Less a feature film than an occasion to binge-watch a mini-season in a theater with friends who will cackle along at the cuttingly droll humor and gasp in synchrony with each revelation or faux pas, the new Downton Abbey is an utter delight of fan service. Just as some will pack the multiplexes whenever a bunch of Marvel heroes assemble, I will happily pile in with a bag of popcorn and peanut M&Ms whenever the Granthams and their sprawling team of indentured servants deign to get the gang back together for yet another round of utterly inconsequential drama that can be tidily wrapped up, two hours later, with an elegant bow.
SIFF 2022: Inu-Oh, I’ll Show You Mine, Flux Gourmet, and lots more
Several days late but not several dollars short, please see below for a machine-gun rundown of everything else I saw at SIFF …
SIFF 2022: Warm Blood
When I finished watching Rick Charnoski’s narrative feature debut, I was so bowled over I had to see it a second time in as many days on a festival screen—just to determine if my immense love for it was the cinematic equivalent of an immediate, all-consuming crush that evaporates in the harsh light of day. Upon second viewing, I realized my movie-crush was no fluke.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a Long Dull Trip
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.
SIFF 2022: Navalny
When asked how he sees the movie of his life, Russian opposition presidential candidate Alexei Navalny bristles at the suggestion that his real-life story be depicted as a dry historic drama. It’s a thriller, Navalny asserts. And with that proclamation by its subject, filmmaker Daniel Roher literally opens the curtain on what turns out to be one hell of a thriller—and much more.
SIFF 2022: Midnighters Roundup
Although its “WTF” category was nearly as expansive as ever, this year’s truncated SIFF only featured three actual “playing-at-midnight” midnighters. Jenn takes a look at what worked and what didn’t.
SIFF 2022: The Olive Trees of Justice and Piggy
Like anyone or anything just beginning to recover from the metaphoric or literal ravages of a global pandemic, the 2022 iteration of …
SIFF 2022: The Path
A young boy Rolf (Julius Weckauf) and his father Ludwig (Volker Bruch), a journalist who spoke out against Hitler, are racing toward the Spanish border via France attempting to escape the grasp of German soldiers and make it to America where Rolf’s mother waits for them.
SIFF 2022: The Staffroom
A new school counselor Anamarija (Marina Redzepovic) is learning to navigate the egos and red tape of high school. Having never been staff at an institution before, she is realizing that there’s a lot more to her job than just trying to help kids.
SIFF 2022: It’s Just a Phase, Honey
A lighter look at midlife crisis and how we define ourselves through the relationships we have. Emilia (Christiane Paul) a once well-received actress now stay at home mom is throwing a critical eye on her life and the once perfect relationship with her husband Paul (Christoph Maria Herbst).