A retired rapper comes to work at an arts centre in an underprivileged neighbourhood of Casablanca, teaching the kids to express themselves through rap and hip hop. They start out a bit rough, but as time goes on they learn and grow, and each kid does a rap about what’s going on in their lives,…
Based on the written confession of 19th century French killer, Bruno Reidal. The murder puzzled everyone as Bruno was a quiet, intelligent, devout seminary student. After my hand-wringing over Nitram, I pretty much give Bruno Reidal a free pass on account of it being really old and everyone involved being dead. Even though, if you…
Man, can’t believe that’s the first week of the festival gone. It feels like it’s flown in. Some festivals feel long, not this one. Whoosh!
Alma is this character who is larger than life. She’s a whirlwind of energy and passion. She seems like she’d be a good laugh on a night out, and also could start a fight in an empty house. A wee drama llama. Her best friend is Margot. They are both aspiring actresses and go on…
I picked this film to see because the synopsis described it as The Parent Trap directed by David Lynch. Man, is that right on the money. A very Twin Peaks feel. Set in 1987, it’s one of the few films I’ve actually looked up to check wasn’t a new release of a restored film from…
Brutal. Just brutal. La Civil is a drama about a Mexican woman who searches for her daughter after a kidnapping. These aren’t rich folks, Cielo and her husband Gustavo are just ordinary people. They live in an ordinary house and run a shop the size of a closet, just an over-the-counter thing. You would never…
Irina is a 22-year-old Romanian woman struggling to escape her violent and domineering family. She lives with her sister, aunt, uncle and cousins. They run a hotel as a family business, but they come off more like gangsters. I’ll be honest, aside from the two main characters, I had a hell of a time figuring…
Of all the films at this year’s GFF, this was the one I was most looking forward to. A South African horror, Good Madam focuses on multiple generations of women living in the house of the white employer of the grandmother. Despite being elderly, in failing health, and confined to her upstairs bedroom, Madam’s silent…
Like my browser history, Benedetta is full of lesbian nuns. I know I’ve been down on the recent spate of lesbian period dramas, saying they were anemic and lacked fire. Well this one’s French, so it’s fun and sexy and silly and melodramatic. It’s great! Just total nonsense, like you want. Stow your moping, stow…
Inu-Oh is an anime film about a blind biwa player and a dancing bogle, who invent rock and roll in medieval Japan. 600 years ago, two shoguns are fighting to prove they are the legitimate leader. They have a huge battle at sea and the losing side are soundly thumped. The royal sword is lost…