Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Naji Abu Nowar
Starring: Hassan Mutlag Al-Maraiyeh | Hussein Salameh Al-Sweihiyeen | Jacir Eid Al-Hweitat | Jack Fox
Jason says: “The Western never really dies; it just picks up and moves to unexpected places in unexpected forms. In this case, that’s a coming-of-age film set in Arabia, and it’s an impressive, thrilling piece of entertainment. “The year is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: James Ransone | Karren Karagulian | Kitana Kiki Rodriguez | Mickey O’Hagan | Mya Taylor
Jason says: “One almost wants TANGERINE to get through its entire length without any sort of real consequences, because the movie Sean Baker has built moves forward with such great chaotic energy that actually slowing down enough for someone to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Erina Mano | Mariko Shinoda | Reina Triendl | Yuki Sakurai
Jason says: “TAG is the most recent of three films at the festival by Sion Sono, who is having an absurdly productive year (four films total released in 2015!), and there are points where it seems like this frantic pace
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Anaïs Demoustier | Isild Le Besco | Raphaël Personnaz | Romain Duris
Bruce says: “What happens when your BFF dies unexpectedly? From the age of seven Claire (Anaïs Demoustier) and Lea (Isild le Besco) were close, bonded by blood ritual. When Lea dies six months after giving birth to a little boy,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jason Crawczyk
Jason says: “Somehow, when I was looking at this movie’s description, the idea that it was a deadpan comedy (although the blackest you can imagine) never came through, which made it an extremely pleasant surprise. Or perhaps it’s not ‘a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Shunji Iwai
Jason says: “Eleven years ago, Shunji Iwai made HANA AND ALICE, a well-received movie about two high-school best friends smitten with the same boy, praised in large part for the performances by Anne Suzuki and Yu Aoi as the title
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Albert Brooks | Alessandro Nivola | David Oyelowo | Jessica Chastain | Oscar Isaac
Jason says: “A MOST VIOLENT YEAR was shot from an original screenplay by director J.C. Chandor, but it feels like a highly successful adaptation of a great novel: Painted on a broad canvas, giving a feeling for the characters and
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring: Connie Britton | Jon Bernthal | Nick Offerman | Olivia Cooke | Ronald Cyler II | Thomas Mann
Jason says: “There are plenty of reasons to be wary of ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL from the start, it’s got a seeming tendency to be glib and self-aware in a way that doesn’t always do it many
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Corin Hardy
Jason says: “By way of exposition, there’s a bit on the radio early on mentioning that an upcoming deal would make Ireland the only developed country without a national forest, and that just sounds like a bad idea: Anyone who
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Céline Sciamma
Chris says: “Obviously not a distaff take on Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD — the French title is BANDE DE FILLES, which translates as ‘Group of Girls.’ Marieme (Karidja Touré), a timid sixteen-year-old living in mostly black, housing project-heavy Parisian suburb, drops
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