It’s not often that you feel sorry for the world’s biggest studio Goliath having the misfortune to follow in the shadow of a plucky indie release, but here we are in the season of dueling multiverses at the multiplex.
Author: Josh
SIFF 2022: Know Your Place
Seattle rarely looks as good on film as when Zia Mohajerjasbi’s directing. Having made his name over a decade ago with breakout videos for Blue Scholars and Macklemore, picked up a Stranger Genius Award, and built a resume with short films, he’s returned to familiar geographies for his feature film debut. In collaboration with cinematographer Nicholas Wiesnet, he brings the rich textures of the city to the screen in a poetic narrative about the wayward path of an oversized suitcase on its way from the Central District to East Africa.
SIFF 2022: Wildhood
The overriding objective of Brettan Hannam’s film of self-discovery is conveying the multifaceted diversity of the Mi’kma’ki people and territory in Nova Scotia. While the plot armature to support that ambition is veers between melodramatic and creaky, it does succeed in presenting a rich array of compelling images and communicating heartfelt feelings.
SIFF 2022: Talking About the Weather
In her feature film debut, Annika Pinske brings an insightful slice-of-life to the screen. Concerned with the intersecting identities of German woman, her nuanced portrait centers on a Clara, a philosophy PhD candidate in Berlin who’s creating a “second act” for herself on the precipice of turning forty.
SIFF 2022: So Damn Easy Going
Some things that we learn from Christoffer Sandler’s sweet-hearted coming-of-age story: there’s apparently no Swedish word for the concept of “easy going” and there are people in Sweden who fall through the social safety net and can’t get their prescriptions filled at the pharmacy. So much for the Scandinavian image of social democracy utopia.
With The Northman, Robert Eggers maintains his commitment to keeping folktales wild
Hark! Abandon expectations of logic and expedience all who pass through theater gates this weekend for the Northman. Indeed, Robert Eggers is back with another sprawling folktale drawn from days of yore, delving deeper into the past’s shadowy legends than ever before. With the help of Icelandic poet Sjón, the director who explored the dark forces and menacing sheep of an early America in the VVitch and the madness that befell men who crossed the wrong seagull while tending the Lighthouse, Eggers has returned with a tale of Viking vengeance. Even moreso than usual, ‘tis a realm where the veil between reality and the supernatural remains especially porous. I, for one, will never be mad about a wildly creative artist getting a bunch of money to realize their weird vision, and that’s exactly what Eggers does over more than two gnarly sprawling hours in a deep dive into gray Nordic psychedelia.
SIFF 2022: Ahed’s Knee
“Y.”, the Israeli filmmaker at the center of Nadav Lapid’s semi-autobiographical tale of overboiling frustrations has a lot on his mind. He’s in the the early stages of conceiving a new film about a Palestinian activist that takes inspiration in reaction to an incendiary tweet. His mother, who’s also happens to be his frequent collaborator and screenwriter who also happens to be his mother is gravely ill; and paid appearance in a tiny remote village to show his previous work for the Ministry of Culture has taken him away from both of these more pressing concerns.
Cow provides a clear-eyed look at the other side of the dairy aisle
In her clear-eyed documentary, Andrea Arnold and her camera follow a “nice-faced dairy cow with a strong attitude” named Luma to depict several years of the animal’s life on a mid-sized British farm. It’s not all bad — polite caretakers, grazing outside, warm summer nights sleeping under the stars — but no narration is needed to accentuate the complete weirdness of modern animal husbandry.
Everything Everywhere All At Once contains multitudes, feel them all.
It’s not often in this age of the hype cycle that a highly anticipated movie exceeds already incredibly high expectations, but I suppose that a film ambitiously (and accurately) titled Everything Everywhere All At Once should damned well be the film to do it. What a tremendous rush to see Daniels doing seemingly whatever they want with an apparently unlimited toolkit.
SIFF 2022: It’s Alive
At long last, a sense of “semi-normalcy” for Seattle and Springtime. After last year’s fully-virtual festivities, the 48th Seattle International Film Festival is upon us, restoring to our fair city an excuse to venture back out into theaters (or to watch from our homes) for eleven straight days and nights. Yes, this April 14-24th sprint is somewhat slimmer than the monthlong marathons of yore, but honestly, it feels a little bit healthier for all parties.