With About Dry Grasses, his latest three-hour-plus study of a superfluous man, Nuri Bilge Ceylan keeps the spirit of classic Russian literature alive.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 19th Century Russian Novelist
Redmond Bacon
Redmond is the editor-in-chief of Journey Into Cinema.
Life, Assembled. Architecture (Re)-Imagined
Life, Assembled takes you deep into the architectural process, wondering if the progressive Belgian ideals of the 70s are still worth pursuing today.
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. As Enjoyable (and as Evasive) as its Subject.
Going To Mars: The NIkki Giovanni Project is a fascinating documentary, but hides a more fascinating character study behind hagiography.
Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV. Art Revolution, Televised.
The revolutionary art of the “Godfather of video art” is given a dutiful biopic treatment in Name June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV.
MMXX. Cristi Puiu Revisits his Annus Horribilis Through Lengthy Anthology.
Cristi Puiu’s MMXX revisits the year he whipped up a bunch of coronavirus controversy with a typically austere anthology that lacks the smarts of his best work.
Days of Happiness Plays the Notes, Not the Music
Days of Happiness may offer the antidote to Tár’s toxicity, but it lacks the passion needed to make for a masterful conductor character study.
Vermin Has Spiders The Size of Buicks
Vermin is one of the downright nastiest yet compelling creature-features made in recent years, a true standout of the Venice Film Festival.
National Anthem. The Land of The LGBTQI+.
The American West seems as expansive and inclusive as ever in Luke Gilford’s queer Western romance National Anthem — live from TIFF.
Paradise is Burning. Exquisite Teenage Yearning.
The careers of three excellent actresses are launched in Mika Gustafson’s sensitive ode to the travails and beauty of youth — live from Venice Film Festival.
For Night Will Come. The Vampire Genre (Partially) Undone.
The perils of being a vampire in a regular-old world are subtly investigated in For Night Will Come — beating away clichés before eventually succumbing to them.