documentary | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Crutch” Examines Perception, Dance, and Disability

October 13, 2021

Film Review: “Justin Bieber: Our World” Is a Tedious but Heartwarming Return

October 8, 2021

TIFF Review: Like It or Not, “Jagged” Is All About Alanis

September 19, 2021

Interview with “In the Same Breath” Director Nanfu Wang

August 23, 2021

Film Review: Engaging Documentary “The Lost Leonardo” Wonders at the Cost of Art

August 19, 2021

Film Review: In “Homeroom,” Bright Young Oakland Students Prepare for the Future

August 11, 2021

Film Review: Despite Censorship and Propaganda, Afghan Filmmakers Shine in “What We Left Unfinished”

August 2, 2021

Film Review: “Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars” Succeeds with an Intimate, Brief Look at Its Conflict

July 12, 2021

AFI DOCS Review: “Pray Away” Examines the Dangerous Consequences of Conversion Therapy

July 7, 2021

AFI DOCS Review: “Courtroom 3H” Shows What Compassionate Legal Professionals Can Do

July 5, 2021

Middleburg Film Festival Review: “Bergman Island” Intrigues, Despite Missed Connections
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 14, 2021
Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021) 2½ out of 4 stars. Beautifully rendered and exquisitely cast, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island takes us to Fårö Island, just north of Gotland Island, both of which lie south of Stockholm, Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. We journey in the company of Chris (Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread) and Tony (Tim Roth, Luce), a filmmaker couple making a pilgrimage of sorts to the home of one of their favorite directors. That ... >>
Film Review: “Mass” Offers a Profoundly Moving Cinematic Experience
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 14, 2021
Mass (Fran Kranz, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. One of the wonders of engaged artistic expression, regardless of medium, is how it can lead us towards profound catharsis. Drama, especially, can be quite effective at this, its scripted narrative designed, if structured accordingly, for maximum effect. Still, some subjects prove especially challenging. How can one tackle a topic as horrific as a school shooting without somehow trivializing the horror? ... >>
Film Review: “Crutch” Examines Perception, Dance, and Disability
By Heidi Shepler
October 13, 2021
Crutch (Sachi Cunningham/Chandler Evans, 2020) 3½ out of 4 stars. Bill Shannon, a.k.a. “Crutch,” “Crutch Master,” or “Crutches,” is a multidisciplinary artist. He’s a dancer, a street performer, a choreographer, a skateboarder, and a filmmaker, among other talents. His range and experience would be impressive no matter who he was, but what people inevitably notice first about him is that he uses crutches with round bottoms as a mobility aid. ... >>
Film Review: “Luzzu” Asks Whether We Must Choose Between Survival and Tradition
By Hannah Tran
October 11, 2021
Luzzu (Alex Camilleri, 2021) 3 out of 4 stars. You’ve probably seen the Maltese coast a dozen times in movies without realizing it. Despite its popularity as a stage for others’ stories, it rarely moves beyond the coastline to tell stories of its own. Alex Camilleri’s Luzzu, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, was the first of the small archipelago’s to compete in a major international film festival. ... >>
NYFF Review: “The Tale of King Crab” Basks in the Wonder of Legend
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 10, 2021
The Tale of King Crab (Alessio Rigo de Righi/Matteo Zoppis, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. Heretofore documentary filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis (Il solengo) try their hand at a fictional narrative, albeit one grounded in their previous nonfiction work, to deliver a two-part fable of failure and rebirth. Set, in the beginning, in a small Italian municipality north of Rome, the movie then jumps to the majestic peaks of Argentina’s ... >>

Film Review: Outrageous Dark Comedy “The Estate” Is Anchored by Exceptional Performances
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Specialty Releases, Spotlight
Film Review: “Rhapsody of Love” Is a Patchwork of Stories That Never Fully Resonates
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Robin C. Farrell, Specialty Releases, Spotlight
Film Review: Visually Resplendent “Dune” Loses Its Messaging in the Desert
In >> Breaking, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Reviews, Spotlight
Film Review: “Halloween Kills” Struggles but Still Succeeds
In >> Breaking, Film Reviews, Matt Patti, Spotlight

Victoria Reviews “The Last Duel”
October 18, 2021
Ridley Scott’s THE LAST DUEL is rightfully an epic given the stars and the vast production. And ...>>
Victoria Reviews “Titane”
October 13, 2021
Provocative, daring and fearlessly original. The director, Julia Ducournau, has inherited Lars Von ...>>
Victoria Reviews “No Time To Die”
October 4, 2021
You’ll be thrilled to know that the Woke Army has won. The masculine icon of a 60 year reign is ...>>
Victoria Reviews “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
October 4, 2021
Chastain gives an astonishing performance. Its impossible to see the actress in the role. Chastain ...>>