Shot in stark black and white with an eye toward portraiture, the film pulls us in a way that walks a perfect line between typical documentary and a verité portrait. It’s a film with a great respect for everyone on screen, with director Carlos Alfonso Corral giving us a beautiful film that transcends typical films like this, transforming it into a song of humanity and life.
This is absolutely lovely and highly recommended.
Based on a an actual incident this is a solid drama about brothers, friendship and life in a lock up situation. Largely not following the typical conventions of “prison” films the film gives us a view of life we don’t typically see in the movies. Its a prison that is slightly less brutal than what we expect. Its not you typical band of harden kids. The result is more emotion and our leaning into the film because it's not doing what we expect. It also breaks our hearts when tragedy stikes.
I Really liked the film a great deal.
Recommended
Frightening verité look at a terrifying event. It’s a you are there look where the intimacy is uncomfortable. I say this because we see things in ways that no news crew would ever show or shoot largely because they would never be instantly on location to see people staggering around in shock and unexploded bombs lying willy nilly. That anyone thought to record is some how a miracle. We the devastation and then Garayalde shifts gears and cuts in footage of the official response. As a result we get a sense of why it happened.
This film is devestating. Its a film that puts us front and center in a way most of us have never experienced. It will rock your world.
Recommended
I have been sitting on this review for a while now. While I like the film, I really don't knw what to say about it. The problem is that my thoughts of the film are nonverbal consiting of recalling some of the music and being hanted by the two figures clad in yellow (see above). Say what you will it's the images that I remember.
DO yourself a favor become haunted and go see this film when it plays at Neighboring Scenes
Like most other essay films Red Star is hard to write up. Its not so much that there isn’t a lot to say, there is, the film is full of all sorts of thought and moments that will produce “ah ha”s from you; rather it’s simply that this is the sort of film where you are taking a ride on a train. Yes I could tell you where it goes and what you’ll see, but that will take a great deal of fun out of the film. Personally I loved that I could go into the film more or less blind and simply allow the film to drive me across the world and on to Mars.
The best thing I can say is if you want to take a trip across time and space buy a ticket and take a ride.
This is one of the hidden gems of Neighboring Scenes. It was a film I fell into and just went with smiling at it for the whole two or so hours. Its an insidious film that starts with two musicians talking on the street. We get swept up watching them talk. The film then switches to a man explaining how to play an old person. The discussion pulled me in and the next thing I new was I losing myself in the stories being told by the various people on screen. Somehow the formalness of the interviews made it less so and it was like hanging out with someone you just met.
I was in heaven.
If you want to know why I love Neighboring Scenes it’s because every year I get to discovers wonders such as this.
Go see it.
The film is the story of Elena, a young mother who is having trouble with her son. He is diagnosed with ADHD and is promptly put on meds. However the meds make the boy into a zombie and a mere shadow of his former self. Elena wants to get him off the drugs but the move to do so brings her into a battle with the authorities who want “what’s best for the boy”. But is it really best?
In an age when everyone is on meds there aren’t many films discussing what all of the pills that are supposed to make us better are really doing to us. No one is really discussing how the pills are changing us. This is really the first time I've seen anyone mention it in anything more than a passing reference. The fact that this film deals with the side effects is really important.
In the decade before my mother passed away she was on a weird cocktail of medicines that were supposed to keep her alive. All of them had the side effect of depression and suicidal thoughts. They turned my Mom into a depressed zombie who slept all day. When my mom talked to her doctor about the effect, the doctor prescribed an antidepressant with side effect of suicidal thoughts. They never could get the mix right and the only way my mom could ever feel normal was not to take anything.
I was delighted to see a film that focused on the battle I saw waged on a daily basis. I love that someone finally has stepped up and brought the battle to the attention of a large audience.
But don't let me over sell that one aspect, there is more to the film than that. It is a really good look at a single mom trying to take care of her son. It’s a film that seems to be digging at what its like to be the single parent more than many recent films. Things are not glossed over and I love that because it forces us to consider what it is showing us and not just move on to the next thing.
A lot of praise for this working needs to go to the great cast especially, Julia Chavez as Elena who gives us a character we can relate to and root for. They sell it all and seem to be living the story instead of just enacting it.
This is a super little film and is highly recommended.
Slowly building and hypnotic in a way The Sky is Red is like watching a terrible car accident in slow motion. You know how it’s going to go but at the same time you are powerless to stop it. It is a kind of waking nightmare because very early on you realize that the whole thing was a kind of foregone conclusion with the construction of the “houses” in the prison dooming everyone from the outset.
I was horrified at how it went down with one prisoner saying that the guards he was trying to tell about the fire didn’t care and effectively said let them burn.
While the pacing of the film can seem slow, there is no narration and you have to pay attention, the film is a kick in the chest of slowly building sadness. Yea the victims may have been prisoners but no one should die like that
Recommended.
I have been covering the series since it started and I have enjoyed the heck out of it every year. I love that the festival highlights al sorts of good films every year that hang with me for the rest of year. There is always one or two films every year that are in contention for my year end list. (I think ABOUT EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW may end up on the list in December)
While I am still working my way through the selections, I can say that everything I’ve seen is worth your time and money.
There really isn't uch ore I can say because the films are just so damn good they speak for themselves and the festival ust fine. Do yourself a favor and just buy some tickets and go, you won’t be disappointed.
For more information and tickets go here
