Tag: independent film
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‘Ms. Davis’ Close Friend’: Richard Schertzer’s Modern Reimagination of ‘The Seventh Seal’
‘Ms. Davis’ Close Friend’ will make you think about the meaning of death and what it means to be alive, and if there’s really a race to be run with one’s inevitable demise.
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‘CODA’ Is a Step Forward for Deaf Representation
CODA’ is about a child of deaf adults torn between staying with her parents and her dreams of pursuing music. This film is a step forward for deaf representation and disability in movies despite negative messages about the burden of actors deaf deafness.
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Fall in Love With Anna Biller’s ‘The Love Witch’
“I’m always interested in exploring female fantasy, and the sexy witch is a loaded archetype that is simultaneously about men’s fears and fantasies about women, and women’s feelings of empowerment and agency. So whereas we are used to seeing the sexy witch or the femme fatale from the outside, I wanted to explore her from…
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‘Jack and Diane’ Review: Wasted Potential
The plot could’ve really been interesting if the elements of lycanthropy was integrated with perhaps the struggle of identity of being LGBTQ+. It’s an experience for so many that as they’re starting to realizing their true selves, they feel like a monster, especially if they come from unsupportive homes or communities. Instead, the horror and transformation elements…
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The Invitation (2015): Grief is on The Menu
The Invitation takes a creeping look at two simple premises: reuniting with forgotten friends and new-age spiritualism. Though one seems a bit scarier than the other, the film heightens social awkwardness to a macabre level that puts an uncomfortable look on when the social taboo of grief is put on public display.
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Saint Maud & The Madness of Fanaticism
TW: Sexual Assault, Mental Illness, Body Horror // Minor Spoilers Below Rose Glass’ directorial debut, Saint Maud, explores the term “god complex” to an extreme. The film follows Maud, a young nurse who has recently been “saved” by God (through Catholicism) and believes she has a bigger purpose for it. She tries to implement her…
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Millennial Woes Done Right
A messy millennial in an on-and-off relationship with liminal job prospects has been a saturated archetype since Lena Dunham stretched it to its limit for 5 years in her series Girls. It has been haphazardly recreated in many character study-esque television series and tries to worm its way in as b-plots in coming-of-age films. Occasionally…
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Violation & The Misused Shock-Horror of Sexual Assault
TW: Sexual Assault, Body Horror, Animal Violence // Spoilers below There is no more delicate a topic to portray than sexual assault and, because of its heaviness, it seldom gets the attention and discussion it deserves. However, when it is represented in some capacity, it is usually in an explicit and exploitative way that is…
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Validating Bimbos & Erin Brockovich
Unless you’re on the wrong side of Tik Tok, aka Straight Tik Tok, you definitely have seen the growing popularity and comeback of the Bimbo trend - now extending to the gender-inclusive Himbo, Bimbo, and Thembo. It has been reclaimed as a feminist concept, as a way to praise femininity, subvert the male gaze, and…