Few people still doubt that mankind has had a huge impact on nature and cliamte. The polar ice caps are melting and because the world’s population keeps growing it means that there is less and less room for animals to live and that the demand for meat and fish increases. The consequences are obvious: More animals species go extinct or are about to. Often the cause of it is economic and this documentary tries to show the reality of it all. Continue reading
As you get older you start to think more about your life. About what you still might want to accomplish, what is important to you, things you might want to do differently or how to better take care of your finances better so you have less fixed expenses. That usually starts around fourty/fifty as you usually have accomplished a lot of things you set out to do, hopefully are relatively happy and slowly realize that your parents won’t live forever.
That realisation hits everyone differently and your life experience and personality decide how you’ll deal with that. The main character in Mia Madre, the Italian Margherita (Margherita Buy), struggles with these existential questions. Her mother isn’t doing well and as a director she is in the middle of filming her latest movie. Continue reading
The way in which a movie is shot can do a lot to set the tone. Wes Anderson played with the formatting in Grand Budapest Hotel, which all represented different eras. Director Xavier Dolan wanted to show the emotional state of the main character in Mommy by using a 4:3 format and only once using widescreen in order to show the feeling of liberation. Son of Saul, which is set during the second world war inside a concentration camp, immediately chooses its tone from the start. With a claustrophobic 4:3 format and only having the focus close to the camera, making everything far away blurry, you are glued to the main character, Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig). Continue reading
If you have kids then you have the natural instinct to watch them, be there for them and protect them. Nevertheless, from the start you should already slowly let go so that they can learn from the mistakes they make and ultimately spread their wings. However, when you see that the freedom you give them is a bit too much, you’ll have to restrict it again to make it safe.
It is a constant process that I’m constantly working on myself, but the older your children get, the more you realize that you can’t and shouldn’t try to check everything. There is a chance that it all goes incredibly wrong. I regularly read about parents who left their child home alone and they ended up inviting friends who brought alcohol and they had to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. With those stories in mind it is important to inform rather than to limit so that you keep talking to each other instead of having a teenager who shuts you out and starts having secrets for you. That is exactly what the main character from Les Cowboys realises. A secret that will affect the whole family deeply. Continue reading
There are so many elements which decide who you become as a person. Of course the place you are born has a huge influence, but also how you were raised, your friends and the setbacks you face all play a role in forming your personality and where in life you eventually end up. For some that is a bad place and is documentary you see how a group of young people with their own issues follow a course which should help them to find a job. Continue reading
The movie world has its celebrities. Not only actors/actresses, but many movie lovers will also be able to name various directors. When you ask them next to name famous documentary filmmakers, chances are slim they will be able to name any. But there are some well-known ones. Directors like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Morgan Spurlock and Louis Theroux are good examples and of course there is also the man behind Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore. Continue reading
There are moments in life where you don’t even think about the relationship you have with your partner anymore, you kind of take it for granted. The other is there for you and you know what you can expect from the other, but there is always that danger that you don’t appreciate them enough anymore or don’t take the time to give them the attention they deserve. You could slowly grow apart until you both have begun living you own lives instead of one together. In People, Places, Things it has come to that, something which Will Henry (Jemaine Clement) realises too late. Continue reading
Everyone person has moments where they think about their existence. Why are we here, what is our purpose, is there really free will and what will happen after our death? These are all philosophical thoughts, question you can talk very long about, but which we all won’t be able to get a definite answer to. They are the secrets of life, that mysterious thing we can’t grab, no matter how much we would like to be able to. But what would the world look like when you would know how long you would still have to live? Would you make different choices if you knew that you wouldn’t be around in two years? It is one of the few subjects in Le Tout Nouveau Testament. Continue reading
They say the older the wiser, but if you look at Elle(Lily Tomlin), you might have some doubt. She no longer has any contact with her daughter, just broke up with her girlfriend and only has enough money to take care of her basic needs. She once was a successful writer, but hasn’t published anything in ages. To her surprise her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) suddenly shows up at her doorstep, asking her if she can borrow some money from her. After talking to her she finds out she needs the money to have an abortion, for which she has an appointment later that day. Grandma Elle might not have the money, but she decides to pay a couple of people a visit to make sure she gets the necessary amount. Continue reading
Meeting new people can sometimes be a challenge as you never know if you can get along with someone in advance. Starting a conversation might be easy, but if are both on different frequencies it might lead to uncomfortable silences. If you do have that connection though you keep talking, time seems to fly and that meetup with a stranger can turn into a friendship or more. If you meet someone abroad while on holiday and you are both not from that country it creates a bond, something which Lost in Translation managed to capture perfectly. Director Emily Ting had an experience like that when had to work in Hong Kong for a while and she has based her first feature film on her experiences there. Continue reading