Haider (Ali Junejo) is not a stereotypical man. He enjoys playing with his young nieces, hesitates in butchering livestock, lives off his wife Mumtaz’s (Rasti Farooq) salary, and doesn’t have kids of his own. He is physically smaller than his peers and is meeker than the usual cisgender heterosexual man. There is nothing he “truly… Continue reading ‘Joyland’ review: Defying the Rhythms of Masculinity
With his two films so far, director-writer-actor Cooper Raiff proves that his work are the party starters of life’s most awkward and formative phases. He started strong in 2020 with his debut Shithouse, where he tries to (awkwardly) groove into the beat of a collegiate neophyte. This year, he released his crowd-charmer sophomore Cha Cha… Continue reading ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’: A Tango of Clumsy Transitions
One of this year’s QCinema entries under the Asian Next Wave category is the Cannes Camera d'Or Special Mention awardee Plan 75. A feature debut of Chie Hayakawa, it has an intriguing yet harrowing premise: To combat the country's rapidly graying population, the government of a near-future Japan introduces a program called "Plan 75," which… Continue reading QCinema 2022: ‘Plan 75’—An Autopsy of a Morbid Life Retirement Program
Queer people have always been confined. Their visibility has always been limited to the quiet and privacy of one's own, left to linger in their desires that can't be celebrated in public. The dedication of their narratives through Rainbow Shorts in the 10th year of the QCinema Film Festival presents these issues no longer remaining… Continue reading QCinema 2022: RainbowQC Shorts—Intimate Intensities of the Queer Filipino Experience
Itim (also known as The Rites of May), Mike de Leon’s feature film debut released in 1976, revolves around a photographer (Tommy Abuel) who returns to the province to be with his father (Mario Montenegro) and to document the town’s Holy Week practices. During this time, he finds himself drawn to Teresa (played by Charo… Continue reading QCinema 2022: ‘Itim’ and the Ghosts of Injustice
The original West Side Story, as a musical film and a cultural touchstone, is strangely both tied to the time period it was made in (seen by the fact that many of the actors were white folks in brownface), and also progressive and timeless and provocative in its message, craft, and presentation. A loose adaptation… Continue reading ‘West Side Story (2021)’: The Dazzled and the Damned
Spoilers ahead. Best Picture winner CODA trails the life of Ruby Rossi, a CODA or “Child of Deaf Adults,” currently a high schooler standing as an interpreter for her deaf family. After joining the school choir and discovering her talent for singing, she finds herself torn between chasing her dreams and staying for her family. … Continue reading ‘CODA’: A Harmony Between Opposite Worlds
Hirokazu Kore-eda has returned with his first feature after three years with Broker, his first Korean feature. Kore-eda explores the theme of found family and adoption with colourful characters. Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) is a laundry shop owner swimming in debt. He is in cahoots with Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won), a worker at the baby box facility… Continue reading TIFF 2022: ‘Broker’ – a Light, Heartwarming Found Family Film from Hirokazu Kore-eda
In 2011, eight men were convicted of committing sexual assault on the women of their Mennonite colony in Bolivia. These assaults have been happening for years, and the men of the colony dismissed the women who came forward. Leaders of the colony deemed the assaults the work of the devil or “wild female imagination.” These… Continue reading TIFF 2022: ‘Women Talking’ — a Compelling Film filled with Tour de Force Performances
Following the success of The Father, French stage director and playwright-turned-film director Florian Zeller adapts for the screen the last part of his trilogy: The Son. On paper, it seems like the perfect melodrama to come after the critically acclaimed The Father, which got Anthony Hopkins his second Oscar. Sadly, The Son is Zeller’s sophomore… Continue reading TIFF 2022: ‘The Son’ — a Brazen Attempt to Depict Mental Illness Onscreen
Sine Liwanag 