All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a David and Goliath story about a woman who took on big pharma to hold them accountable for enabling the opioid crisis. Artist Goldin not only took on this work herself but inspired others to join in. And she did so through the world of art which she knows so well. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is the story of her quest.

A traditional style documentary which makes use of archive footage and interviews to bring Goldin's story to us, works us through the specific responsibility of the family and corporation that has made millions selling a drug that has caused so much pain and death. It tackles the tension between the ways the drug has helped people who needed it and the way the industry encourages abuse for profit reasons.

And All the Beauty and the Bloodshed makes the story personal, both in Goldin's own addiction and passion to fight the system that enabled her, but also in the effect of the whole crisis on the real people who suffered it. Besides the interviews the film uses Goldin's signature photo essay approach which is just so personal and so beautiful. The title of the picture is just so true. We get the beauty (in the history of her and her community) and the bloodshed (the suffering of those victims of opioid addiction, and those who tried to speak truth to power). 

And that's the power of the film, recognizing the beauty of lives often minimized by the powerful who are profiting off of suffering. That is the beauty and the bloodshed. 

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Starring: Nan Goldin

Director: Laura Poitras

 

An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl (2022)

While The Quiet Girl is beautifully crafted and performed, it doesn't necessarily have enough story to fill out its rather short runtime. Director Bairéad does a wonderful job of filling in some of this time with moments drawing connections between his characters, but the film, even though rather short, feels long and slow. Still it is a powerful story about how family isn't about biology but about connection and the final scene is an emotional powerhouse. 

The Quiet Girl's cast is terrific, especially young Clinch as the title character. The script's (no pun intended) quiet script, which doesn't give the characters big scenes to dramatize their journeys, instead allows small moments of connection which the cast uses to draw us into their experiences and their growing affections. All of this happens in a beautiful pastoral setting which is shot warmly creating a calm sense of comfort which echos the characters' growing bonds. It is all truly lovely in the way it is executed.

But very little happens for the film's runtime of barely over an hour and a half. Not all films need to be 90 minutes to be powerful and often I felt that the film was milking moments a little too much. Perhaps the sweetness of it made me forgive it a bit, but the story just doesn't sustain its length. We need to embrace films being as long or as short as they need to be to tell their story well. Audiences have a weird and unhealthy fascinations with films being too long and too short and the magic window of 90-120 minutes which doesn't fit most stories, is imposed inappropriately on most films. The Quiet Girl could have worked as a 1 hour film quite beautifully. 

Still, The Quiet Girl is a lovely watch and if you don't mind the way it draws out its tale it is quite beautiful, both visually and the way it explores how true family is made. 

An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl 

Starring: Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett

Writer/Director: Colm Bairéad

Cocaine Bear (2023)

From what I understand the real Cocaine Bear consumed some of it's namesake drug which had been thrown out of a plane by smugglers and landed in its park area. It overdosed and died without any evidence that it had hurt anyone. But the idea of a coked out apex predator is a fun one filled with silly and frightening possibilities. This is where the film Cocaine Bear comes in, to run with those possibilities and deliver a fun, if irreverent and rather silly, time. 

Cocaine Bear is what you think it is going to be. It leans into its absurdity and pushes the limits of graphic violence to tell its story designed clearly to tap into our anxieties of drugs and wildlife in that way that makes us jump and cringe but also laugh out loud. Comic horror is often cathartic in the way it plays our concerns into things we can laugh at. Cocaine Bear acknowledges right away that it is silly with a script designed to be funny in that absurd way when characters say and do ridiculous things. It's attack scenes play out quite graphically, we often see the guts spill out for example, but always in ways that are a bit wink wink so we can laugh while we are recoiling. It always lets us "off the hook" by crossing the lines but giving us a laugh while its doing it. 

But Cocaine Bear also falls into some predictability and safe story telling conventions. The film follows a very well worn path of setting up who are cast of characters are and then disposing of them one by one in ways we can often see coming a mile away. I bet you can guess who are going to be the survivors (spoiler! it's the most sympathetic ones) from the get go. And there isn't ever much of a sense of surprise at what happens as it goes along. Also the film isn't quite as funny as it wants to be, partially because of how safe it plays out. 

