Inspired by The Farewell director Lulu Wang's call to action at the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards, we celebrate women filmmakers working in their field.
Paris. 1940. Lili is 17 years old. In occupied France, she encounters war before love, and joins the Resistance. Through the interconnecting destinies of its teenage heroes, Resistance ... See full summary »
Hired to steal a rare painting from one of the most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control.
Director:
Giuseppe Capotondi
Stars:
Elizabeth Debicki,
Donald Sutherland,
Claes Bang
A woman's panicked decision to cover up an accidental killing spins out of control when her conscience demands she return the dead man's body to his family.
Director:
Matthew Pope
Stars:
Bethany Anne Lind,
Will Patton,
Elisabeth Röhm
Fantastic Fungi is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.
Set during the turmoil of post-Napoleonic France, the story centers on Géricault, artist and enfant terrible, who learns that his best friend has died after the Naval vessel Medusa runs ... See full summary »
When two cars collide at an intersection in a leafy Chicago suburb, Hartley Nolan is not the person police expect to find behind the wheel. After all, he barely drinks; everyone knows it's ... See full summary »
The 27th March of 2020 is a good day, a decent day, a day to enjoy a fresh Jesse Eisenberg double feature - "Resistance" and "Vivarium". I decided to start with this biographical WW2 drama in which Eisenberg portrays the real life figure Marcel Marceau, one of the world's most famous mimes and a resistance fighter during the era of WW2 in Europe. The simple verdict is this - it's kind of a mixed bag.
"Resistance" struggles to excel in the well-crowded niche of various WW2 dramas, adventures and historical tales, all usually told in similar fashion. The true story they're telling is compelling, but the screenplay less so. Perhaps the best part of "Resistance" is its first act, which introduces us to Marcel, his love for acting and art, his newfound purpose in helping war orphaned children and the resistance itself - this is where we enjoy endearing scenes and the heart of humanism most vividly, before the movie slowly transforms in by-the-numbers war thriller. Ultimately, "Resistance" feels disjointed and underwhelmingly unoriginal when it comes to screenplay and direction. Thankfully, a whole lot is redeemed by a terrific cast that seems to pour their hearts and souls into authentic and passionate performances, despite the character development being written in perhaps an oversimplified manner. Jesse Eisenberg is very possibly at his best, portraying Marcel with respect, emotional energy and deep feeling. However, I surely know nothing about it, but his mime work just seemed a little shabby at moments. Poésy (as female lead) and Schweighöfer (as central villain) are other performance stand-outs, making the core cast unshakeable. Edgar Ramirez and Ed Harris, to whomever it may concern, are there for only a single workday on set, shouldn't be top-credited at all. Also, I'm pretty sure that the overall French accent situation in this movie is pretty messed up. "Resistance" is aesthetically well enough designed, cinematography's fluid enough, the last act is visually the most satisfying offering & Angelo Milli's contemporary but fulfilled original score tries its best to help carry the mood throughout.
"Resistance" works as a compelling small-scale indie biopic, its scope is indeed too familiar, but the dooming dryness of a formulaic biopic combine with a formulaic WW2 drama is stopped effectively by a cast that deserves a round of applause. My rating: 6/10.
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The 27th March of 2020 is a good day, a decent day, a day to enjoy a fresh Jesse Eisenberg double feature - "Resistance" and "Vivarium". I decided to start with this biographical WW2 drama in which Eisenberg portrays the real life figure Marcel Marceau, one of the world's most famous mimes and a resistance fighter during the era of WW2 in Europe. The simple verdict is this - it's kind of a mixed bag.
"Resistance" struggles to excel in the well-crowded niche of various WW2 dramas, adventures and historical tales, all usually told in similar fashion. The true story they're telling is compelling, but the screenplay less so. Perhaps the best part of "Resistance" is its first act, which introduces us to Marcel, his love for acting and art, his newfound purpose in helping war orphaned children and the resistance itself - this is where we enjoy endearing scenes and the heart of humanism most vividly, before the movie slowly transforms in by-the-numbers war thriller. Ultimately, "Resistance" feels disjointed and underwhelmingly unoriginal when it comes to screenplay and direction. Thankfully, a whole lot is redeemed by a terrific cast that seems to pour their hearts and souls into authentic and passionate performances, despite the character development being written in perhaps an oversimplified manner. Jesse Eisenberg is very possibly at his best, portraying Marcel with respect, emotional energy and deep feeling. However, I surely know nothing about it, but his mime work just seemed a little shabby at moments. Poésy (as female lead) and Schweighöfer (as central villain) are other performance stand-outs, making the core cast unshakeable. Edgar Ramirez and Ed Harris, to whomever it may concern, are there for only a single workday on set, shouldn't be top-credited at all. Also, I'm pretty sure that the overall French accent situation in this movie is pretty messed up. "Resistance" is aesthetically well enough designed, cinematography's fluid enough, the last act is visually the most satisfying offering & Angelo Milli's contemporary but fulfilled original score tries its best to help carry the mood throughout.
"Resistance" works as a compelling small-scale indie biopic, its scope is indeed too familiar, but the dooming dryness of a formulaic biopic combine with a formulaic WW2 drama is stopped effectively by a cast that deserves a round of applause. My rating: 6/10.