CARVER: will he be undone by a woman? or by his own obsession?

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Victor Rivas (center) in CARVER. World premiere t Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Select Films.

In the neo-noirish Spanish thriller Carver, a guy named Ernesto takes on the alter ego of Carver in the wee hours. Carver strides through Ernesto’s gritty urban neighborhood in dressed in a ridiculous, homemade superhero costume. He has no super powers, but is driven to make things right, vigilante-style. A sexy, stoned woman of uncertain reliability engages his interest. Will she bring him down?

Ernesto (Victor Rivas) seems otherwise a normal, salt-of-the-earth guy . He lives a quotidian existence, monitoring a supermarket’s security cameras by day and presiding over his family’s evening meals. But when his wife and kids are ready for bed (and this is Spain, so it is LATE), he heads out on the streets, to his wife’s increasing displeasure.

Why? He’s not a wannabe hanging judge; he’s pretty merciful to the shoplifters that he catches at his day job. But he has this need to personally patrol the streets to keep kids and single women safe. It’s odd behavior, and he does so with an almost child-like naivete; we wonder what emotional trauma might have damaged him.

At first, as he fails to spot her manipultiveness Victor is no match for the femme fatale Alicia (Mar Del Corral) , who is channelling Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Then he begins to appreciate just how unhunged she may be.

This is the first feature for writer-director Evgeny Yablokov, and this character-driven thriller is an impressive calling card.

There are many film actors named Victor Rivas. The star of Carver is not one of the more famous one, but a mournful-faced stage actor in Madrid, who has played Kierkegaard.

Not everybody will be satisfied with the ending of Carver, but I thought it was perfect.

I screened Carver for its world premiere at Cinequest, and it made my Best of Cinequest 2021. You can stream it during the festival for only $3.99 at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.

ATOMIC COVER-UP: the truth will out

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ATOMIC COVER-UP

The understated but brilliant documentary Atomic Cover-up reveals the story of the long-hidden eyewitness film record of the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Japanese film crews immediately filmed the carnage and destruction, which was quickly suppressed by the Japanese military. Within a month, the US occupation forces were in charge, and American filmmakers took over the filming of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, often with Japanese crews. Censorship continued under the US military.

The films have now escaped the censors and are seen in Atomic Cover-up with the testimonies of the original Japanese and American cameramen. As told matter-of-factly by the men who captured these images, it’s a great story.

I screened Atomic Cover-up for its world premiere at Cinequest, and it made my Best of Cinequest 2021. You can stream it during the festival for only $3.99 at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.

AGUA ROSA: what are they to each other?

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Lizzy Auna and Axel Arenas in AGUA ROSA. Photo courtesy of Cinequest.

The Mexican drama Agua Rosa begins with a young couple heading to stay a few days at an isolated property. We first see them mostly in long shot, often from the back, with very little dialogue, and we need to connect our own dots. Who are they? Why are they here? What are they to each other? That last question is what Agua Rosa is all about.

Mauricio (Axel Arenas) has inherited the place from his father and he’s settling the estate with his significant other Ana (Lizzy Auna). Mauricio is angry at his dad for abandoning his mom, so he’s unhappy and not fun to be around. His anger is leaking on Ana, and I kept hoping “don’t blow it with her by being such a jerk”. But maybe he’s also unhappy with something in their relationship…

Agua Rosa is co-written and co-directed by Miguel López Valdivia and Ca Silva (together credited as Antónimo). It’s their first feature film. They are able to make a languid pace work because Agua Rosa is only 71 minutes long.

The filmmakers use long shots and shots of long duration to emphasize the couple’s isolated setting and the potential isolation from each other. This makes the tight closeups at the climax all the more powerful.

I screened Agua Rosa for its world premiere at Cinequest; you can stream it during the festival for only $3.99 at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.

The best of CINEQUEST 2021

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Aviva Armour-Ostroff (left) in LUNE, world premiere at Cinequest. Photo credit: Samantha Falco.

I’ve already seen over a dozen offerings from Cinequest 2021, and here are my initial recommendations. As usual, I focus on the world and US premieres. Full reviews are on the way.

