Summer of Three (2026) Tribeca 2026

This is an interesting coming of age tale that score points for not being like most other films. I'm not sure it all works but it was really nice not to go down the expected paths yet again.

The plot of the film has a young man returning to Puerto Rico after 15 years. He had moved to the US after his father died, and is now back for the death of his grandfather. While there he meets and falls in with a couple who upset the order of his life.

One part drama and one part comedy, SUMMER OF THREE takes a familiar tale and turns it side ways. Things don't always go as expected but more importantly the film gives us characters to care about. These aren't wholly stock characters, but ones with different coloring and shading that make them stand out. Kudos to the cast and script for making this something that truly stands on its own two feet.

While the film occassional missteps, say in some cliche bits such as an over reaction to a chicken in a bedroom, there is enough good here to make us care and want to see how it all comes out.

Worth a look.

Esta Isla (2025) opens tomorrow

A young man scrapping by begins to slide toward crime. When job goes wrong, he and his girlfriend end up running into the mountains in an effort to hide from a hit man.

This is a film that is very interested in showing a place and a way of life a bit more than it is interested in telling a compelling story. Sure, there is a narrative thrust, though thrust is too strong a word, its more a push. The characters are very much part of the life and the place on display, but the problem is that unless you are part of that life and that place it is not going to connect to you. Watching the film I could feel the cast and crew bleeding themselves and experiences into the film to create something near and dear to their heart. The trouble is it's a little too personal.

This isn't to say it's a bad film, it's not. The cast is strong, the interpersonal reactions are strong and the violence when it happens feels real. The trouble is focus on place and life leave us  a step or two outside the ring where you fall in love with what is before us.

Worth a look for those who think they may connect.

Esta Isla aka This Island (2025) Tribeca 2025

A young man scrapping by begins to slide toward crime. When job goes wrong, he and his girlfriend end up running into the mountains in an effort to hide from a hit man.

This is a film that is very interested in showing a place and a way of life a bit more than it is interested in telling a compelling story. Sure, there is a narrative thrust, though thrust is too strong a word, its more a push. The characters are very much part of the life and the place on display, but the problem is that unless you are part of that life and that place it is not going to connect to you. Watching the film I could feel the cast and crew bleeding themselves and experiences into the film to create something near and dear to their heart. The trouble is it's a little too personal.

This isn't to say it's a bad film, it's not. The cast is strong, the interpersonal reactions are strong and the violence when it happens feels real. The trouble is focus on place and life leave us  a step or two outside the ring where you fall in love with what is before us.

Worth a look for those who think they may connect.

FISHBOWL (2023) is released Friday

 

Isel Rodriguez gives a staggering performance In THE FISHBOWL a film about a young woman trying to decide how to deal with the cancer that has reoccurred.

The plot of the film had Noelia (Rodriguez) running out on her partner and back home to her mother when it's clear her cancer is no longer in remission. There she reconnects with friends and family and ponders the damage done to the small island by the American military which left the landscape littered with unexploded bombs and poison.

While the script juggles way too many plot threads for a 90 minute film, we continue to watch and stay focused on what's happening because we fall in love with Rodriguez's performance. She lets it all hang out and we feel her pain, both physical and emotional. She brings us in and holds us close and as a result we are there for the duration. As a character study this film can't be beat.

This is one of my favorite films from  Sundance 2023

Recommended

La Pecera (The Fishbowl)(2023) Sundance 2023

 

Isel Rodriguez gives a staggering performance In THE FISHBOWL a film about a young woman trying to decide how to deal with the cancer that has reoccurred.

The plot of the film had Noelia (Rodriguez) running out on her partner and back home to her mother when it's clear her cancer is no longer in remission. There she reconnects with friends and family and ponders the damage done to the small island by the American military which left the landscape littered with unexploded bombs and poison.

While the script juggles way too many plot threads for a 90 minute film, we continue to watch and stay focused on what's happening because we fall in love with Rodriguez's performance. She lets it all hang out and we feel her pain, both physical and emotional. She brings us in and holds us close and as a result we are there for the duration. As a character study this film can't be beat.

This is one of my favorite films from this years Sundance

Recommended

PERFUME DE GARDENIAS (2021) Tribeca 2021

You need to see this utterly charming film. This winning little film is one of the hidden treasures of this year's Tribeca.

The film follows a senior citizen named Isabel who gets involved in planning the funerals of friends and relatives. How she interacts everyone makes for a film that is just good time with great people.

PERFUME DE GARDENIAS is one of the Tribeca films that I watch because it is laying at Tribeca. Every year I watch literally dozens of films I know noting about simply because the film is playing at Tribeca. I do this because with press access I can see them without any sort of expectations. Some times it doesn't work and some times, like wit this film it gives me a small gem I can recommend.

I love this film just because the people in it are so much fun. Chief among them is Luz Maria Rondon as Isabel. She is just a giant ball of love. She reminds me of my grandmother and wen the film was over I just wanted to go up and give her a hug.

What a wonderful film.

I know that isn't the deepest review, but with a film like this its enough.

A gem. See it.

Mala Mala (2014) Hits the Criterion Channel today

With the excellent MALA MALA hitting the Criterion Channel today, here is my review from 2014.

