Lee Isaac Chung’s gentle tale of assimilation and cultivation steeps in something universal.
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Review: David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ is an Electric Ride
Spike Lee’s filmed version of David Byrne’s Broadway show captures a feeling of infectious enthusiasm and energy.
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Review: Disney + LEGO + Lucasfilm + Christmas = ‘The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special’
Tansy Gardam unboxes this curious brand-tastic product, which is at the very least an improvement on the ‘78 special.
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Review: ‘The Twentieth Century’ is the Most Fun You’ll Have Learning About Politics All Year
Matthew Rankin’s debut feature is a surreal quasi-biopic set in a delicious nightmare world of Canadian politics.
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Review: ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is a Softly Spoken Tale of Female Self-Determination
Eliza Hittman’s naturalistic drama is at its most tender, yet hard-hitting when it says nothing at all.
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Review: The River Tale in ‘Voice of Siang’
In his debut documentary, Joor Baruah creates a delicate and stylised visual anthropological treat, foregrounding the controversy of dam construction with issues of frontierisation and borderlands.
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Review: Violence’s Aftermath in ‘Jwlwi – The Seed’
This multilingual film sheds light on the conflict between various ethnic militant groups and the state armed forces across two decades in India, but finds hope in future generations.
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Review: ‘I Am Woman’ is Your Semi-Annual Groovy Reminder of the Power of Music
The Helen Reddy biopic is firmly formulaic and second-wave, but it still manages to inspire.
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Review: ‘Women Make Film’, and How, In This Epic Documentary Chronicling the Female Gaze
Mark Cousins’ gargantuan series on female directors is captivating and aspirational from every one of its 14 hours.
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Review: Death, Lesbians, and Disappointment in ‘Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt)’
It may be a meaningful step forward for Australian queer cinema, but this lesbian teen rom-com offers little outside of representation.
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Review: ‘The Tango of the Widower and Its Distorting Mirror’ is Little More Than A Fragmented Reflection of Former Greatness
Filmed in 1967 and reconstructed in 2020, Matilda Alexander ponders Raúl Ruiz’s Chilean cinépoem, which brims with visionary ambition.
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Review: ‘Corpus Christi’ is a Clear-Eyed Drama about Faith and Fraud
There are no simple truths in this bittersweet, confronting film of a delinquent Polish youth masquerading as a Catholic priest.
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Review: The Adolescent Panic of ‘Shiva Baby’
Emma Seligman’s debut feature is an affecting examination of the pressures, anxieties and insecurities of young womanhood.
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Review: Artificial Unintelligence in ‘Coded Bias’
Shalini Kantayya’s documentary is a methodical look at facial recognition algorithms which avoids being by-the-numbers.
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Review: The Dread of Waiting in ‘La Llorona’
This slow-burning Guatemalan ghost story deals with heavy questions about complicity and justice.
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Melbourne International Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: Animation
In this year’s impressive Animated Shorts line-up, three films elevate the mundane through style and tone.
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Melbourne International Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: International
In this year’s heavy-hitting International Shorts line-up, three women-centric films stand out, exploring separate facets of female isolation.
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Review: ‘The Plastic House’ Tends To A Garden of Isolation and Grief
The repetitive imagery and near silence of Allison Chhorn’s experimental film may cause pandemic-era viewers to reflect on their own daily routines.
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Review: Mortality Confronted in ‘Father to Son’
Hsiao Ya-chuan crafts a rewarding, if at times confounding tale of paternal love, politics, and temptation.
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Review: ‘Descent’ is a Cathartic Deep Dive That Takes Your Breath Away
Nays Baghai crafts an empathetic portrait of ice freediver Kiki Bosch, exploring how the traumas of her past led her to the extreme sport.
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Review: ‘Rosemary’s Way’ Introduces Audiences to the Australian Hero We Need Right Now
It’s hard not to fall for the community spirit and gentle charms of Ros Horin’s sophomore documentary feature.
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Review: Superstition as Anesthesia in ‘Zana’
Set in the aftermath of the Kosovo war, Antoneta Kastrati explores the stigmatisation of female psychology in her unflinching narrative debut.
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Review: ‘Sea Fever’ is a Moody Deep-Sea Sci-Fi
Watery characterisation and borrowed genre tropes leave this thriller down among the dead men.
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Sydney Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: Animation
Although ‘GNT’ and ‘The Quiet’ are animated, they’re far from two-dimensional.
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Sydney Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: Live-Action
‘Her Own Music’, ‘Mukbang’, and ‘Idol’ tell their stories of adolescence and social media madness sensitively – and quickly.
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Review: ‘The Weather Diaries’ Speaks to Parenting in an Environmental Crisis
In her documentary, Kathy Drayton affectingly examines the climate crisis in Australia and its influence on her relationship with her daughter.
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Review: ‘A Hundred Years of Happiness’ is a Marriage of Unfulfilled Potential and Slow Storytelling
Jakeb Anhvu’s observational documentary can feel more like an exercise in aesthetics than the fascinating cultural study it promises.
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Two Takes on ‘Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet’: A Bizarre Detective Satire
Claire White and George Kapaklis present two opinions on Oldřich Lipský’s absurdist drama.
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Review: Time Unspools in ‘Over’
UK filmmaker Jörn Threlfall’s short film crafts a stream of clues towards a pointy answer.
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Review: ‘Hope Gap’ is a Forgettable Addition to the Divorce Movie Genre
An acting dream team of Bill Nighy, Annette Benning and Josh O’Connor can’t save this tiresome familial drama.
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