Wylie Writes’ 2018 Mid-Year Report
We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time for Wylie Writes’ recap of the best and the worst films of 2018. Don’t forget to click the coloured titles to read a more detailed write-up about the film!
Shahbaz Khayambashi
Hot Docs 2018: ‘The Artist & the Pervert’ and ‘United We Fan’
The Artist & The Pervert (DIR. Beatrice Behn, René Gebhardt) Beatrice Behn and René Gebhardt’s The Artist & The Pervert tells the story of composer Georg Friedrich Haas and author/activist Mollena Williams’ dominant/submissive relationship, as well as the public’s response to it.
Hot Docs 2018: ‘The Cleaners’ and ‘Turning Tables’
The Cleaners (DIR. Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck) Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck’s The Cleaners is a documentary that claims to be one thing, but is really about another topic.
Hot Docs 2018: ‘Golden Dawn Girls’ and ‘Transformer’
Golden Dawn Girls (DIR. Håvard Bustnes) Håvard Bustnes’ Golden Dawn Girls is a feature-length interview-of-sorts with several female relatives of Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the head of the far-right, Greek “social nationalist” party known as Golden Dawn.
Catwalk: Tales from the Catshow Circuit
Last year’s Kedi, one of the best films of the year, showed us just how much potential there is in cat documentaries. This year, CBC Docs attempted to follow that nascent tradition in Canada with Catwalk: Tales from the Catshow Circuit, a study of people and their pets who participate in such performances. And, yes, there’s a healthy dose of cute cat action.
The Death of Stalin
Across the past couple decades, Armando Iannucci has repeatedly shown himself to be one of the most important voices working in comedy. Whether we are discussing his hand in the creation of Alan Partridge or his blatantly political work in The Thick of It and Veep, Iannucci has shown that he has his hand on the comedic pulse of whatever age he may be in. Now, he’s decided to take on a new experiment: a…
Learning to See: The World of Insects
One thing that tends to endear viewers to a film is something that has been described as a “personal” style of filmmaking. When the director finds something that they have a deep personal connection with and they present it to us in an authentic, unpretentious way, that is usually something to be commended. Unfortunately, it is also possible to become too personal, giving up certain aesthetic qualities in favour of familiarity. When that happens, the…
The Best Movies of 2017
The Oscars are tomorrow! In the meantime, allow Wylie Writes’ writers to guide you through their picks for the best films of 2017. Don’t forget to click the highlighted titles to read each contributor’s review.
Wylie Writes @ Ulrike Ottinger in Asia
All of us should occasionally stop and consider how lucky we are to have the TIFF Bell Lightbox. On top of the populist arthouse fare that populates the majority of their schedule, the Lightbox occasionally introduces a brand-new audience to underrated, underappreciated, or simply underseen filmmakers. The latest addition to this tradition is the Goethe Institute-curated mini-retrospective, Ulrike Ottinger in Asia; a program of four features, three of which are Ottinger’s celebrations of various Asian cultures (the…
Loveless
There are some things that Andrey Zvyagintsev is very good at, such as political commentary. There are some things that Zvyagintsev is awful at, such as portrayals (or occasionally even the inclusion) of women in his films. So, what happens when Zvyagintsev makes a political film with a female lead? You end up with a disappointing monstrosity; one that could have been a masterpiece if a good forty percent was discarded. You end up with…