Category: New York Film Festival
NYFF 2011: ‘Miss Bala’ sets a new bar for Mexican filmmaking
Miss Bala Directed by Gerardo Naranjo 2011, Mexico You may not know it, but Mexican cinema is alive and has something to tell us. Overshadowed by the big wigs of the American studio system, foreign markets are endlessly trying to … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: The Sound On Sight Staff Picks Their Favourite Films
Kenneth Broadway A Separation Directed by Asghar Farhadi A Separation is one of the most intellectually stimulating pieces of entertainment I have experienced in a long time. It piles layers upon layers of intrigue, social commentary, ethical dilemmas, gender … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘Pina’ / ‘Policeman’
Pina Written and Directed by Wim Wenders Germany / France / UK, 2011 Policeman Written and Riected by Nadav Lapid Israel, 2011 Growing up, my younger sister was an incredibly talented semi-professional dancer, and because of that I have seen … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘Shame’ a blunt look at addiction and self-nullification
Shame Directed by Steve McQueen Written by Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen 2011, UK If there is one aspect of human psychology that is truly at odds with our evolutionary imperative, it is shame. It’s not that shame is antithetical … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘The Kid With A Bike’ / ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’
When we talk about modernism in cinema, we are talking about filmmaking that acknowledges the medium as part of the storytelling, a melding of form and content so that the images on screen portray not just actions but interior psychology … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: Day 6 ‘Miss Bala’
Miss Bala Directed by Gerardo Naranjo 2011, Mexico Yet another long day at the Lincoln Center, the wait for Miss Bala proved to be just as timely. And rightfully so. With an array of festival passes lining the newly established … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory’ has an impassioned energy that raises it far above the average advocacy documentary
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky 2011, USA The cameras and filmmakers are plainly visible in Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the third, and likely last, documentary on the West Memphis Three from Joe Berlinger and … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘This Is Not A Film’ chronicles Panahi’s creative imprisonment
This Is Not A Film Directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi Written by Jafar Panahi 2010, Iran When the Iranian government moved last year to formally ban Jafar Panahi from writing or directing any future films for the next … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘A Dangerous Method’ showcases an uncomfortable biological essentialism
A Dangerous Method Directed by David Cronenberg Written by Christopher Hampton 2011, Canada At the press conference immediately following a screening of David Cronenberg’s latest, A Dangerous Method, the director was asked how the film relates to the rest of … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘A Separation’ a rarity that succeeds on many levels
A Separation Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi Iran, 2011 A Separation is one of those multi-purpose titles that suggests many different conditions under examination in this richly textured film. The most obvious separation is the dissolution of the marriage … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: Notes on Nicholas Ray’s ‘We Can’t Go Home Again’ and Occupy Wall Street
The only way to start talking about Nicholas Ray’s We Can’t Go Home Again is to first search for the words to describe how the film appears on screen. For the most part, a black rectangle appears over a matte … [Read the Rest]
NYFF2011: Polanski’s ‘Carnage’ exquisitely bare-boned
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polanski (screenplay), Yasmina Reza (play) 2011, France Carnage is a lean story about a group of people who cannot leave an apartment. Sometimes they manage to go into an alternate room, even … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘Carnage’ combines savvy scriptwriting, masterful direction, and awe-inspiring performances
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polansi 2011, France The inciting incident of Carnage involves two preadolescent boys having a disagreement in a public park. Their tiff escalates until one of them strikes the other in the … [Read the Rest]
NYFF 2011: ‘The 99 Unbound’ introduces an intellectually ambitious comic universe
The 99 Unbound Directed by Dave Osborne The 99 Unbound, the first animated feature to be derived from comic series The 99, opens with these lines: “It is said that all the darkness of the world could … [Read the Rest]
NYFF2011: Day 5 Polanski’s ‘Carnage’ Opens the New York Film Festival
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polanski (screenplay), Yasmina Reza (play) 2011, USA Today proved to be the most populous screening at the Lincoln Center yet, and I should have known better. As the Q&A for Miss Bala … [Read the Rest]
