Cinequest: THE DAUGHTER

THE DAUGHTER
THE DAUGHTER

Cinequest Closing Night’s headliner is the tragic Australian drama The Daughter, which is emotionally powerful and ultimately devastating.   Paul Schrader along with a passel of Aussie stars  like Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill portray characters entangled by a family secret that only some of them know.  As the secret is revealed to the rest…(well, no spoilers here).

The  characters that we first think are the most important recede in favor of seemingly secondary characters. as The Daughter drives toward its climax.  As the characters evolve in prominence, our sympathies change, too.  The Daughter is adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck and is so completely modernized that you’d never know that the source material is a century old.

The cast is superb, but the standouts are Anna Torn and Ewen Leslie, whose performances are absolutely heartbreaking.  The Daughter is gripping and profoundly moving.

 

 

Encore Day at Cinequest

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED?
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED?

My picks for Encore Day, Sunday, March 13:

The Other Kids 11 AM Hammer Theatre Center
A completely fresh and authentic coming of age film – and a triumphant directorial debut.

Love Is All You Need? 1 PM California Theatre
This is the Cinequest film that will be the most talked-about across the nation. It’s a vivid and sometimes excruciating examination of the impacts of homophobic bullying, hate speech and hate crimes.

The Promised Band 4 PM Camera 12 – Screen 10
This documentary is a successful exploration of the effects of mutual isolation and a very explicit snapshot of the barriers to travel and social integration between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Daughter 6:45 PM California Theatre

This emotionally powerful Australian drama is Cinequest’s Closing Night film.  Top-rate Aussie cast includes Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill.

OR

Magallanes 6:45 M Camera 12 – Screen 10
This Peruvian psychological drama seems to start out as a lovable loser heist film, but turns out to be an exploration of PTSD. Mexican actor Damian Alcázar brings home the jarring climax. emotionally powerful. Along with The Memory of Water, the best foreign film at Cinequest 2016.

MAGALLANES
MAGALLANES