Week Ending 12/27/24
Happy New Year!
The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA)—a name that is so long it gets people talking about how long it is every year and therefore justifies being kept that long—nominations were revealed this week and we’ve compiled another great list.
Fernanda Torres and Pamela Anderson in Lead Actress? Yes!
Paul Schrader sneaking in an Adapted Screenplay nod? Yes!
No Other Land getting into Doc, Foreign, and Best Film? Yes!
Coralie Fargeat rounding out Best Director despite The Substance not getting a Best Film nod? Yes!
These things are why regional groups are so crucial to the cinematic landscape each year. When every single “big event” sticks to the usual “big name” films (which, we did too with The Brutalist getting 8 noms and Anora getting 7), it’s the little guys who keep the dark horse candidates in the conversation—even if they go no further.
Caught up to the last few I needed to see. Dìdi and Oh, Canada were worth writing about (reviews below). Super/Man and Wicked were not (they were fine).
Now it’s back to finishing my Top 10 Posters (I have my shortlist of 50 ready to whittle down) and my Top 10 Films … maybe both done before January 1st? We’ll see.
What I Watched:
BABYGIRL
(in theaters)
“There's an honesty to the sex positive nature of the whole, but also the empathy inherent in the love for another and the love for oneself. [Kidman delivers] an emotionally daring performance.”
– Full thoughts at jaredmobarak.com.
DIDI
(streaming on Peacock)
Chris's (Izaac Wang) world is changing. This is his last summer before high school and priorities have shifted for family, friends, and himself. His sister Vivian (Shirley Chen) is headed to college. Fahad (Raul Dial) and Soup (Aaron Chang) only care about girls. Mom (Joan Chen's Chungsing) is trying to keep a lid on her household with her husband in Taiwan, mother-in-law (Zhang Li Hua's Nai Nai) constantly pointing out her failings, and two kids existing in a culture she can't quite steward them through. And every time Chris tries to pick a lane and follow one of them, they either reject him or he embarrasses himself by going too hard. Suddenly, an AIM chat-bot is the only friend he has left.
It doesn't matter what generation immigrant you are, the emotions and drama inherent to Sean Wang's Dìdi will resonate. Because we've all gone through something similar at that age due to the sudden escalation in stakes that occur when puberty and class schedules collide. Some of your friends know stuff you haven't even heard about so you attempt to keep up via mimicry only to reveal just how out of the loop you are. Kids and adults alike tell you that everything is going to be okay and that you can share your feelings with them, but they often end up using that information as fuel to—intentionally or not—make things even worse. But you need to experience it to learn how to escape it.
That's where Chris is now. He's on that bottom rung scoping out the real estate of who he can be by purposefully rejecting who he should be and inadvertently ignoring who he wants to be. It's therefore a series of high highs and low lows as he stumbles into scenarios that can't withstand the ruse for very long. Sure, he can talk himself in the door and hold his own telling people what he knows they want to hear. But at a certain point, he must make good on those promises. Or admit he's in over his head, but would like to keep trying. At thirteen, he can't do the former simply because of a lack of experience. And his immaturity won't let him see the latter as anything but a sign of weakness. So, he lets the resulting shame fester and build until he loses his identity completely.
A lesser film would have him conveniently learn from the hijinks by surviving and endearing himself to those who eventually give in. Wang does the opposite. He supplies Chris with alternatives only to have him consistently fail in each one. Because it's not about finding a perfect situation since he, as the common denominator, is the root of his own problems via self-sabotage. So, Wang instead shows us the consequences of those missteps and the ways Chris can learn to be better for himself rather than for the world. That starts with accepting who he is and where he comes from. The desperation to fit in—and, more charged than that, assimilate—stems from the contempt he holds for himself. Yes, as a shy virgin, but also as a second-generation immigrant, regardless of his diverse neighborhood.
The first thing Chris must therefore accept is his place as brother and son. That's where the anger initiates and Vivian doesn't do much to help considering she went through the same growing pains when she was his age. Mom wants to support him, but it's tough when kids are at that stage where parents are embarrassing. So, he pushes her away—even as he watches her struggle with his grandmother in much the same way. He knows then that she'll understand, but he can't quite get past the mental hurdle of admitting she will help. It places Chris in this horrible position between his old friends (who act like him but "cooler") and his new friends (who see how his youth has skewed what "cool" is) all while venting his frustrations at the one person who never turns him away.
Izaac Wang does a wonderful job existing in this transient state of being as a newly minted teen finding his footing (and, we can assume, channeling Sean Wang's own experiences doing the same). The honesty in his loneliness and recklessness, however, demands the authenticity of an authority figure that loves him anyway to make it feel instructional rather than destructive. That's where Chen comes in to carry this situation with passion and restraint. Because she can't afford to let her emotions rule her like Chris. Her Chungsing must lean on the reality that our lives might not always be what we want, but they are still our lives and we still control them. She never gave up painting or resented motherhood. She found the compromise for happiness. Now, it's Chris' turn to pave his way towards the same.
- 8/10
THE FIRE INSIDE
(in theaters)
“In the end, THE FIRE INSIDE is a sports biography with all the trappings you'd expect. It's a solid debut for Morrison and a star-making turn for Destiny with a message for girls and boys to know their worth and never settle.”
– Full thoughts at The Film Stage.
