A woman living in the Alps is surrounded by superstition, darkness, and possibly a touch of supernatural. Her life has started with darkness and may very well end in darkness.
Author Archives: Emilie Black
Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven) (2017) [Ithaca Fantastik Film Festival 2017]
After her mother disappears, a young girl joins a group of street kids trying to survive in a world of violence, drugs, and gangs. Through stories and fairytales, they keep each other going.
Snowflake (Schneeflöckchen ) (2017) [Ithaca Fantastik Film Festival 2017]
Tan and Javid are outlaws looking for the people responsible for their parents’ death. As their search gets weird, they realize they are part of a script written by a dentist in his spare time.
Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End (2017) [Doc NYC 2017]
The life of cartoonist Mr. Fish has seen through his eyes and those of his loved ones, co-workers, and a few other people.
From director Pablo Bryant, this documentary mixes interviews with a lot of visual material, giving a good idea of who Mr. Fish is, how he thinks, and how he creates. The film covers his life from childhood until now and shows not only how he works but also his home life which has an influence on his work and vice versa. This is done in a way that gives a good, unobstructed view of things and lets the viewer make their own mind as to if Mr. Fish is doing things right or not. Of course, the film does come at the subject from a specific angle and has its own agenda, but that does not keep it from having an openness about its subject.
Daguerrotype (Le secret de la chamber noire) (2017)
In a French mansion, a photographer is obsessed with reproducing long lost photos taken with the daguerreotype technique of yore. When he hires a young assistant for his project, things get complicated.
Written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Catherine Paille, and Eléonore Mahmoudian and directed by Kurosawa, Daguerrotype is a very slow burn of a film that feels more like a drama than anything else. This being said, there are a few elements that will be surprising if the viewer goes into it completely blind and thus will not be spoiled here. Having the genre pre-established as anything other than drama will lead into guessing a few of these. Given the director and his resume, this aspect can be easily guessed. Here he works in a manner where the characters are given plenty of time to develop themselves and their arcs while the story builds around them. The writing and directing of the film feel like a proper mix of French and Japanese cinema in a way that is hard to explain but works wonderfully well here.
Loro Chi? (Them Who?) (2015) [San Diego Italian Film Festival 2017]
While trying to impress his boss at a job that his crushing his writer’s soul, Davide loses everything and finds a new way of living and thinking that eventually will lead him to happiness.
Veloce come il vento (Italian Race) (2016) [San Diego Italian Film Festival 2017]
A young race car driver loses her father suddenly. Having no mother in the picture, she becomes in charge of her younger brother when their older brother, an addict and ex-racer himself, becomes their legal guardian.
Based on a story by Matteo Rovere who co-wrote the screenplay with Filippo Gravino and Francesca Manieri and also directed, Veloce come il vento is a touching family drama with a hopeful outlook on things. The film throws many curve balls at lead Giulia as she is trying to win in car racing, but nothing is going to stop her from winning and keeping her family together. The film has its ups and downs and it works well on all fronts. The balance of good moments versus sad moments creates a dynamic storyline and gives plenty for the characters to bond over. The film makes good use of the drama and the few comedic moments and builds itself towards an end that is a touch sad, but also perfect.