Despite this Cocaine Bear ends up being almost as much fun as the trailers make it out to be. It is often quite funny and in the moments it gets going it is quite the ride. There perhaps is a little too much downtime between scenes. A tighter story might have worked a bit better. But the cast is truly having a good time and that feeling is infectious. While not the rollicking shocker it might have been Cocaine Bear is still a fun time if rather disposable. 

Cocaine Bear

Starring: Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ray Liotta, Christian Convery, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Aaron Holliday, Matthew Rhys, Kristofer Hivju, Ayoola Smart

Director: Elizabeth Banks

Writer: Jimmy Warden

Sharper (2023)

Sharper is a clever and well structured con movie that almost comes together but has some third act shark jumping that keeps it from being a much cooler movie. Still it remains a very enjoyable watch with a great cast and shows a lot of promise from first time feature director Caron. 

Con movies are a great genre, providing audiences with fun puzzles and deceptive twists. Sharper's strength comes from its structure. We follow one con into a related con into another, each chapter focusing on one character and how that plot plays into and is effected by the next and it all circles back in a very satisfying manner. The problem lies in that as it wraps up it all becomes a little much and pushes our suspension of disbelief too far deflating the energy of the film somewhat. 

But the cast is up to the challenge, each carving out interesting and layered characters that pull you into their stories and make you want to watch them even when they are being awful people. I really like the energy Smith brings to his roles and this was a nice showcase for the young actor, while Moore gives a great turn in a role I don't want to say too much about. 

I just wish the film had stuck the landing. It wasn't weak enough to ruin the film but it certainly weakened it. But Sharper does show a lot of potential in the future of these film makers. 

Sharper

Starring: Justice Smith, Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, Brianna Middleton, John Lithgow

Director: Benjamin Caron

Writers: Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka

Of An Age (2023)

I love when I can find a film to champion. Writer/director Goran Stolevski's second feature is tailor made for my sensibilities. From his intimate, almost claustrophobic, camera work, to the gorgeous selective colour palette in his cinematography, to the melancholy romance of the central plot, to the ambiguity in its emotional centre, Of An Age is exactly the kind of film that plays to what I love about cinema. Yet it is also the sort of beautiful and tender film that almost anyone can fall for and enjoy. 

The film starts out with some panic, moments whose intensity is not quite explained but are clearly felt, sweeping us up into the urgency our central character (Anton) is experiencing in his 18 year old hyper-emotional state. Like him we can't even focus on Green's character for the first few moments, the camera only giving us brief glimpses of him for his first appearance, and it isn't until Anton and the audience have calmed down and we breathe, that Green, in all his cool young beauty, comes into focus. 

The conversation that follows is cat nip for me as they discuss cinema and literature (clever and suggestive references to Wong Kar Wai and Jorge Louis Borges) and I am 19 again and head over heals in love. Green is exactly the sort of fresh yet weary, academic yet lived, older boy I fancied when I was just like Anton, the awkward and pimply teen yearning to learn so much beyond what my experience was (only I wasn't in denial). These moments shook me for their familiarity as well as for Goran's sure narrative hand and incredible visual style that grounded Of An Age's romantic fantasy in real lived in experience. 

As the first act progresses and the two young men fumble towards the kind of one night that lives forever in your memory, in that sort of perfect way that impacts all other relationships you have going forward, the film just reached a place in my heart that brought up visceral memories and emotions. I was a bit weary of where the second act would go. Would it attempt to flesh out the reunification fantasy that these sorts of encounters engender and perhaps warm our hearts but feel dishonest? Stolevski doesn't go there and instead leans into a very genuine and complicated reunion that is heartbreakingly beautiful. As the story reached its rather abrupt yet *chef's kiss* conclusion, spurring in me a plethora of conflicting emotions, it suddenly rips from us the sort of cathartic resolution we are trained to expect in romantic films, I was left with the mess of emotions that only films of incredible power like The Before Trilogy or Moonlight (films that inspired this work) can create for us. 

Of An Age reached a place of connection and honesty for me that I rarely experience in films. Queer cinema is so often focused on either tragedy or affirming romance, but it is these beautiful little complicated stories which most successfully reach into my queer little heart and pull out all of the messy bits of human emotion that is so often denied sunlight. Stolevski has crafted a film that for me personally will be the sort of movie I can reflect on and enjoy over and over and that speaks to my real experiences in ways that few films do.  