MUST SEE

  • Lune: The Must See in this year’s Cinequest is this astonishingly authentic exploration of bipolar disorder. A mother and teen daughter must navigate the impacts of the mom’s illness. Played by writer and co-director Aviva Armour-Ostroff, the mom Miriam is the most singular movie character I’ve seen recently. Miriam’s streams of manic speech have the rhythm of poetry. Don’t miss this Canadian indie. World premiere.

THRILLERS

Michaella Russell in ECHOES OF VIOLENCE. Photo courtesy of Cinequest.
  • Echoes of Violence: In this well-crafted revenge thriller, a woman enlists an Everyman to help her escape a deadly hit man. Loyalties change and lethal new skills (and a novelty weapon) are revealed as her position pivots from defense to offense. World premiere.
  • Carver: In the wee hours, a guy strides through his gritty urban neighborhood dressed in a ridiculous, homemade superhero costume. He has no super powers except his drive to make things right, vigilante-style. A sexy, stoned woman of uncertain reliability engages his interest. Will she bring him down? World premiere.

DOCUMENTARY

THE BOYS IN RED HATS. Photo courtesy of Shark Dog Films.
  • The Boys in the Red Hats: Remember the Rorschach frenzy when the Kentucky prep school boy at the Lincoln Memorial smirked at the indigenous tribal elder? Documentarian Jonathan Schroder is an alum of that very prep school; his point of view shifts as he peels back the onion on what really happened. It comes down to insights into media, social media and, especially, White privilege. World premiere.
  • Atomic Cover-up: Japanese and American film crews documented the destruction from the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These films were suppressed by the Japanese, and then the US military. The films have now escaped the censors and are seen in Atomic Cover-up with the testimonies of the original Japanese and American cameramen. As told matter-of-factly by the men who captured these images, it’s a great story. World premiere.
  • I’m an Electric Lampshade: We meet the most improbable rock star – a mild-mannered accountant who retires to pursue his dream of performing. The final score: Doug 1, Expectations 0. World premiere.

INDIES

  • End of Everything: Here’s a powerful thinkpiece – the “End” in the title means, literally, the end of the world. Set in a future where climate change has made the human extinction imminent, the story imagines how people would react as the very end nears. More profound than grim, End of Everything takes the sensationalism out of the apocalypse and leaves the humanity. Set in the stark beauty of Iceland, this is a visual stunner.

WORLD CINEMA

IN THE SHADOWS from Turkey: North American premiere at Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Cinequest.
  • In the Shadows: The charismatic actor Numan Acar (Homeland) leads us through this gripping dystopian fable. If you admired the 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Apple’s Macintosh, you’ll like this Turkish film. North American premiere.

COMEDY

Justin Kirk and Jennifer Prediger in HOLLYWOOD FRINGE. Photo courtesy of Sleeper Cell Films.
  • Hollywood Fringe: Filmmakers Megan Huber and Wyatt McDill return to Cinequest with a change of pace from last year’s inventively constructed thriller 3 Day Weekend. Hollywood Fringe is about a married couple of hopeful creatives. They have been pitching their projects to Hollywood execs in futility; (she’s turned forty and her mom still helps with their rent). Popular interest in their experimental theater performances has been (ahem) limited. They give themselves one last chance to make it – but when a studio buys their idea for a series, things don’t go as planned…

AND FOUR I HAVEN’T SEEN YET

  • Death of a Ladies’ Man: With a brain tumor starting to cause hallucinations, a professor (Gabriel Byrne) relocates to an Irish village. With Jessica Pare (Mad Man) and Brian Gleeson. US premiere.
  • Six Minutes to Midnight: WWII espionage suspenser with Dame Judy Dench and Eddie Izzard trying to frustrate a Nazi plot.
  • Drunk Bus: Young slacker is stuck driving the shuttle between college town bars and the dorms until he is mentored by a 300-pound Samoan security guy with facial tattoos. This was a hit at the 2020 SXSW.
  • Summertime: Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada (Blindspotting), this comedy revolves around 25 characters intersecting on one hot Los Angeles day – and making poetry.

Stream these films for as little as $3.99 each at Cinequest’s online Cinejoy.

As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. I usually screen (and write about) about thirty Cinequest films from around the world. Bookmark my CINEQUEST page, with links to all my coverage. Follow me on Twitter for the latest.

CARVER: world premiere at Cinequest, Photo courtesy of Select Films.

First look at the 2021 Cinequest

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Jessica Pare and Gabriel Byrne in DEATH OF A LADIES’ MAN, opening the 2921 Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Cinequest.

