Bob presents five seventy-five-word reviews for Seattle International Film Festival features: Beat the Lotto, Body Blow, Franz, Ghost in the Machine, and Hen.
The Seattle International Film Festival, 2026 edition (the 52nd!), is still in full swing. So many awesome flicks to flash before the eyes of Kim Douthit and me (for us, at least; thousands of others as well). It can be a lot to keep up on, both as a writer and a reader. For your sanity and mine, I present a selection of capsule reviews, limited to 75 words (so excuse some choppyiness to get thoughts out).
Body Blow (written and directed by Dean Francis)
This Australian cop film is a fascinating beast: a candy-colored unholy combination of DePalma and Araki directing Cruising with a dash of 90s psychosexual thriller. A cop becomes embroiled in a drug scheme in Sydney’s gay culture, specifically a “twink fatale.” Murder, drag queens, and heroin tits blur the line of morality, wants, and job expectations in a camp take on hard noir conventions. A big mix, but it stands as a unique feature.
Franz (directed by Agnieszka Holland, written by Marek Epstein & Agnieszka Holland)
I love Kafka, his unknowable systems and strange turns. Thus, I wanted to like Franz more. Of course, a Kafka biopic shouldn’t be normal. Wonderfully strange interludes of adaptation and future glimpses sell telling, but it is also a straightforward biopic. It doesn’t mesh and find a voice. But Idan Weiss astounds, giving a fully formed, expressive portrait of the writer, worthy of watching. Nowhere near bad, it’s engaging and well done, but missing pieces.
Hen (directed by György Pálfi; written by György Pálfi, Zsofia Ruttkay ) (TW: Animal violence)
A Greek film of a different feather, Hen uses its unconventional protagonist to tell a story of how we treat one another. A hen (played by 8 real ones) travels the countryside, often witnessing the horrors of humanity. Compelling and dutifully composed, keeping close to the chicken and what she sees. Often sad and heartbreaking, Hen is the Kuleshov Effect: The Movie. So much emotional weight, beliefs, and reactions are placed on a chicken’s face.
Beat the Lotto (Directed by Ross Whitaker)
I love strange slices of docs. When Ireland started a lotto, a syndicate realized a mathematical loophole and set out to exploit. Whitaker puts together a thrill ride of a caper flick, all within a real situation. Combining archival footage with modern overlays, it’s a sly, fun time. But also speaks to capitalism and the small people, who’s right; who’s abusing? The split of support and why is fascinating. Recommended for odd doc fans.
Ghost in the Machine (Directed by Valerie Veatch)
Another documentary, more sinister than strange. We know how terrible AI is and what comes behind it. Here: the details, hows, whys, and histories. It’s unquestionable of the terrors, the racist and classist cases against AI. It has a lot of important things to say, but it’s both frustratingly scattered and belabored. A contradiction, I know. Maybe the amount of shifts as Veatch tries to get as much into as she eventually shifts into dragging.
Final Thoughts
Five reviews for less than the normal length of one! SIFF offers nearly 98 features this year. We can’t catch them all, but I hope this will help you catch some. The Seattle International Film Festival runs from May 7th through May 17th, 2026. See Siff.net/festival for more.