Of An Age

Starring: Thom Green, Elias Anton, Hattie Hook

Writer/Director: Goran Stolevski

 

Oscar Nominated Shorts 2023

I was able to watch all the 15 short films nominated for Oscars in 2023 including the live action films, animated films, and documentary films. While last year's slate felt subpar to me, these films, all released in 2022 nominated here were quite wonderful and reminded me why I love watching short films. The Oscars do a great job of bringing some to wider audiences but as I watched these (and a few more that didn't make the final choices) I wished we had a better way of showcasing these sorts of films in the way features are showcased. 

Animation

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

This film is filled with gorgeous animation and a Winnie the Poo style narrative which tells a powerfully inspiring story which perhaps isn't logical in a narrative sense but speaks to themes more personal and beautiful in a way that just reaches in and grabs our hearts. It is the most "studio" film amongst this year's nominations.  

The Flying Sailor

The shortest film in this slate, The Flying Sailor is packed with incredible animation, wit, and existential angst in such an explosive manner, no pun intended... well maybe a little. I loved the way the film took an astonishing true event and imagined the experience of it so beautifully. 

Ice Merchants

Perhaps the least accessible for me of this group, this dialogue free film still captured a beautiful relationship, suggested some heartbreaking loss, and whipped up some intense emotions in its short runtime. It is filled with beautiful hand drawn imagery and doesn't overstay its runtime. 

My Year of Dicks

Funny and poignant, a mix of different styles of animation, My Year of Dicks is bold and beautiful and just truly enjoyable. Personal and completely relatable, a lovely love letter to youthful lust and the pursuit of connection in the confusing time of stepping towards adulthood. Personally my favourite of the animated group.

An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

The most surreal and meta of the bunch, this stop motion film works both as sharp humour and as Kafkaesque commentary on our workaday lives. It will make you laugh and think in equal measure. 

Live Action 

An Irish Goodbye

This is the story of two brothers whose mother has just passed away who are reunited and have to renegotiate their relationship to each other. It is as it is charming, poignant, and quite funny. It is the only one of this group that I felt would work expanded into a feature. 

Ivalu

While short, this powerful film tackles fascinating themes of abuse and colonialism in a story of a teen in Greenland searching for her missing sister. It is visually striking and emotionally wrecking all in its limited runtime. 

Night Ride

This might have been my personal favourite of the nominees in this category. It is light hearted while also touching some darkness. It is hilarious while also centring characters that are sidelined. Truly enjoyable all the way through. I'd watch this one over and over.  

 

Le Pupille

The biggest budget film in this group, the only "studio" film nominated, is surprisingly the most experimental. It plays with form and structure in delightful ways and is the sort of film that brings a naughty smile to your face. It will sit with you afterward and the charming nature of it belies the way it also explores some deeper themes. 

The Red Suitcase

One of the two darker films in this group, this story of an Iranian teen promised in marriage to an older man in Europe and the moment she has to make her decisions as she arrives the airport. It is perhaps interesting in how it finds some trepidatious optimism in its character's journey which is part of what makes it so powerful. 

Documentary 

The Elephant Whisperers

Beautiful and inspiring, this film about an older couple who help to raise orphaned elephants in India is the perceived frontrunner in this race and it is an easy film to love. Everything about it is lovely and a joy to watch. 

Hallout

For me this film about walruses in northern Russia and their plight as climate change destroys their habitat might be the weakest of this bunch. It is often stunning but it doesn't give us a lot to engage us while we watch it even thought it does a good job of communicating the tragedy that is unfolding. 

How Do You Measure a Year?

This darling little film shot by a father with his daughter on her birthday each year from when she was 2 until she was 18 is an emotional tearjerker even though it focuses on the rather mundane features of growing up. Nothing remarkably dramatic, just a lovely portrait of a young woman coming into her own and that in itself is remarkable. 

The Martha Mitchell Effect

This is the only "archive footage" documentary in this bunch and it tells the interesting story of Margaret Mitchell who was married to someone high up in Nixon's cabinet and was an outspoken supporter then critic of the disgraced president. She is completely captivating and its good to have this film keep her story from being forgotten. 

Stranger at the Gate

This is my favourite of the slate of nominated documentary films, a powerful, truly American story, that quite fortunately does not go the way you think it is going to go. It ends up being an inspiration and the film that brought out the most tears for me. It is the sort of film that doesn't blink from the difficult conversations yet reminds us of the power of love in humanity. A truly powerful film. 

