Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
“MY FAVORITE CAKE” (IRAN, FRANCE, SWEDEN & GERMANY) DIRECTORS, MARYAM MOGHADDAM, BEHTASH SANAEEHA
Time does not dictate “affairs of the heart” and you do not choose the subject of desire; it just happens and “My Favorite Cake” is a refreshing, joyous connection between a chance meeting of two individuals “forever young”. FOUR STARS!!!!
“GHOST TRAIL” (FRANCE, GERMANY, BELGIUM) DIRECTOR, JONATHAN MILLET)
Handsome Adam Bessa is searing as a Syrian exile “Hamid” in France seeking retaliation, for crimes against him and others by the perpetrator, also in exile. Well executed but often confounding and confusing. THREE STARS!!!
“ERNEST COLE: LOST AND FOUND” (FRANCE) DIRECTOR, RAOUL PECK
An astounding portrait of South African photographer, Ernest Cole (1940-1990), the atrocities of apartheid, unveiling of the black experience in New York City; serendipitously his negatives (approximately 60,000) were discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm, 2017. Known for his book “House of Bondage” there is renewed interest in his preeminent history. FIVE STARS!!!!!
“ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT” (FRANCE, INDIA, NETHERLANDS, LUXEMBOURG) DIRECTOR, PAYAL KAPADIA
Gut-wrenching, poignant picture of a woman’s fate in contemporary India: trials, stunted regulations, lack of license are cauterized by true heroism; grand cinematography adds luster to their challenging expedition. FIVE STARS!!!!!
“GRAND TOUR” (PORTUGAL, ITALY, FRANCE, GERMANY) DIRECTOR, MIGUEL GOMES
Never has a man gone to such lengths to escape his fiancée, likewise she bests nature, man and the gods in pursuit. It is 1917, from Burma to Shanghai, an indelible “tour”. FOUR STARS!!!!
“A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY” (US) DIRECTOR RACHEL ELIZABETH SEED
A baby when her mother (Sheila Turner-Seed, writer, photographer, editor) died, Rachel’s quest to bond with her prodigious parent by plummeting archival recorded clips and photographs is a momentous, emotional and brilliant piece of filmmaking. FOUR STARS!!!!
“HAPPY HOLIDAYS” (PALESTINE, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY, QATAR) DIRECTOR, SCANDAR COPTI
An oxymoronic title showcases one of the finest films of the Fest; director Copti is an Arab Israeli director, screenwriter, producer who gifts audiences a portrayal of two family’s trials in a contemporary, but still patriarchal society. FIVE STARS!!!!!
“BLITZ” (UK/US) DIRECTOR STEVE MCQUEEN
Wartime (1940) London is gorgeously gory, devastation, disorder depicted, in Dickensian style as we follow the journey of nine-year-old “George” (extraordinary Elliott Heffernan) in pursuit of his mother “Rita” (perpetually profound Saorise Ronan); simplification of the story line, oftentimes slips into easy sensationalism but still warrants FOUR STARS!!!!
“THE BRUTALIST” (US) DIRECTOR, BRADY CORBET
A film of such magnitude, message and metaphor that this reviewer must view it a second time, worthy of its 3 & ½ hours. Empyreal acting by Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones secures its memorability. FOUR & ½ STARS!!!!
To be continued……
Peneflix
