Career Achievement Award alongside presentations of his classic films Face/Off and Hard Boiled. Cinephiles who are on the ground aren’t going to want to miss these in-person presentations, especially Face/Off, which is perhaps one of the wildest action movies ever made. Nicolas Cage and John Travolta are both among the most exaggerated actors there are, and it’s still amazing to get to see them chew the scenery with one another.

Baz Poonpiriya’s One for the Road debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision and disappeared ever since. It was a refreshing surprise to see it pop up a year and a half later at the Fantasia lineup, which is fitting given that the festival is known for featuring some of the most exciting in Asian cinema there is to see. Cinephiles will want to check out this tender road movie now, because it still doesn’t have distribution in many markets and who knows when you’ll get the chance to see it again.

The 2022 Fantasia Film Festival runs from July 14 through August 3.

By Dan Skip Allen

Many of these retrospectives on actors' lives have started with me talking about something I've seen in my childhood that I loved, which made me a big fan of a film, actor, or director. The same will go for Hollywood tough guy James Caan. The Godfather is in my Top 5 movies of all time, so I couldn't do a James Caan retrospective without bringing up "Sonny"/Santino Corleone, the first born son of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). He had a lot of fire and led the family differently than his father or younger brother, Michael (Al Pacino). His temper, especially toward his sister's husband in the film was legendary. He beat him to a pulp in that street scene. That was the mentality of Caan, though.

That is just one of the many notable performances from Caan. He's had a long and storied career in Hollywood. Another role he is noted for is that of Paul Sheldon in Misery, an author with writer's block who has traveled to a secluded cabin to write his next novel in his popular series. Unfortunately for him, he gets into a near-fatal car accident on the slippery mountain roads on his way to get some supplies for his stay at the cabin. He gets rescued by an innocent bystander who happens to live nearby, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Bates won an Academy Award for her performance as this superfan turned kidnapper. Caan has to do everything he can to survive and escape this maniacal woman. This film showed Caan's range and put him in great company opposite Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, and the aforementioned Bates, who gave the best performance of her career opposite him. He played it a little more nuanced this time around.

Caan also works opposite one of the world's foremost comedians and television stars in Elf. He had to play the straight man, as Buddy's father opposite Will Ferrell. Ferrell is at the height of his popularity as this elf looking for his father in the Big Apple. He's such a child that everybody around him, including Caan's Walter Hobbs character, is playing second fiddle to Ferrell. Like in Misery, Caan creates nuance and subtlety to make this character memorable. The rest of the cast, including Peter Dinklage and Zoey Deschanel, add some addition to the film that makes it even more fun than it already is. This is an instant Christmas classic, and Caan is a major part of that. ​

In Caan's career, he played tough guys, innocent victims, and fathers who never knew they were a father of a man child, but he's also done a couple of football films that mean a lot to me. One I consider one of the best sports films ever, Brian's Song, a movie of the week where Caan plays Brian Piccolo opposite Billy Dee Williams as Gale Sayers. Both actors played football players who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s. Piccolo and Sayers were white and Black men in an era when segregation was still a thing, even in sports. They were symbols of what would become a norm in later decades. Both characters have various bouts of severe illness, and one was very tragic for Caan's Sayers. This film is amazing, and the performances between Caan and Williams are the main reason why.

In The Program, on the other hand, Caan plays a head coach, Sam Winters, of a college football team with all the cliche moments you'd think a football program would have: drug abuse, alcoholism, partying, and other criminal behaviors. This film was modeled after Florida State in the 90s and early 2000s, where Bobby Bowden had a great team, but his players weren't necessarily all on the up and up during their careers as college students/athletes. The student part seemed to go by the wayside, though. Caan played this coach with a manor of innocence towards his players while bringing the fire he was known for in his other films. He was cast perfectly as this coach with a championship goal despite the directives from his superiors at the school and his crazy and wild players.

Caan's career is varied, and he's played all kinds of characters. He is most known for Sonny in The Godfather, but he has been around since the '60s with El Dorado, and his 70's career had a mix of interesting roles in Rollerball and The Gambler. The 80s brought Thief, directed by Michael Mann, where he played Frank, a jewel thief trying to do one last score before he retires. This is always the case with criminals, but it never ends the way they think it is supposed to. In Mickey Blue Eyes, he plays a gangster once again, opposite Hugh Grant, who's trying to marry his daughter. This is another comedic role for Caan, who mixed up his parts very nicely. His career has given fans plenty of great characters and memories that will endure for many years to come. I will never forget him and his career as long as I live. ​