Sixteen Moments of My Life(2026) NYFF 2026

I have a love hate film with director Albert Serra. I tend not to like his films as a whole. I also tend to get pissed off at them.  AT the same time I love him because he makes films that engage me. He engages me more than almost any other director, so when almost every one in the press corps at NYFF was going to see CLUB KID, I went to see his concert film SIXTEEN MOMENTS IN MY LIFE, because I figured I would be more engaged.

Sadly, I was not really enaged.

The film is a performance by Ingrid Caven, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s collaborator. Its largely a film of red lights and shadows. Its a film of ambient sort of music and nonsensical lyrics (one translated as "the cows say moo in German"). I loved the music and the moody lighting. I disliked the lyrics so much I stopped reading them because they were just disposable. 

Its a film you either go with, or you do what about half the audience did, and that was walk out about 15 minuted into the film. Honestly they didn't miss anything because what you see in the first 15 minutes repeats for the next 75 minutes but with different lyrics.

If you can go with that you'll be fine.

At the same time I need to state a couple of things clearly:

First as an Albert Serra film it doesn't engage. This is basically a recording of a concert and nothing else. You either accept the nonsensical and pretentious lytics or you don't. There is nothing to challenge us on an intellectual level. Unlike Serra;s ROI SOLEL, which was a recorded performance piece there is nothing  to ponder. There is nothing happening here intellectually. (And no I'm not missing the point of the lyrics since they are just nonsense with many songs begining about a little girl and then rambling into left field).

Second, as a concert film it is entirely unremarkable. It is no better than the vast majority of concert films out there. 

Lastly, that this film is playing festivals is due entirely to the programmers  blindly loving the work of the director.  This film was programmed simply because programmers wanted to suck up to the director. I don't mean that as a knock on Serra, rather it's simply to point out that there is absolutely nothing here that can be justified as taking a slot at any major film festival.

While I would love a recording of the music, sans lyrics, I have no need to ever see this film ever again.