Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Christian Petzold
Starring: Barbara Auer | Franz Rogowski | Godehard Giese | Lilien Batman | Maryam Zaree | Paula Beer
Chris says: “It’s a canny move to set the 1942 source material in the present day, and shrewder still for director Christian Petzold (PHOENIX) to indulge in stylistic motifs that one would find in a film from that era (most
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Starring: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir | Jóhann Sigurðarson | Jörundur Ragnarsson | Juan Camillo Roman Estrada
Brett says: “A surefire candidate for a Chlotrudis ‘Best Use of Music in a Film,’ WOMAN AT WAR dives deep into the story of an middle-aged eco-activist who dedicates herself to putting a cause she believes in above her own
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Agata Buzek | André Benjamin | Juliette Binoche | Lars Eidinger | Mia Goth | Robert Pattinson
Chris says: “Rest assured, Claire Denis’ first English-language feature is no sellout or concession to a more commercial cinema; on the contrary, it’s possibly her most enigmatic effort since THE INTRUDER. It centers on Monte (Robert Pattinson, further distancing himself
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Penny Lane
Chris says: “I totally get Satanism as a rejection against ‘straight’ society, but how ’bout as activism to *protect* separation of church and state? My skepticism, however, gradually broke down–as she conveyed with her last doc NUTS!, director Penny Lane
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Chris says: “The Radical Monarchs are an Oakland-based alternative scouting troop for young girls of color–instead of learning about making crafts or developing camping skills (though they do a little of both), they’re taught about social justice: how to take
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Garret Price
Chris says: “Given his tragic death in a freak accident at age 27, there’s no away a documentary about Russian born, LA-raised actor Anton Yelchin can avoid being sentimental; still, once you get past all the childhood home movies, homemade
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Arielle Cimino | Jeff Ryan
Starring: Charlie Pollock | Destry Allyn Spielberg | Jeff Ryan | Louis Cancelmi | Michael Underhill | Michelle Veintimilla
Diane says: “A local effort, this 60-minute feature combines comedy and horror. A group of Salem witch trial reenactors are hounded by a busload of Halloween partiers after the death of one of the tourists. Wacko highlights include a sleazy
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Amy C. Elliott
Diane says: “Yes, your town’s dump may have a swap area, but to find an “open dump” SALVAGE’s director had to go outside North America. This doc explores thrift, sustainability, consumerism, and gleaning (Agnes Varda!). “Six hundred gleaners regularly visit
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Alex Ross Perry
Starring: Agyness Deyn | Ashley Benson | Cara Delevingne | Dan Stevens | Dylan Gelula | Elisabeth Moss | Gayle Rankin
Brett says: “Equal parts messy and well-crafted, out of this year’s many films to feature the trials and pitfalls of singer stardom, this one will takes the prize for most unique and likely the most authentic. This particular film carries
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Starring: Boniventure | Brisky | Chichi | Gloria Huwiler | Joytay | Lee | Maggie Mulubwa | Mandalina | Obvious Cube | Patricia Carreira
Thom says: “This film is a haunting and unforgettable experience. That it is supposedly based on some sort of reality makes it all that more disturbing. At my age it’s quite hard to shock me in any way but this
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Riley Stearns
Starring: Alessandro Nivola | Imogen Poots | Jesse Eisenberg | Phillip Andre Botello | Steve Terada
Julie says: “I had the pleasure of seeing THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE (TAOSD) at the Coolidge as part of the IFF Boston 2019. It was a late showing (~9:40 pm) and the previous movie left me dosing off at one
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Ryan White
Diane says: “Such a great subject—the 90-year-old sex therapist—so the doc is bound to be enjoyable. With Westheimer’s frank manner and tiny frame suffusing the film, the only directorial missteps are some unattractive animation for childhood scenes, paired with narration
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz | Dakota Johnson | Doris Hick | Ingrid Caven | Jessica Harper | Malgorzata Bela | Mia Goth | Sylvie Testud | Tilda Swinton
Thom says: “I was truly thrilled to recall that this received 6 Chlotrudis nominations for year-end honors in 2019. While it failed to win any of the coveted awards the recognition was noteworthy and well-deserved. Inbal Weinberg for Production Design,
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Madeleine Olnek
Starring: Amy Seimetz | Brett Gelman | Jackie Monahan | Kevin Seal | Molly Shannon | Susan Ziegler
Chris says: “Since it plays like a clunky SNL sketch at times, I wasn’t expecting to like this odd little film in the end, but I kinda did. I only appreciated what it was attempting once I realized Mabel Todd’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Michael Tyburski
Starring: Austin Pendleton | Bruce Altman | Peter Sarsgaard | Rashida Jones | Tina Benko | Tony Revolori
Chris says: “Conceived with Peter Sarsgaard in mind, this indie where he portrays a cerebral NYC ‘house tuner’ (calibrating frequencies in clients’ homes in order to effect their moods) begins strongly and ends memorably–shame about what comes in between, however,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Liza Mandelup
Julie says: “Offline, Austyn Tester is a 16-year-old boy from a poor family in Tennessee who lives in a small house with his mother and brother. Online, he’s something between a motivational speaker and a boy band heartthrob. Austyn’s charisma
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Peter Strickland
Starring: Caroline Catz | Gwendoline Christie | Julian Barratt | Marianne Jean-Baptiste | Sidse Babett Knudsen
Brett says: “While I tend to label this as a “must watch” it might be more accurately described as “I am so fortunate to know this movie exists.” Not a piece that will tickle everyone’s fancy, director of the strange
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3 cats
Director: André Singer | Werner Herzog
Chris says: “Herzog Meets Gorbachev should be a monumental summit, and although the director never downplays his admiration for his subject, the subject, for all he accomplished (and Herzog certainly makes the case for him as one of the most
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Joanna Hogg
Starring: Ariane Labed | Honor Swinton | Jack McMullen | Jaygann Ayeh | Richard Ayoade | Tilda Swinton | Tom Burke
Chris says: “Not everything in Joanna Hogg’s latest fully registered for me, but when it was over my first thought was, “I really want to see this again” and it’s been some time since I last felt that way about
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Paul Downs Calaizzo
Starring: Jillian Bell | Lil Rel Howery | Micah Stock | Michaela Watkins | Utkarsh Ambudkar
Michael says: “I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON, the opening night film of the 21st annual Provincetown International Film Festival. Aimless, out-of-control woman in her late 20’s struggles to get her life on track… by
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