CARELESS CRIME – CIFF 2020 QUICKIE REVIEW

Iran may just be on the greatest cinema-based hot streak this year with their current release schedule of their critically acclaimed international exports. The Middle-Eastern country has delivered countless of delightful flicks this year, ranging from the Sundance winning Yalda: A Night of Forgiveness and even the TIFF-selected Bandar Band. However, I’ve only encountered one […]

THE TIES – CIFF 2020 QUICKIE REVIEW

The official opening night film of this year’s Venice Film Festival, The Ties or more well known in Italian as “Lacci” is a standard domestic drama on the pitiful downsides of infidelity. With a strong sense period-drama costume and production design, alongside two beautifully bickering performances at the film’s core, the film is a moderately […]

CHARLATAN – CIFF 2020 QUICKIE REVIEW

Charlatan, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, derives from the Italian word chatter, and is specifically used under the context of a person falsely claiming to have special knowledge or skill of a specific trade. At the start of Agnieszka Holland’s latest feature, we follow the medical proceedings of Jan Mikolášek, a man who is now […]

ANY CRYBABIES AROUND? – CIFF 2020 QUICKIE REVIEW

From the eyes of little children, the Namahage festival is a time of demons raiding their homes and scaring them silly. From the eyes of adults, it’s a time of reconciliation with their family, where these devilish folklore creatures ultimately help them rekindle their relationships with their children. In the latest feature from development producer […]

LITTLE GIRL – CIFF 2020 QUICKIE REVIEW

Trans representation can go a long way, when executed properly in modern media. Sometimes, just viewing a positive film on the subject that casts real trans-actors can help demystify the transphobic image that is usually painted on most far-right network spheres. The same applies with documentaries, where the purpose of images can go a long […]