![]() Zagar portrays the experiences of an adolescent boy coming to terms with his dysfunctional family and his emerging sexuality as a swirling cyclone of nostalgia, brutal arguments, and bittersweet pontifications. Jeremiah Zagar is currently working with Netflix on the Adam Sandler basketball comedy “Hustle,” which many indie movie fans are intrigued by considering Zagar’s feature directorial debut was the sensitive and lyrical coming-of-age drama “We the Animals.” Campos’ grim character study makes up for an occasionally stifling icy tone with a stunning lead performance by Hall, who turns the would-be suicidal anchor into a figure worthy of empathy rather than outright pity. ![]() The film is an expertly crafted noir-like depiction of Chubbuck’s descent into psychological duress. It’s a performance that is shattering to behold. Along with director Antonio Campos, Hall creates a psychological character study of a woman trying to prove to herself as a serious reporter in the age of sensationalized news. Hall stars as Christine Chubbuck, the news reporter who took her own life live on air in 1974. With Rebecca Hall’s feature directorial debut “Passing” receiving acclaim out of Sundance earlier this year and set to enter Oscar season later this fall (the film is now backed by Netflix), now is the perfect time to revisit Hall’s career-defining acting work in “Christine.” Gerima’s boundless vision incorporates vérité flourishes that immerse the viewer in an ever-changing Washington D.C. The visually-striking drama was one of the best directorial debuts of 2021, solidifying Merawi Gerima as one of the most exciting new voices in indie film after first working on a television series (he directed an episode of the OWN drama series “Cherish the Day”) and various short films. only to discover an unrecognizable neighborhood. Merawi Gerima’s “Residue” is a resonant reflection on gentrification that follows a failed Hollywood screenwriter who returns to his childhood home in Washington D.C. In a year where Lee Isaac Chung has received breakout acclaim for his autobiographical “Minari,” so should’ve Alan Yang for “Tigertail.” -ZS ![]() Yang infuses his earnest, semi-fictionalized story (inspired by his own father’s experiences) with the evocative narrative traditions of modern Asian cinema, from Wong Kar Wai to Edward Yang, resulting in a rich and intimate atmosphere at every turn. Yang mined his own personal history for the film’s narrative, which follows a Taiwanese factory worker who seeks a better life in America but struggles to keep his family afloat. ZSĪlan Yang made an impressive jump from television (he was a writer on “Parks and Recreation” and co-created “Master of None” with Aziz Ansari) to film with his feature directorial debut “Tigertail,” a slow-burn immigrant drama with visual polish to spare. The film is undoubtedly hers, and she is a revelation in front of and behind the camera. Sandoval, starring as her own protagonist, keeps a tight focus on its central figure, the fiercely independent and self-protective Olivia. In “Lingua Franca,” sparsely traveled boardwalks and above-ground subway trains offer an elegantly lonesome backdrop to a plaintive portrait of an undocumented trans woman. This overlooked indie is so remarkable that it deserves any chance to pick up new viewers. The movie was backed by distributor ARRAY and got its North American release through Netflix. Isabel Sandoval’s luminous third feature “Lingua Franca” is an understated immigrant story that announces the arrival of a new era of trans filmmaking auteurs. Roosevelt” is clearly not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it gets pretty damn close to perfecting it. ![]() In an age when it feels like 50% of all indie features and television shows are about struggling comedians, “Mr. ![]() Wells stars as a Texas native who returns home to say goodbye to her cat and is forced to come to terms with her past while staying with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. It’s a reminder that the 21st century is going to be full of coming-of-age films about 30-year-olds, and it’s compelling evidence that that might be alright. Roosevelt” is a sweet and shaggy comedy about someone who needs to renovate their idea of home. Written and directed by Noël Wells, whose dismissal from “Saturday Night Live” now seems to be a blessing in disguise, “Mr. Roosevelt,” a low-key landmark in progressively reimagining the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, is that it can be enjoyed with the full confidence of knowing that it won’t feel like “Garden State” in 10 years. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |