NYFF 2021 Archives - Minorities Report

13 Oct

What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsFilm Review, New York Film Festival, NYFF

What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? is an ode to love at first sight; the moment you close your eyes and open them back again, the film takes over you. It’s a sensory experience with magical realism that’s both, in a sense, familiar and unique. This is a story about two strangers: footballer Giorgi and pharmacist Lisa. They had three random encounters within minutes of each other because they forgot their paths. Viewing it as a lucky concurrence, they decide to meet the next day at the local cafe. However, their meeting might not occur as…

09 Oct

Parallel Mothers Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsFilm Review, New York Film Festival, NYFF, NYFF21, Parallel Mothers, Pedro Almodóvar

Almodóvar’s switched-at-birth story, Parallel Mothers, is one of his most subtle and less-extravagant outings yet; however, it has his usual dramatic punch and a duet of excellent performances by Milena Smit and Penelope Cruz. The stylish Spaniard, Pedro Almodóvar, is one of the top-tier international directors working today, delivering a consistent oeuvre throughout his years as an auteur. From Women Under the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), my favorite, to his first English-language Cocteau excursion, The Human Voice (2019), his works always have a colorful debonair and passion. However, his latest is slightly different, switching his gears and choosing…

08 Oct

Hit the Road Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsHit the Road, New York Film Festival, NYFF

Like father, like son; Panah Panahi’s Hit the Road creates a self-reflexive study on life in his country by means of a family road trip that has different twists and turns emotionally. On the first watch, it is gripping; on the second, it completely breaks your heart. The film follows a tender disordered family of four -- two middle-aged parents and their two sons: a hyperactive 6-year-old and an untalkative adult -- who drive across the Iranian landscape. We are never told what their exact destination is; they just keep on driving. Dad has a broken leg for an unknown…

06 Oct

Memoria Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsMemoria, NYFF

The latest feature by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Memoria, is a meditative study on memories, existence, and the philosophical tenures of life all through the eyes of one majestic Tilda Swinton and an immersive atmosphere and soundscape. Jessica (Tilda Swinton), a Scottish orchid farmer, visits her sister in Bogotá, Colombia. One day, right before dawn, a loud and reverberating bang wakes her up from her sleep; the sound doesn’t let her rest for days and days. The resounding thump is echoing through her mind, and she is the only one that seems to hear it. So, she starts questioning her identity and…

05 Oct

Drive My Car Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsDrive my car, New York Film Festival, NYFF, Ryuske Hamaguchi

Ryuske Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car makes 3-hours fly as he adapts Haruki Murakami with a sharply written, intimate, and fervid piece on grief, self-acceptance, and sin. Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a prosperous stage actor, and director married to a playwright, Oto (Reika Kirishima). When Oto dies suddenly, he is left with many unanswered questions about their relationship and regrets about her. Two years later, still unable to cope with the loss of his wife, Yusuke accepts to direct a play at a theatre festival in Hiroshima. First, however, he must comply with the festival rules and let Misaki Watari…

04 Oct

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsNew York Film Festival, NYFF

The Golden Bear-winning pandemic satire, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is a film that shares many thoughts and every single one is put onto the screen all squished together. There are funny moments, and there are hysterical moments, albeit, for most of its runtime, it feels like a raunchy overlong SNL sketch, for better or worse. A teacher (Katia Pascariu) at a prestigious Bucharest school gets her sex tape accidentally leaked on the internet by her husband; her life and career are going to change forever. She must now face an angry mob of parents in a trial that…

04 Oct

France Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsFilm Festivals, Film Review, FRANCE, New York Film Festival

France tackles yellow journalism and sensationalism in a ridiculous and darkly satirical way that makes a mockery of the news outlets; it has Léa Seydoux going along with the bit, but it overstays its welcome with its unnecessarily lengthy runtime. France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) is a famous TV journalist whose stardom is caused by extreme measures and ridiculing moments. Her career, homelife, and psychological solidity change when she carelessly drives into a delivery man on the streets of Paris. The accident caused France to go on a series of self-destructive moments and get involved in a new romance. Her…

03 Oct

The Worst Person in the World Review| NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsNYFF, NYFF21, The Worst Person in the World

The Worst Person in the World concludes Joachim Trier’s Oslo trilogy in sheer delight with a clever, complex, and beguiling story about how our identity is attached to the relationships we make in life -- refined by both desire and heartache. Joachim Trier manages to surprise us with the way he approaches his films. All of them have a unique factor while capturing references in a new light in the background. However, it all goes back to one thing at its core: portraits of identity and intimacy. The only film of his that has gotten a bit of slack for…

02 Oct

Songs for Drella (1990) Revival Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsNYFF, NYFF21, Songs for Drella

The 4K restoration of Songs for Drella, the classic album by Lou Reed and John Cale, reinvigorates the passion for the pioneering and ambitious life of the legendary Andy Warhol, to whom the album is dedicated. Lou Reed and John Cale, both ex-members of the prestigious art-rock band The Velvet Underground “(VU),” got their start thanks to the iconic Andy Warhol, their manager back in 1966. Warhol’s art show, aka the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, had the VU front and center as its musical presentation along with Christa Päffgen, better known as Nico, adding backup vocals to their sets. Then, a…

01 Oct

The Power of the Dog Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsBenedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kristen Dunst, The Power of the Dog

Jane Campion is back with The Power of the Dog, a hard-hearted yet beautiful study of toxic masculinity that carefully crafts every facet and has Benedict Cumberbatch’s finest performance to date. Most of Campion’s work can be intricate or detail-oriented, but it’s primarily unique and tantalizing in its favor. It is all about the atmosphere she concocts with her direction, and every little trifle that factors its way onto the screen has its purpose. Of course, not every film she does is excellent nor perfect, but the element of meticulousness is always present. Now, the New Zealand auteur makes her…