Make your plans now to attend the 2021 Cinequest, Silicon Valley’s own major film festival. This year’s fest will be online as Cinejoy, scheduled for April 20 through April 30. 75 of the features will be world or US premieres – be in the FIRST AUDIENCE to see these films. You can stream the vast majority of the premiering films for only $3.99 apiece.

Cinequest is a significant showcase for independent film, documentaries and world cinema. The 2021 program has features from from 50 countries, including Spain, Belgium, France, UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Iceland, Germany, Honduras, Israel, Taiwan, Iran, Korea, Kenya and South Africa.

IN THE SHADOWS from Turkey: North American premiere at Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Cinequest.

This year’s headline events include:

  • New movies with Dame Judy Dench, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Neil, Ed Helms, Julie Delpy, Eddie Izzard, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne,Jessica Pare and Brian Gleeson
  • New movies directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada (Blindspotting), Mortensen and Delpy.
  • See it here FIRST:   Together Together and This Is Not a War Story are among the movies slated for widespread (and perhaps theatrical) release later this year.

At Cinequest, you can get a festival pass for $199, the Spotlight Films stream at $11.99 and the Showcase Films stream at only $3.99. Access the entire program here.

This is the eleventh year that I’ve covered Cinequest. I’ll miss the in-person schmoozing with filmmakers at the Continental Lounge, being greeted by Nathan Louie in his Chinese imperial garb, the bubbly film introductions by volunteer Chris Marcoida, and the silent film at the vintage movie palace, the California Theatre, accompanied by Dennis James on the movie palace’s Mighty Wurlitzer. And the unofficial Cinequest cocktail (a shot of Tito’s chased by a cheese cube).

As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. I usually screen (and write about) about thirty Cinequest films from around the world. Bookmark my CINEQUEST page, with links to all my coverage (links on the individual movies will start to go live on Thursday, March 18). Follow me on Twitter for the latest.

CARVER: world premiere at Cinequest, Photo courtesy of Select Films.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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CARVER: world premiere at Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Select Films.

I’ve been absorbed in preparing for Cinequest’s Online Film Festival Cinejoy, which begins next Saturday, March 20. I’ve already screened over a dozen films from the program, and there are some winners in the program.

As usual, I’ll be publishing a festival preview with recommendations and writing about individual films. Here is my coverage of previous festivals: CINEQUEST. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

Here’s a wistful note – the last movie that I watched in a movie theater was on March 5, 2020, at last year’s Cinequest, which had to be shut down mid-festival because of COVID. It was The Burnt Orange Heresy, and I sat, not yet masked, in a corner of the 1122-seat California Theatre, distanced about 20 feet away from other festival goers.

ON VIDEO

ON TV

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

If you want drama, Tennessee Williams ladles it on thick in 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which Turner Classic Movies presents on March 17.   The movie version of Williams’ steamy Southern Pulitzer Prize-winning play stars Elizabeth Taylor in a slip and Paul Newman with a crutch and a drink.  Taylor and Newman are great, but Burl Ives steals the movie as Big Daddy.  Madeleine Sherwood is outstanding as the weaselly daughter-in-law Ida.

Okay, so they couldn’t explicitly mention homosexuality on screen in 1958, but that doesn’t tke away from the dramatic tension. And, think about this – let’s all forebear the course word bullshit and substitute mendacity.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Frances McDormand in NOMADLAND. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

This week, make sure you see the year’s best movie, Nomadland. Plus a highly original first feature for a female writer-director and two strong recommendations on TCM.

ON VIDEO

Nomadland: The fierce authenticity of Frances McDormand’s performance and Chloé Zhao’s genius with nonprofessional actors illuminates this extraordinary film with humanity. It’s the year’s best movie. Streaming on Hulu.

Jumbo: A painfully shy girl, who is embarrassed by every human interaction,falls in love with a not-really-inanimate object. Jumbo is the first feature for writer-director Zoé Wittock, and it’s a helluva super-imaginative calling card.   Ever bouncing between the sweet and the outre, Jumbo worked for me.  Available to stream at Laemmle.