 

A House Made of Splinters (2022)

Sometimes it's hard to remember, for those of us living in peaceful parts of the world, that life does continue to go on in war zones, people needs to make their way day to day through life as the war rages around them. A House Made of Splinters focuses on a group of people trying to keep a Ukrainian orphanage running for the children who live there. Filmed before the recent rise in military conflict, A House Made of Splinters feels even more ominous due to what we know is going to happen in this region. 

We follow the brief stories of a number of different children how they deal with their situations, and how their lives are transformed. Warning, it's not all happy endings as many of the hurdles facing these kids are rather insurmountable. The people involved are all human beings facing incredibly difficult circumstances. Things don't always work out. 

Vilmont beautifully films the children and their care givers who live in this orphanage. A lot of the film is the children just living their lives, being children, while living through separation from their families in institutional settings. He is able to capture small moments of joy amongst the turmoil and find beauty in the rubble. And perhaps that's the main strength of the film, finding some hope and optimism by focusing on those who step up and do the best they can to help during the worst of times. 

A House Made of Splinters

Director: Simon Lereng Vilmont

When You Finish Saving the World (2023)

I found this somewhat abrasive film rather touching in the end. The challenge is to get over how unlikeable its subjects are with both Moore and Wolfhard excellently making you dislike their characters. The film pulls the rug out from underneath you a bit as it reaches its climax and actually makes you care about them in the end despite... well... everything. 

I admit early on I was struggling to care at all as I watched them both be just generally terrible (not the performances which are both top notch) but Eienberg finds his way in by helping you see just how broken and sad they both are and maybe seeing them for more than just their prickly exteriors. 

So when the final moments play out and the film finds its heart and optimistic side, there is moment where you can see into their humanity enough to actually be hopeful for them. And that little twist was a pleasant surprise. 

When You Finish Saving the World

Starring: Julianne Moore, Finn Wolfhard, Jay O Sanders, Alisha Boe, Billy Bryk

Writer/Director: Jessie Eisenberg

 

Close (2022)

Dhont shows incredible promise as a film maker. While his debut film, Girl, was impressive in many ways, it did demonstrate the dangers of telling stories outside of your own experience. While well intentioned and beautifully crafted as a movie, his film about a transgirl was rife with problematic tropes and a narrative that just showed a lack of real understanding of the trans experience. So watching his film Close, a story much closer to home for Dhont, showed just what a powerful film maker the young director is. 

This is the story of two young men on the cusp of adolescence whose relationship falls just outside the heteronormative standards for their community and the repercussions of that. It is incredibly told with sensitivity and heart despite the story ending up being quite intense. The young non-actors cast as our two protagonists are both incredible with Dambrine standing out as a natural talent who, if he chooses to go on to have a career as an actor, will no doubt be giving show stopping performances well into the future. It is hard to describe just how powerful Close is, especially since most of the story is suggested more than told. 

Close is going to rock you so be prepared, but otherwise go in with as little info as you can and just let this amazing film by amazing young film makers wash over you. 

Close

Starring: Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne

Director: Lukas Dhont

Writers: Angelo Tijssens, Lukas Dhont

 

80 For Brady (2023)

One couldn't really say 80 For Brady is a good movie. The script is hokey, the jokes only land less than half the time, and the film feels slapped together in a lot of parts. But the four lead actors here exude such charisma that it's hard not to enjoy watching them fumble through this silly, forgettable, but charming comedy. Sometimes films can be satisfying just for scratching a certain itch and despite all the flaws 80 For Brady has it doesn't feel like a waste of time.

80 For Brady

Starring: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Tom Brady, Billy Porter, Rob Corddry, Harry Hamlin, Sarah Gilbert, Ron Funches, Jimmy O Yang, Sally Kirkland, Patten Oswalt, Guy Fieri

Director: Kyle Marvin

Writers: Sarah Haskins, Emily Halpern

All That Breathes (2022)

All That Breathes is a documentary that manages to incorporate so much into its personal story of two brothers. It explores themes of conservation, politics, humanitarianism, income inequality, environmentalism, family dynamics, and all while telling the story of one specific family and their passion for rescuing birds. It does all this without feeling like it's preaching or packing too much in. It is an organic story that just shows how connected we all are. 

That's the point of the title, a quote from their mother about how "all that breathes" is of equal value and entitlement. It is a beautiful and inspiring message told in a beautiful movie. Often documentaries forget they are visual mediums and don't focus on finding beauty in what they are filming. All That Breathes is a gorgeously shot film that is a joy to watch. 

