Reviews

Tótem is a close up view of loss and love

Sol (Naíma Sentíes), a young girl of 7, is quiet and polite as she arrives at her grandfather’s home with her mother who’s dropping her off in anticipation of her father, Tonatiuh’s (Mateo Garcia), birthday party that night. Unsure of herself and her place in the house she floats from one family member to the next, aunts, uncles and cousins, treated sweetly but aloof as they prep themselves for the night’s festivities. An air of anxiety and impending loss threatens to suffocate all those in the house.

Roundtables

Oscars Roundtable: Our Predictions for the 96th Academy Awards

It’s that time again. We all picked our favorites at the end of the year; the guilds have spoken; critics groups have doled out their laurels; and now, three months into 2024 it’s time for the Academy to put a bow on the movies of 2023 with the Oscars. In advance of Sunday’s telecast airing on ABC at 4 pm (PDT) – an hour earlier than usual and on the first day of Daylight Saving Time no less – we gathered round the old roundtable to make our predictions on how the awards will (and should) go when all’s said and done.