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Shayda 2023
Sundance 2023 #3
Such great performances from both Zar and the young actress playing the daughter Mona. Though it wasn’t my favorite so far, you can tell this was such a personal story for the writer-director and she captured the trauma, the strength of her mother, and the many facets of the culture beautifully
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Fancy Dance 2023
Fancy Dance gets a little messy in the third act, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s lovely and compelling, and I hope Lily Gladstone becomes a big star. I was also thrilled to see the music was composed by Samantha Crain, who once played a house concert at my home and is fabulous.
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All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt 2023
Too interior and sometimes confounding on a character and plot level to fully resonate, but there’s a lot that I will forgive when a film is this beautifully and tenderly constructed. As an aesthetic experience, the impeccable sound design and photography never fail to draw you in, even if some scenes overstay their welcome. Raven Jackson clearly has a vision and immense talent behind the camera, and it’s difficult not to have tremendous respect for that.
GRADE: B-
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Beyond Utopia 2023
revolutionary. one of the best, most informative, most harrowing, most important documentaries i've ever seen. using hidden camera footage, candid interviews, crucial historical context, and so much more, it thoroughly and bravely reveals truths about North Korea that the Kim regime has gone to great lengths to cover up. there is so little in-depth reporting about the relatively new country's atrocities because it's virtually impossible to get anything in or out, much less record. it's a minor miracle that these…
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20 Days in Mariupol 2023
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL is a tough watch but vital for getting an honest account of the brutality of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some truly haunting images, all told with visual urgency & melancholic voiceover from a brave but weary journalist putting himself on the front lines.
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A Thousand and One 2023
Sundance 2023: Movie #7
"What do I do right now?"
A parent's job lasts a lifetime, and the scale of that responsibility is present each day. Ines has never stopped working toward her son's safety; she knows nothing is guaranteed. Her decisions are not always the most rational or even legal, but when you're giving a constant effort and always forced to think on your feet, all you can do is what's best in that singular moment. The slice-of-life quality…
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A Thousand and One 2023
It’s not often we see a story like told with such authenticity. This is a very special portrait of a mother, son, and father. Director A.V. Rockwell brings her lived experience to this New York drama in a beautiful way. I hope this film finds a supportive audience and that these performances get some recognition, because the cast is outstanding. Stick with it until the end
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