All That Breathes

Director: Shaunak Sen

 

To Leslie (2022)

It's hard not to think about the controversy over Riseborough's Oscar nomination when watch To Leslie post nominations, but the truth is that she is remarkable in this film, and the film itself is very good, well constructed and beautifully shot. To Leslie is a strikingly powerful film. 

Riseborough does deserve her nomination as she gives one of those soul baring performances that balances an extreme character with a honest human portrayal. It is a difficult role to pull off yet she does an incredible job. It is one of those memorable turns that people talk about and just has to be seen. She isn't alone. The entire cast is good, especially Janney (no surprse), Teague as Leslie's son, and Maron as a generous soul.

The film is so well constructed, simply laid out but powerfully executed. Morris uses a muted, washed out colour palette that infuses a desperate energy to the film. He has captured the horrifying nature of alcoholism.

To Leslie is the sort of film that might not have been seen by as many without the attention it has got. I can strongly recommend it as a very satisfying watch. 

To Leslie

Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, Marc Maron, Owen Teague, Andre Royo, Stephen Root

Director: Michael Morris

Writer: Ryan Binaco

 

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

I've been nervous about Knock at the Cabin since I first saw the trailer. A story about a home invasion on a queer couple and their daughter was pretty triggering for me, and it being a movie made primarily by non-queer people made me uneasy considering the sensitive nature of the subject matter. But a part of me trusted those involved in the project including the queer actors cast in the lead roles. I was intrigued but a bit terrified by this film. But early in the film's runtime I was comforted that perhaps the film makers did get it and all that a story like this means. 

There is a moment early on when the young girl who has two dad talks about how people always tell her how "cool" that is and yet how that often feels like they are saying the opposite. Boom! That resonated so profoundly. The idea of being placated and tolerated by heteronormative society is such a prevalent and pervasive feeling for so many queer people just trying to exist in this space and the film voiced that from its opening moments. 

But it didn't stop there. Knock at the Cabin embraces the fact that at the heart of this is a queer family, a queer chosen family, who have faced all the alienations from micro-agressions, to systemic barriers, to physical threats and full on violence. It doesn't shy away from this acknowledgement, nor the strength and power this family has from that. It wasn't an easy watch to see this family terrorized, tied up, and threatened... in the unorthodox way the film does (yet it is still a threat). But the film handles this difficult story in such a way that it is not sensationalized nor is it exploitative. Also, quite truthfully, they aren't interchangeable for another family, a more typical family. This is the story of queerness under attack, even the unorthodox attack that this film presents. 

As Knock at the Cabin continues, it becomes not about their victimization, but their vitality and veracity as a family, a real family. In this way the film deviates from the book a bit plotwise but does so to further affirm and centre this family. It was remarkably powerful seeing this play out. I went through such a gauntlet of emotions until I was wrecked and teary by the ending. Knock at the Cabin uses the tropes of the home invasion movie set up but subverts them so powerfully and reveals something greater. Director Shyamalan is so delicate in his handling of the story, barely showing any of the violence yet letting you feel is viscerally. I was shocked at just how deft he managed it all.  

The script does feel a bit Shyamalany a few times with the fantastic elements perhaps not feeling as organic as they should, but this is often overcome by the powerful cast all delivering such amazing performances. I want to give props to Grint (so often belittled next to his more famous childhood co-stars) for giving a brief but excellent turn. Bird, Quinn, and Groff are strong too, along with young Cui, but it is Aldridge who truly gives a knockout turn in a role that I latched on to for strength. He encapsulates all the sides of a very healthy masculinity here in all its strength, anger, and vulnerability that is just amazing to watch. But at the centre of all this is Bautista, easily the best wrestler turned actor there ever was, delivering a layered, complicated, and completely captivating performance. I think the film might not have worked without how tell this cast commits to its premise and delivers on it. 

I can see how Knock at the Cabin will not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it spoke to some very entrenched emotions and fears about how queer people don't quite fit into the straight world around them and how we are made to accommodate it all, how our trauma from this informs so much of how we structure our lives, and the rage we have living in this world. For me, seeing this played out in such a sensitive story, handled so deftly, had me holding on for dear life as I watched it play out. 

Knock at the Cabin

Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Kristin Cui, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Writers: Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman, M Night Shyamalan