Reviews - Page 74

Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.

Hot Docs Review: ‘Under the Same Sun’

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Under The Same Sun (Canada, 97 min.) Dir. FranΓ§ois Jacob Program: Canadian Spectrum One of the highlights of the recent Human Rights Watch Film Festival was the Armenian documentary,Β I Am Not Alone, using television and coverage live-streamed via cell phones to capture the country’s 2018 anti-autocratic revolution when journalist-turned-prime minister Nikol Pashinyan toppled the country’s autocratic government. Under the Same Sun, directed by FranΓ§ois Jacob (A Moon of Nickel and Ice) briefly touches on those same events, although it could not be more diametrically opposed, either in its resigned tone and elliptical, poetic esthetic. The subject is the century-old, ongoing

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Hot Docs Review: ‘Immortal’

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Immortal (Estonia, 60 min.) Dir. Ksenia Okhapkina Programme: The Changing Face of Europe Set in an industrial town of post-Soviet Russia,Β ImmortalΒ is glued together by a hypnotic stream of moving train units and long shadows on snowy surfaces. Every image bathes in the blue haze of a permanent night. Shot during winter, the debut documentary feature of Ksenia Okhapkina (Come Back Free, 2016) is a hypnotizing and chilling depiction of Russia’s societal mechanisms. The town of Apatity is a former concentration camp. Set in the Arctic circle, it feels like the end of the world. It’s cold, dark and the snow

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Hot Docs Review: ‘Two Gods’

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Two Gods (United States, 85 min.) Dir. Zeshawn Ali Program: World Showcase Two GodsΒ is an astonishing and powerful debut by Zeshawn Ali. Presented in black and white, the story unfolds in shades of moral grey as we witness powerful characters who rise and fall when subjected to difficult circumstances. The film exudes humanity through every frame. The patience and precision of Ali’s craft elevates this sentiment. The film centers on Hanif, a lithe and fascinating character who has a wealth of experience and defines survival. We witness him building coffins and washing bodies in preparation for their burials. Ali’s film

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Hot Docs Review: ‘All That I Am’

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All that I Am (Norway, 75 min) Dir. Tone GrΓΈttjord-Glenne Programme: International Spectrum All that I AmΒ begins with a voice speaking of a dark past over images of gently falling snow. The narrator wonders what it will be like to return home and speak to her siblings about a traumatic event. Her story is elusive and vague. We soon find that the voice belongs to young Emilie, whose long brown hair and sad eyes often provide a cover for the rawness of her pain. GrΓΈttjord-Glenne’s film doesn’t immediately announce what actually happened to Emilie, so audiences who haven’t prepared themselves

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Hot Docs Review: ‘Mein Vietnam’

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Mein Vietnam (Germany/Austria, 70 min.) Dir. Tim Ellrich, Thi Hien Mai Program: World Showcase Thi Bay Nguyen and Trung Tam Mai have been living in Germany for nearly thirty years. However, one would hardly know it from watchingΒ Mein Vietnam. This unique documentary from Tim Ellrich and Thi Hien Mai offers a timely portrait of migrant experiences. The film observes the Vietnamese ex-pats as they make ends meet in Germany with hopes to retire eventually to their homeland. Nearly all the human drama ofΒ Mein VietnamΒ occurs in the couple’s modest public housing apartment. A fair portion of the film is also β€œscreen

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Hot Docs Review: ‘A Pleasure, Comrades!’

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A Pleasure, Comrades! (Portugal, 106 min.) Dir. JosΓ© Filipe Costa Program: The Changing Face of Europe In 1975, in the wake of the Carnation Revolution overthrowing Portugal’s dictatorship, the southern European country welcomed youth from all over the world eager to work the fields of change. Local farmers, recently organized in cooperatives, were confronted with new ideas and habits while spirited young souls learned to keep their utopian dreams in check. JosΓ© Filipe Costa revisited Portugal’s past in his second feature-length documentary filmΒ A Pleasure, Comrades! A big, honking, commercial truck passes a Seventies love bus on a highway ramp outside

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Canadian Film Fest Review: ‘Shoot to Marry’

Shoot to Marry (Canada, 70 min.) Dir. Steve Markle β€œReal life is no romantic comedy,” says director Steve Markle inΒ Shoot to Marry.Β β€œIt’s a Stephen King movie.” Markle uses his camera to play the dating game inΒ Shoot to Marry. This shoestring film about the director’s romantic foibles might indeed have a higher ick factor than most Stephen novels do. The ruse of the film is that the director, 42-years-old and hopelessly single after his ex-girlfriend declined his proposal, endeavours to find his perfect match. Markle tries online dating, hires a matchmaker, visits a sex club, and hits on random women. None

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Hot Docs Review: ‘Zero’

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Zero (Japan, 128 min.) Dir. Kazuhiro Soda Programme: World Showcase 12 years ago, director Kazuhiro Soda made a film that took you deep into the Chorale Okayama Clinic, a poor people’s mental health facility. InΒ Mental, Soda revealed that his intention was to part the curtain blocking the world of the mentally ill from view so that the β€œnormal world” could see what the abnormal world was really like. The film’s unintentional hero, visiting psychiatrist Dr. Masatomo Yamamoto, was shown interacting with the patients in a quietly effective manner. AsΒ ZeroΒ begins, Dr. Yamamoto is 82 years old and about to give up

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