One of the true pleasures of a film festival is the ability to walk into a movie, know nothing about the film or the filmmakers, and walk out floored. Sometimes it leads to discovery, other times it leads to familiarity. … Continue reading Sunday Streams — BIRDS OF PASSAGE
The 42nd Denver Film Festival wraps up Nov. 10, but there are still a slew of movies to see. For this week’s Boulder Weekly, I highlight three: The Twentieth Century, Premature, Sorry We Missed You — the latter is one … Continue reading This week in Film — Weekend Two of the Denver Film Festival and LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
Painted between 1348 and 1350, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains is one of the few surviving works from painter Huang Gongwang and considered by many to be one of China’s finest works. It’s a painting of rivers and mountains, and the movie … Continue reading DWELLING IN THE FUCHUN MOUNTAINS (CHUN JIANG SHUI NUAN)
Truth is a slippery thing. So are lies. There are bald-faced lies, little white lies, and evasions. But there are also constructs; stories and parables that aren’t necessarily true but point to an underlying and undeniable truth. Where the lies … Continue reading THE TRUTH (LA VÉRITÉ)
The Denver Film Festival has a pretty good track record. From red carpet galas to the obscure and unique, the annual festival’s 250+ lineup of features and shorts every November always surprises and enchants moviegoers. Some movies are released weeks … Continue reading Sunday Streams — I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS
There are a great number of personal movies playing at this year’s Denver Film Festival, but Honey Boy is the rare intersection between personal memoir and commercial enterprise. One that ought to break out of the festival circuit and into mainstream theaters. … Continue reading HONEY BOY
On this week’s edition of After Image, I sit down with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo to preview the 42nd Denver Film Festival. Listen to After Image every Friday at 3:00 p.m. on KGNU’s Metro Arts: 88.5 FM, 1390 AM, … Continue reading
The 42nd Denver Film Festival kicked off October 30 with a tribute to former artistic director Brit Withey. The festival runs through November 10 and features over 250 features and shorts. For the Weekly, I highlighted a couple to check … Continue reading This week in FILM — 42nd Denver Film Festival and US
Winner of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival Audience Award, Jojo Rabbit, is funny as hell, but somewhat misguided. What do you do when satire lacks conviction? I wonder what Denver Film Festival artistic director Brit Withey would have made … Continue reading This week in FILM — JOJO RABBIT and DFF’s Brit Withey tribute
Birds of Passage — from directors Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra — is a masterpiece. Set in Colombia and spanning the years 1969 to 1980, Birds is divided into five sections, songs really, that recount the tale of ancient rituals, tight-knit tribes, and the sudden and violent encroachment of capitalism thanks to the profitability of the drug trade. Like most stories depicting the rise and fall of an empire, it begins with an attraction. Specifically, between the young Zaida (Natalia Reyes) and the bachelor Rapayet (José Acosta) at Zaida’s coming out ceremony. With a flurry of images, Gallego and Guerra invoke … Continue reading DFF Review — BIRDS OF PASSAGE (Pájaros de verano)
