Rebecca Martos is a pretty fantastic and mesmerizing actress who manages to successfully lead what is an utterly compelling look at the state of grief and depression. Martos plays Astrid a young woman who has been driven to alcoholism thanks to her utterly consuming depression. Most of her time is spent in a perpetual state of numbness as she hangs out in bars and looks for new ways to feel something. She’s accepted a long time ago that she can’t feel anymore, and now looks for new sensations that could potentially drive her down a dark road.
Tag Archives: Arthouse
Citizen Kane (1941)
The American Film Institute (AFI) will mount a special 75th Anniversary screening of the restored master at AFI FEST, the Institute’s annual film festival in Hollywood, on November 13th.
Who’s to know what would have been gained had anyone ever discovered what Rosebud meant? All we ever really know is that, like the faceless reporters that pounce on the death of Charles Foster Kane explain, it probably never really would have mattered. What ever piece of the puzzle would have made Charles Foster Kane feel whole was lost a very long time ago. We can never really pin point when and how, but why that gave him immense satisfaction and the feeling of completion was gone. As we gander at the endless piles of trash Kane collected over his years, as well as speak to the endless people Kane eventually began to collect, it’s pretty clear nothing could ever really give Charles Foster Kane a sense of fulfillment or make him feel complete.
The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi) (2016)
Park chan-wook is no stranger to delivering some of the best character studies that also pack a sense of sexual perversity, and pain within its seams. “The Handmaiden” is one of his most epic in scope dramas that also manages to be one of the most erotic romances I’ve seen in a while. “The Handmaiden” is pure ambition that succeeds in delivering something of a labyrinthian narrative of crime, salvation, and romance that begins as a simplistic drama. It takes a brilliant artist like chan-wook to handle a film that morphs in to various themes and experience various tonal changes without it completely falling apart, but Park chan-wook handles it by making each new turn around the corner absolutely suspenseful.
The Witch (2016)
Robert Eggers’ debut “The Witch” is a marvelous and absolutely mesmerizing film. It’s not just an incredible horror film, but a fantastic examination of how a family basically tears itself from inside out due to ideas of resentment, sexual repression, and pure isolation. Not many directors debut with a bang, but “The Witch” is a slow burn horror film that begins with the fuse burning and burning until Eggers delivers something of a humongous explosion that will leave audiences speechless. Eggers sets his film on 17th Century New England, where a patriarch of a small family named William is threatened with banishment by a puritanical plantation with his wife, daughter Thomasin, younger son Caleb, and fraternal twins Mercy and Jonas. Vowing to free himself of the puritanical village, William builds a secluded farm at the edge of the woods, swearing to thrive with his family at his side.
The Noah (1975)
The shockingly obscure masterpiece “The Noah” is an exploration of grief through a man named Noah’s solitude as he realizes he’s the only person left on the planet. Set on a desolate island where supplies are cumbersome but humanity has diminished, our character Noah drifts by a life raft to the shore, and makes it his home. Even though he’s realized that humanity has become extinct due to the war, he makes it his mission to turn the island into his domain and keep himself occupied. He now sees a responsibility in staying alive to preserve his race for all time. He is literally the only person on the planet, thus he must engage in a battle against isolation, and loneliness.
Limbo (2016)
After breaking down on the side of the road and tossing his phone, a man finds a dying dog. Giving the dog some water grants him a wish. Director Will Blank co-wrote with Richard Kapones and they adapted the story from a comic strip by Marian Churchland to create a story that resonates on many levels. The story they build here seems simple at first, but as it advances and the lead thinks of what he wants to wish for, it makes the viewer think about what they would wish for and why. The film may be short but it doesn’t lose any of its story’s effectiveness.
The Invitation (2016)
A man and his new girlfriend receive a very official invitation to a fancy dinner party at his previous home and given by his ex and her new man. There he gets to see friends he’s not seen in a long time and meet a new duo. As he suspects something is not quite right, events unfold strengthening his suspicions.