Claire Denis

Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ TIFF ’18

TIFF returns for another year, pushed along by their Tuesday announcement of gala and special presentation films.  This first slate has the same level of films that frequently find their way into the earliest announcement: films that will eventually be nominated for Oscars, or be ignored for Oscars, or find their way into hot take articles about how they should have been nominated for Oscars.

Reviews

Let the Sunshine In

Movies about people looking for true love tend to be treated with a lighter attitude.  Mostly because audiences respond more efficiently to stories that they can relate to that don’t portray their problems as a wet towel.  To my recollection, Let the Sunshine In is the first film – in some time, at least – to put real weight behind this personal mission of romance.  Although the film provides relatable results for some viewers, the…

Reviews

Bastards

By: Addison Wylie The latest film from french filmmaker Claire Denis deals with people grieving and coping.  The situations are bleak and only become more sullen.  It’s particularly unsettling due to Denis taking a very close look into these troubled lives, adding a very personal vibe to the dreariness. This confidential approach serves Bastards well when Denis and her actors can gel on the same intimate level.  Scenes involving drawn out foreplay and sex between…