Category Archives: International

Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) review — Almodóvar returns with movie memoir

November 7, 2019 flawintheiris

This film was expected to screen on Friday, November 8 at Halifax's independent screening series, Carbon Arc—two screenings with tickets sold for both. Without warning, it was pulled by the distributor, Mongrel Media, earlier this week and given to Cineplex. Carbon Arc has replaced it with an award-winning documentary about Syria, The Cave, Please go…Read More

Parasite (Gisaengchung) review — Class comedy will leave a mark

October 31, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Bong Joon Ho | Written by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won | 132 min An earlier version of this review appeared on this blog back in September, when I caught this film at FIN Atlantic International Film Festival. It threw me for a bit of a loop—I wasn't entirely sure how…Read More

#FIN2019 Day Seven — Mystify: Michael Hutchence, Searching for God in India

September 19, 2019 flawintheiris

On this last day of FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, I'm taking stock: what have I seen and what have I missed. You can check out all my reviews here! (Thanks, Kate!) After seeing a couple more films on Thursday I'll offer my favourites in tomorrow's post, but I can say now what's really stood…Read More

#FIN2019 Day Six — Hugh Hefner’s After Dark: Speaking Out In America, Grâce à Dieu reviews

September 18, 2019 flawintheiris

Hugh Hefner's After Dark: Speaking Out In America A look back at the Playboy founder's ventures into television in the 1950s and 1960s, with an assembly of footage from his variety/talk shows Playboy's Penthouse and Playboy After Dark, shows that challenged American television audiences for a couple seasons about a decade apart. According to Brigitte…Read More

#FIN2019 Day Four — the Script Pitch, Varda By Agnes, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice reviews

September 16, 2019 flawintheiris

A little unnerving to drop by the the Script Pitch on Sunday afternoon, the end result of the 2019 FIN Script Development Program, where one year ago I stepped up with"professor" Michael Melski and "class," sweating bullets, and pitched the supernatural adventure Demon to a panel of industry experts. I could feel the tension deep…Read More

Opening Night and Day Two #FIN2019 — Portrait Of A Lady On Fire review

September 14, 2019 flawintheiris

Having seen the opening night film, Murmur, on a screener in advance—and you can find my review of it here—I indulged in a semi-transgressive act and on Thursday evening instead went to see Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag one-woman show broadcast on the Cineplex Event Screen from London. It was an astonishing and hilarious performance, and fascinating…Read More

High Life review — Arty sci-fi lost in space

May 4, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Clare Denis | Written by Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Geoff Cox, and Nick Laird | 113 min Clare Denis leaves behind her colonial concerns and her French language films—her most recent being the diverting Let The Sunshine In—for an English debut set in deep space. To call it retro-futurist would be a stretch, but it…Read More

Carbon Arc Reviews — Winter 2019 Season

April 30, 2019 flawintheiris

Carbon Arc Independent Cinema's most recent season has concluded. As a programmer I am grateful to have been able contribute to the screening selection, though as a volunteer I wasn't able to see every film that showed. The ones I missed, disappointingly, include Rafiki, Capernaum, Styx, Birds Of Passage, and Ziva Postec: The Editor Behind The Film Shoah.…Read More

Stockholm review — Cancel this Swedish vacation

April 22, 2019 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Robert Budreau | 92 min Stockholm is a stultifying experience at the movies due to the picture's sheer lack of identity. Writer-director Budreau gave us a mediocre Chet Baker biopic, Born To Be Blue, and here he's back with another bland, lifeless picture. Stockholm introduction includes the tag line: "based on an…Read More

Gloria (2013) and Gloria Bell reviews — Oscar-winning filmmaker revisits his past

March 25, 2019 flawintheiris

Gloria (2013) | Directed by Sebastian Lelio | Written by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza | 110 min Gloria Bell | Directed by Sebastian Lelio | Written by Lelio and Alice Johnson Boher, adapting the original script | 102 min There is a brief history of international filmmakers who remake their earlier work when they get…Read More