After the Wedding
By: Jessica Goddard In the delightful tradition of remaking films and gender swapping the leads – which no one is getting tired of at all – After the Wedding struggles to be convincing in its premise.
Drama
Wylie Writes @ Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival ’19
The Toronto Youth Shorts festival is a great platform for aspiring filmmakers and for storytellers with a lot on their mind. I can usually count on the selections to cover themes from cultural reflections to personal discoveries, with an occasional fluffy piece to break up the weight of these programmes.
Roads in February
Directed and Written by Katherine Jerkovic, Roads in February is a beautifully shot and immersive film that explores the relationship between a young Hispanic Canadian named Sara (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart), and her grandmother (Gloria Demassi).
The Farewell
By: Jessica Goddard A poignant and sincere exploration of family, loyalty, and cultural divide, The Farewell turns its writer-director’s quirky anecdote into effective drama.
Hotel Mumbai
We don’t watch Hotel Mumbai, we experience it. Filmmaker Anthony Maras makes his feature film debut with a dramatization so intense and effective that the audience has no choice but to grit their teeth and squint their eyes as they muster through the film’s realistic reenactments. I haven’t felt that way since Paul Greengrass’ heart-wrenching portrayal of 9/11 in United 93 (2006).
Wild Rose
By: Jolie Featherstone “Three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard’s oft-quoted definition of country music may well describe the soul of Wild Rose. Directed by Tom Harper and written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose is a classic underdog tale with an endlessly watchable underdog in the form of the fiery Rose-Lynn Harlan.
The Tomorrow Man
I recently interviewed Eve Harlow about her role in Noble Jones’ feature-length filmmaking debut The Tomorrow Man, a romantic drama starring John Lithgow and Blythe Danner. Harlow and I agreed that it’s pretty lame to assume movies starring older actors are for older audiences. However, for me, that argument starts to fold in on itself when filmmakers pander towards a specific demographic – The Tomorrow Man does just that.
Gloria Bell
Gloria Bell is eventually invigorating. “Eventually” usually has a negative connotation, but not in the case of Sebastián Lelio’s movie. After all, the search for one’s identity isn’t going to be easy.