Director Jesse Dvorak’s crime drama is a bit problematic in that it’s a film that constantly jumps from theme to theme and never quite decides on what kind of story it wants to tell. It’s both about the immigrant experience in America, followed by culture shock often experienced by main character Baby. Most of the time she struggles with what she thinks are the norms for American culture, and this amounts to a script that’s never quite focused and feels ultimately under cooked.
Tag Archives: Arthouse
Settlers (2021)
A family living on Mars as part of early settlers must face the elements and other humans as they attempt to have a decent life on the new planet.
You Have to See This! The Florida Project (2017)
We often tend to classify fantasy movies as movies with monsters, or elves, or space battles. Sometimes fantasy movies can be as simple as a narrative about the world that children can invent in their minds. In the darkest times and most cynical of realities, a child can find beauty and awe in their environment, and Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” is every bit a fantasy as it is a rich art house drama. It’s hard to imagine anything as measuring up to Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” from 2017.
Lansky (2021)
Meyer Lanksy hires a writer to tell his story, but with conditions such as he cannot published until allowed. While he tells his life story, the Feds investigate him one last time in the hope of finding his stash of money.
You Have to See This! Midsommar (2019)
I’m not too sure why I didn’t review “Midsommar” back in 2019. Maybe I was just too busy, but suffice to say it made my top ten of 2019, easily. Ari Aster is a man who has managed to really delve deep in to some truly bizarre horror, and “Midsommar” is a pitch perfect example. Aster’s film is always placed in the same vein as “The Wicker Man,” but while it certainly can be appreciated with the aforementioned, “Midsommar” is its own twisted animal.
Sound of Violence (2021)
Following the murder of her family, Alexis seemingly miraculously recovered her hearing. As she studies music, an interesting phenomenon happens and she can feel and see music in a different manner than most. This leads her to experimentations that are anything but ethical to get to her goal of knowing and feeling more of the music. As she creates music, a dark secret comes to light.
Man Push Cart (2005): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Ramin Bahrani’s stellar and often brilliant drama is very much a post 9/11 film about the immigrant experience, the “America Dream,” and the promise of perpetual poverty. In a country that doesn’t even grant its born citizens a chance at higher quality of life, what hopes do immigrants have? Ramin Bahrani’s indie hit “Man Push Cart” focuses primarily on Ahmad, a young man who is working toward a big goal that always seems so painfully out of his grasp. Like everyone in America, he works until he can barely stand, and he does it every single day without complaining.