NOSFERATU
(in theaters)
“That leveling up of intention, violence, and horror runs throughout Eggers' adaptation. More than just expanding upon the mythology, he's increasing the brutality with a greater sense of visceral potency than mere dread.”
– Full thoughts at jaredmobarak.com.
OH, CANADA
(limited release)
On his literal deathbed, renowned documentarian Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) agrees to sit down for an interview that two former students (Michael Imperioli's Malcolm and Victoria Hill's Diana) plan to turn into a film about his life and career. His main motivation to do so is initially because his wife (and their former classmate), Emma (Uma Thurman), said she'd be at his side for the duration. Malcolm promised it'd be a legacy piece shining Fife in the best possible light and, perhaps, the catalyst for a retrospective worthy of his status in Canadian cinematic history (despite being American). Well, once Leonard sits down, his motivation changes.
Adapted by Paul Schrader from his friend Russell Banks' novel Foregone, Oh, Canada begins with the decision to use the camera as a confessional. Fife has never been one not to recognize that his art as a filmmaker used the tools of psychology to silently goad his subjects into revealing truths they never intended to share, so it's only fitting that he intentionally turns the tables on himself. This is his last time to set the record straight, after all. Not for the public as Malcolm and Diana hope. Nor for his wife despite constantly saying that his goal is to ensure she understands who he really is. This is the last time to remind himself that the life he lived might have come at the cost of his soul.
And it all hinges upon his decision to leave America as a means of avoiding the draft to Vietnam. That's what Malcolm seeks to use as a centerpiece to the film—expressing the anti-war sentiment and heroics his mentor stood for. Leonard decides to ignore all his questions, though, choosing to weave a tale that starts in Richmond, VA instead. Yes, it will eventually also lead him to that fateful border crossing, but not before Emma hears more details than she ever had. Because while she was always aware he was married before, discovering he had a son came later (and unplanned). So, it stands to reason more lies of omission remained shrouded in mystery ... until today.
The result is compelling both because of Gere's performance and the fact that the narrative is inherently balanced upon Fife's unreliable narration. This is a man drugged to high heaven in order to dull his pain. A man whose usual lack of filter has been removed even further—going so far as calling Malcolm a fraud to his face. One isn't wholly independent of the other, though. Are we watching a delusional man spouting whatever comes to his head regardless of veracity or validity? Or is this a guilty person bearing his soul? Emma believes it's the former. Heck, even Malcolm does—although he doesn't care as long as it makes for good footage. And the person we hope to rely upon can't stop mixing up faces in the retelling. Even Leo's own face gets jumbled.
Oh, Canada must therefore be taken with a grain of salt if your hope is to follow a cohesive trajectory with concrete answers. Schrader is less interested in the truth here than he is the fiction of self. Because whether the things Leonard admits happened doesn't matter as much as the sentiment that what the world knows about him didn't. Maybe not for everyone. Emma says she "knows all she needs to know" and you can't blame her for that. Regardless of previous wives, children, and lives, she's only known Leonard the filmmaker and that's who she's loved for three decades. But it does matter to those wives and children. It does matter to the idea of God and judgement. Can an identity built upon lies ever truly be real?
There's stuff about artists in there too. And reinvention always being steeped in fear. Fife is a complex and flawed human being who has cultivated a sense of self through his work as much as had it formed by that work. Where does one begin and the other end? Well, that varies on perception. In the end, the film isn't even really about Leonard at all. It's about culture and history and how all of it is colored by the desires of the people documenting it for the future. That's why I love how Schrader homages "Rosebud" with the penultimate image—a word that means so many things to so many characters within Citizen Kane and viewers outside it. Leonard's words are just words until someone else ascribes them meaning. The only part of any of our stories that remains ours is death.
- 7/10
Cinematic F-Bombs:
This week saw SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (2024) added to the archive (cinematicfbombs.com).
Jeff Daniels dropping an f-bomb in SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY.
New Releases This Week:
(Review links where applicable)
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 12/25/24 -
BABY JOHN at Regal Elmwood
BABYGIRL at Dipson Amherst & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Thoughts are linked above.
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN at Dipson Amherst & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
THE FIRE INSIDE at Dipson Capitol; AMC Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Thoughts are linked above.
NOSFERATU at North Park Theatre; Dipson Amherst, Flix & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Thoughts are linked above.
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 12/27/24 -
BLOODY AXE WOUND at Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Streaming from 12/27/24 -
CULPA TUYA – Prime on 12/27
NIGHTBITCH – Hulu on 12/27
“It does lay a lot of its messaging on thick, but it's well-acted and as funny as it is resonant in the universal emotions that surround parenthood. Adams is the highlight.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
AMBER ALERT – Hulu on 12/28
AVICII - I’M TIM – Netflix on 12/31
AVICII - MY LAST SHOW – Netflix on 12/31
DON’T DIE: THE MAN WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER – Netflix on 1/1
THE LOVE SCAM – Netflix on 1/1
Now on VOD/Digital HD -
BIRD (12/24)
GLADIATOR II (12/24)
THE ORDER (12/24)
“Their story unfolds linearly and without much flourish, but that's to its drama's benefit by keeping things lean while still ramping up the stakes. I was invested from the opening prologue of backwoods murder straight through to its fiery finale.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
WEREWOLVES (12/24)
Y2K (12/24)
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM (12/27)
THE RETURN (12/27)