Tag: international cinema

NashFilm52: ‘Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine’ Review

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Festival Coverage, Reviews

Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine is an ambitious project that presents humane themes but does not work to capture itself coherently.

Courtesy of NashFilm

As we continue to the last international film featured in the International Lens program of Nashville Film Festival we make our way into an Uruguayan film about escapism. Now, this is where it gets a bit embarrassing for me. I am hopelessly in love with Latin American cinema. I love the films from this region where my ancestors are from and I have watched so much from the countries in said region. I have never seen a film from Uruguay or even knew about the work that they have producing there. I was looking forward to finally exploring Uruguayan cinema but also after reading the synopsis I had interest in watching this film.

Written and directed by Alex Piperno in his directorial feature debut and shot by Manuel Rebella. The film stars Noli Tobol, Daniel Quiroga, and Inés Bortagaray who most of the cast is making their acting debuts as well except for our main actress. Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine looks at a story that connects three different sets of people through a mysterious corridor that leads to a different place along with a mysterious shed in the Phillipines that is believed to be supernatural. Throughout the film’s runtime, we explore the lingering lives of our protagonists as they escape into other parts of the world. The film explores themes of love, escapism, and a stagnant life that leads to our window boy to want to travel into a different area to get away from his mundane life.

I would like to focus on the positives of the film first, for example, this film is beautifully shot and its color palette is beautifully muted. I love color grading like this because usually people don’t find such muted colors so beautiful. It is not like that in this film at all. Our performances are patient and really sell you on our characters. The concept is very interesting and so ambitious but that is where a lot of its problem surface from. The film crumbles apart through its high ambition and suffers from some very dragged out pacing. By the time we make it to the third act, it feels like we have been watching this film for three hours but we have not even passed more than half of that. I respect a lot of what is being tried here but if this could have been pieced a bit more coherently together there would be a strong film to find in here.

All and all, not everything has to be amazing and I am still very appreciative of being able to watch this. At least I was able to explore a corner of cinema I had not delved into yet so that is to me a win!

NashFilm52: ‘Green Sea’ Review

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Festival Coverage, Reviews

Angeliki Antoniou’s Green Sea is a worthwhile film filled with beautiful themes and a story about memories.

Courtesy of NashFilm

By now, if you haven’t noticed I love international cinema whether that is Latin America, Europe, Asia, or any other region that holds some sort of cinematic industry. I love being able to watch stories told through a lens I know nothing about. When it comes to these films they are usually crafted differently which interests me so much as a fellow filmmaker. I just can’t get enough of these movies and I wouldn’t stop watching them even if I tried. Of course, the next film I would discuss would be an international film so lets get to it shall we!

Green Sea looks at the journey of a woman going through a rough case of amnesia as she begins to work at a seaside restaurant where she expertly crafts food for customers. Throughout her time at the restaurant, she befriends people and enters the lives of those around her all while trying to recover her memories before she suffered this bout of amnesia. The film is written and directed by Angeliki Antonio and is inspired by the novel, Gia Na Dei Ti Thalassa by Evgenia Fakinou. The film stars Angeliki Papoulia (Dogtooth and The Lobster), Yannis Tsortekis, Tasos Palatzidis, and Meletis Georgiadis.

The film is a solid attempt from an interesting concept that works most of the time. One thing is certain about this film and it is that the cast works so well together. You can feel the chemistry between all of these people and every performance felt so genuine in this. Of course, Papoulia is marvelous in this role and has the viewer just invested in her character from the get go, My main problem with the film derives from the pacing which I felt dragged so much in the second act. Our first half of this film is so strong and once we hit the second half it is just not as strong. If we had spent just a bit more time in that third act instead of dragging out the first two we could have a really strong film on our hands. I also felt that a lot of what is being presented swiftly gets forgotten in the third act in order to wrap things up.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable experiences that explores beautiful themes such as love and friendship. I’m not sure when this one will be available to watch publicly but I would definitely recommend people to watch it!

Director of ‘The Criminals’, Serhant Karaaslan talks his short film and directing

Posted on by The Nerd Corps in Interviews

We are continuing on with our coverage of the 52nd Nashville Film Festival. Today, one of our writers Luis had the chance to sit down and talk with Serhat Karaaslan, the director of the short film, The Criminals. Serhat and Luis discuss the film and how Serhat approached directing on this film. The Criminals will make its premiere at Nashville Film Festival on October 4th and the Belcourt Theater, and you can purchase tickets here. It is available to watch through Nashville Film Festival’s virtual cinema right now.

The Nerd Corps #447: ‘A Separation’ Review

Posted on by The Nerd Corps in Podcasts

The nerds continue with their International Film Month reviews. This week they are revisiting Iranian Cinema after having spent a whole month looking at the films of Abbas Kiarostami. They are not covering Kiarostami this time around, instead this week Raul and Brad discuss the Academy Award winning film, A Separation. Listen and find out what they thought about this film!

IMDb Synopsis: A married couple are faced with a difficult decision – to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer’s disease.

‘Ema’: Dance The Pain Away or Fight Against It

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Reviews

Pablo Larraín’s Ema transcends many fields to create a somber piece about the loss of control of one’s life.

CREDIT: Fabula

I have been long overdue my exploration into the filmography of Pablo Larraín since I am really excited about his upcoming film with Kristen Stewart, Spencer, based on the life of Princess Diana that has been making lots of noise at the film festivals so far. Of course, this film is very different from what I imagine Spencer is going to be. Before this Larraín had made his academy award nominated film based on the life of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Jackie. By looking at the synopsis you can tell that this a very different type of film and it was well worth the watch.

Ema looks at a tumultuous relationship between Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo) and Gastón (Gael García Bernal) after having to return their adopted son because of his pyromaniac behavior. Ema is a reggaetón dancer along with her other colleagues, while Gastón is a director of a dance company that does not align itself with the reggaetón style. Both of these two are very different individuals and leads to them having a different outlook on life and how to raise their child. The film is expertly shot by Sergio Armstrong with some exquisite framing especially of the dance scenes. The film also has some very tasteful and interesting lighting setups that help set up the atmosphere that these dancers find themselves in. Ema also includes some incredible musical compositions from Chilean American musician Nicolás Jaar that really makes this film’s sound and feeling unique. It is very influenced by an unorthodox style of reggaetón that does not sound nothing like the first or new wave of the genre.

The movie is wonderfully performed by our main protagonists, but I don’t think this movie is concerning itself with telling a tightly knit story more so examining the environment and what it means for those who want a little more out of this life. Ema is not your “normal” protagonist, but she does want things that all of us humans want. We want to be appreciated, understood, and most importantly given the chance to love or be loved. Ema does not go about it the right way to achieve most of these things especially given the overall plot and how she plans to take her child back. Throughout all of this there are two things that she knows that she at least loves, those being her child (both Polo and the eventual one she will have) and dancing. Both of these allow her to feel like the person she is and no one can take that from her. I found Ema to be a very surprising film and cannot wait for what else this director can offer.

Ema is available to rent on most video purchasing sites.