Other current films:

ON TV

KILLER’S KISS

On March 6 and 7, Turner Classic Movies will present one my Overlooked Noir, a young Stanley Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss; it will be on Noir Alley with an intro and outro by Eddie Muller. It doesn’t take long to realize that Killer’s Kiss is not a typical film noir – there’s Kubrick’s own bracing visual style, an interracial relationship and a comically absurd fight to the death. The cast matched a couple one-hit wonders with the pioneering African-American actor and civil rights activist Frank Silvera.

Harry Dean Stanton in PARIS, TEXAS

And on March 10, TCM will air Harry Dean Stanton’s masterpiece in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. In Paris Texas, Harry Dean plays Travis, a man so traumatized that he has disappeared and is found wandering across the desert and mistaken for a mute.  As he is cared for by his brother (Dean Stockwell), he evolves from feral to erratic to troubled, but with a sense of tenderness and a determination to put things right.  We see Travis as a madman who gains extraordinary lucidity about what wrong in his life and his own responsibility for it.

At the film’s climax, Travis speaks to Jane (Natassja Kinski) through a one-way mirror (she can’t see him).  Spinning what at first seems like parable, Travis explains what happened to him – and to her – and why it happened.  It’s a 20-minute monologue so captivating and touching that it rises to be recognized as one of the very greatest screen performances.

Paris, Texas is on my list of the fifty or so Greatest Movies of All Time.

Natassja Kinski and Harry Dean Stanton in PARIS, TEXAS

JUMBO: a girl and her ride

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Noemie Melant in JUMBO

Well, the French coming of age comedy Jumbo is not one we have seen before.  Jeanne (Noémie Merlant) is a painfully shy girl who is embarrassed by every human interaction, but especially by her single mother, who seems to be insisting “Have your sexual awakening, already!”.  The mom encourages Jeanne to take a nighttime cleaning job at the amusement park on the outskirts of their provincial town, hoping that she’ll take up with a guy.  The mom, who has very modest aspirations for her daughter’s romantic life, is thinking of someone like the supervisor Marc (Basten Bouillion), who is willing, but doesn’t ring Jeanne’s chimes.

Indeed, Jeanne does meet someone (or something) – the amusement ride Jumbo – and she falls in love with a not-really-inanimate object.  Yes, here we have an unusual love that is passionate and obsessive, and, yes, consummated.  (I told you that you haven’t seen this before.)

In the US, we know the titular amusement ride as the Tilt-a-whirl.

The director Emanuelle Bercot, who is so good in her occasional acting turns (Polisse, My King), plays Jeanne’s mom Margarette.  Bercot’s Margarette is a voracious and vulgar force of nature – and she’s not familiar with social boundaries. Hilarious.

Jumbo is the first feature for writer-director Zoé Wittock, and it’s a helluva super-imaginative calling card.   Ever bouncing between the sweet and the outre, Jumbo worked for me.  I screened it at the 2020 Mill Valley Film Festival, and it’s now available to stream at Laemmle.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Frances McDormand in NOMADLAND. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

This week: the best film of 2020, Nomadland, is streaming. Recenty catching up to Nomadland, Sound of Metal, Mayor and Black Bear allowed me to finalize my Best Movies of 2020.

ON VIDEO

Nomadland: The fierce authenticity of Frances McDormand’s performance and Chloé Zhao’s genius with nonprofessional actors illuminates this extraordinary film with humanity. Streaming on Hulu.

Minari: This autobiographical drama of family cohesion is set in the immigrant experience. Streaming from various VOD providers.

Other current films:

ON TV

Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

On February 28, Turner Classic Movies airs Days of Wine and Roses, Blake Edwards’ unflinching exploration of alcoholism, featuring great performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (both nominated for Oscars) and Charles Bickford.

Best movies of 2020

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Frances McDormand in NOMADLAND. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

Recently catching up with Nomadland, Sound of Metal, Mayor and Black Bear has allowed me to finalize my Best Movies of 2020. In the Year of Pandemic, I somehow managed to watch one hundred and fifteen 2020 movies (and another one hundred and forty-nine movies from earlier years). Here are the thirteen that I most admire and engage with.

To get on my year-end list, a movie has to be one that thrills me while I’m watching it and one that I’m still thinking about a couple of days later.

Chadwick Boseman in MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

THE BEST OF THE YEAR

Brian Dennehy and Lucas Jaye in DRIVEWAYS.
Itsaso Arana in THE AUGUST VIRGIN
Dev Patel in THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD