International Reviews
Rotterdam 2024 Review: ROME: TALES FROM THE BLOCK, A Slight Alien Invasion Satire
La Guerra Del Tiburtino III has as its international title Rome: Tales From the Block, which shows you how much this film wears its influences on its sleeve. From the opening segment, in which an alien creature leaves a meteor...
Rotterdam 2024 Review: KING BABY Is A Royal Triumph
King Baby, by directors Kit Redstone and Arran Shearing, could've gone wrong in so many ways. The film is a send-up of masculine power plays, toxic machismo and the thin veneer of social niceties that hide volcanic violence waiting to...
SAINT OMER Blu-ray Review: The Divide Between Personhood and Motherhood
When it comes to dismantling discrimination, whether it be by race, gender, or other marginalized identity. does the law follow society, or society follow the law? While the public can often push for changes they want in society to be...
SXSW 2024 Review: HOOD WITCH, Golshifteh Farahani Runs For Her Life In This Literal Witch Hunt
A trafficker of rare animals finds herself in the crosshairs of a literal witch hunt when a young boy plummets to his death following a visit in Saïd Belktibia’s Hood Witch, celebrating its international premiere at this year’s SXSW Film...
CLUB ZERO Review: Eating Healthy Gets Dangerous
Mia Wasikowska stars in Jessica Hausner's buzz-worthy new film.
Berlinale 2024 Review: DYING, Darkly Humorous Gaze Into Family Dysfunction
Michael Glasner's dramedy explores the dissonant lives of the Lunies family, intertwining themes of death, reconciliation, and the complexities of human relationships.
Berlinale 2024 Review: A TRAVELER'S NEEDS, Hong Sangsoo's Minimalist Odyssey of Connection and Wonder
Hong Sangsoo and Isabelle Huppert reunite to explore themes of existential wanderlust and the complexity of human connections.
SXSW 2024 Review: ARCADIAN, Rich Relationships And Terrifying Monsters Make This A Winner
The old world is dead and the new one wants to kill us in Benjamin Brewer’s solo feature directing debut, Arcadian. A post-apocalyptic survival horror with strong character work and some incredible monsters, Arcadian packs an emotional punch rarely seen...
SXSW 2024 Review: BIRDEATER, This Vivisection Of A Toxic Relationship Will Make You Squirm
An Australian stag party goes off the rails when the details of the happy couple's relationship get spilled during a night of heavy drinking and drugs in Jack Clark & Jim Weir's Birdeater, making its international debut at this year's...
SXSW 2024 Review: SEW TORN, An Enchantingly Whimsical Rube Goldberg Action Thriller
A struggling seamstress plays a dangerous real life choose-your-own-adventure game in Freddy Macdonald’s debut feature, the whimsical comedic thriller Sew Torn. Barbara Duggen’s (Eve Connolly) sewing shop in an idyllic hamlet in the picturesque Swiss Alps is on the rocks....
SXSW 2024 Review: TOLL, The Price Paid, The Damage Done
Maeve Jinkings and Kauan Alvarenga star in Carolina Markowicz's sophomore feature.
Berlinale 2024 Review: THE EMPIRE Merges Cosmic Conflicts with Rural Quirks
Bruno Dumont's latest work is not just another 'Star Wars' parody.
SXSW 2024 Review: THE MOOGAI, An Examination Of Indigenous Trauma Let Down By Flaccid Script
An Aboriginal demon steps in for the real-life enduring trauma of Australia’s “Stolen Generations” in Jon Bell’s debut feature, The Moogai. Government sponsored assimilation programs ripped tens of thousands of Aboriginal children from their families to be placed with white...
SXSW 2024 Review: HUNTING DAZE, This Party Ends In Blood
One of several films at this year’s SXSW that explore the effects of women’s presence in traditionally male spaces, Annick Blanc’s Hunting Daze is among the bloodiest of the lot. When exotic dancer Nina (Nahéma Ricci) gets in a fight...
SXSW 2024 Review: THE IN BETWEEN, Stop Your Sobbing
Director Robie Flores and producer Alejandro Flores fill their debut feature with wistful yearning and thoughtful observations on their hometown, straddling Texas and Mexico.
Berlinale 2024 Review: THE DEVIL'S BATH, Gripping Period Drama on the Cusp of Reality and Despair
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala embark on a haunting exploration of 18th-century womanhood, set against the backdrop of societal and religious confines.
SXSW 2024 Review: ODDITY, A Creepy Supernatural Thriller From Ireland
The world’s creepiest mannequin holds the secret behind a shocking death in Damian McCarthy’s Oddity. Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is struggling to restore an old estate inherited by her busy doctor husband, Ted (Gwilym Lee). When a mysterious and violent death...
Berlinale 2024 Review: THE EDITORIAL OFFICE, Or, THE GODFATHER for the Disinformation Age
Ukrainian filmmaker Roman Bondarchuk navigates the complex interplay of truth, justice, and media manipulation in his latest socio-political black comedy that veers into a surreal satire.
EXHUMA Review: Digs Up Ghoulish Thrills in Spades
In the smash hit Exhuma, four people dig a hole. Things don't turn out well - digging up corpses can do that - so they keep digging themselves in deeper. Unsurprisingly, things go from bad to worse. A rich Korean...
Berlinale 2024 Review: WHO DO I BELONG TO, Lyrical Drama Explores Radical Family Ties
In her debut film Who Do I Belong To, Tunisian-born, Canada-based filmmaker Meryam Joober explores the poignant narrative of Aicha, a mother faced with the daunting reality of her sons' association with ISIS. The film is set in the tranquil...