A confession

This film has flummoxed me. I honestly don’t know what to say about the film. I’ve written up four different reviews for the film and each one was so weak that I tried to write another… and another… and so on. After the Tribeca press screening one of the PR people asked me what I thought and I kind of stammered and rambled on about my thoughts of the film, feeling stupid and condescending when I was done and wanting to do better when I wrote it up…

After a great deal of thought and attempts to write the film up, the best thing I can do is say go see Mala Mala. Anything I can say beyond that isn’t something I can do justice to.

The film is a look at the transgendered community in Puerto Rico. Centering on several very articulate women the film explains the problems they face every day. Because of prejudice and a system that doesn’t protect them many can’t work and are forced to turn to prostitution in order to survive. Some go into entertainment. Some drift. Over the course of the film we watch as the girls go through life and fight for equal protection under the law.

It will move you, not just emotionally but intellectually. As I said to the woman after the film, this is this film that I can show to people who have any issue with transgendered and homosexual community since it very clearly explains things on a human, non-abstract level  that they are people just like everyone else.

Actually the film’s strength and power is that the need for acceptance goes beyond the transgendered community to any marginalized group. We are all people. Its this transcending of the subject that makes this not only one of the best films at Tribeca but also one of the most important.

See this film.

DOC NYC Capsule reviews LANDFALL and THE REASON I JUMP

 

LANDFALL
A look at the people of Puerto Rico as they struggle to survive the destruction of their country at than hands of Hurricane Maria and the removal of the Governor two years later.

This is very good look at a country trying to pull itself together and the forces trying to take advantage of it. We watch farmers, real estate people, regular people, cryptocurrency hustlers and others as they try to  either just survive or get ahead on the backs of the population. Its a bracing look that could be anywhere but for the grace of god.

While I would have liked a little more context for what I was seeing the film still shook me at what Puerto RIco endured while it filled me with hope since the never seemed to truly give up.

Recommended

THE REASON I JUMP
Based on Naoki Higashida's book about being autistic this film is an attempt to explain what it is like to see the world through autistic eyes. It mixes passages from the book with scenes from the lives of some people living with autism.

This film floored me. It kicked the legs out from under me and forced me to see the world from a different perspective. It challenged me in the best sort of a way...

And to be honest I need to see this film again. I need to take time to process the film and find the words to go with the emotions.

This is a stunner and a must see at DOC NYC

Memories of the Penitent Heart (2016) Tribeca 2016

This was the eighth film from Tribeca that I saw and the first one I can wholeheartedly and with out reservation recommend.

The film follows the director as she tries to unknot the stories about her uncle Miguel, who died in 1887 of AIDS, and who in his final hours renounced the fact that he was gay. The film is kicked in motion as Cecilia Aldarondo tries to find her uncle's lover and a result opens all sorts of doors.

Brilliantly told tale surprises at every turn, especially the final one, by not having easy answers and remaining emotionally complex to the very end. This is a film that you think is going to go one way, and while it does at times, the view is not what is expected.

I would love to go into details about what happens, but this is one trip you'll want to take yourself. I say this as someone who thought he had a handle on the story but found in the end that I didn't. More importantly I found that this was a story told in such a way that I admire it's messy ending- Truths are revealed, actions are explained,tears are shed and in the end there is no neat bow. I love that we're left both elated the story comes out and deflated because of how it isn't what we had hoped

I'm sure that there are going to be all sorts of reviews that go into details about the film, and that's fine, but you don't need to know, you just need to see, Go see this and be deeply moved in unexpected ways

One of the best films at Tribeca 2016.

The excellent documentary MALA MALA opens Wednesday

I saw MALA MALA last year at Tribeca and it knocked my socks off. Here was a film that beautifully showed how wrong it is for members of the LBGT community to be discriminated against.It was a film of quiet power said it's piece and let the viewer decide for themselves. It's a film that I really thought could change minds. And I really thought the film was going to be gobbled up and released sooner than later.

And I was wrong. Instead of sooner it took over a year for the film to hit theaters. Thankfully the timing seems to be right and the film is hitting theaters just as the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of marriage equality. Its a step in the right direction- but at the same time some people are still going to try and discriminate against various groups, which is why you need to see and share MALA MALA. 

The film is the story of the transgender community in Puerto Rico and its struggle for acceptance. Its a deeply moving film and you have to see it.

Yes I know I keep saying that but it's true. You have to go. In order to possibly help push you toward going to see the film I'm reposting my original Tribeca review below.

The film hits theaters Wednesday July 1.

A confession

This film has flummoxed me. I honestly don’t know what to say about the film. I’ve written up four different reviews for the film and each one was so weak that I tried to write another… and another… and so on. After the press screening one of the PR people asked me what I thought and I kind of stammered and rambled on about my thoughts of the film, feeling stupid and condescending when I was done and wanting to do better when I wrote it up…

After a great deal of thought and attempts to write the film up, the best thing I can do is say go see Mala Mala. Anything I can say beyond that isn’t something I can do justice to.

The film is a look at the transgender community in Puerto Rico. Centering on several very articulate women the film explains the problems they face every day. Because of prejudice and a system that doesn’t protect them many can’t work and are forced to turn to prostitution in order to survive. Some go into entertainment. Some drift. Over the course of the film we watch as the girls go through life and fight for equal protection under the law.

It will move you, not just emotionally but intellectually. As I said to the woman after the film, this is this film that I can show to people who have any issue with transgender and homosexual community since it very clearly explains things on a human, non-abstract level that they are people just like everyone else.

Actually the film’s strength and power is that the need for acceptance goes beyond the transgender community to any marginalized group. We are all people. Its this transcending of the subject that makes this not only one of the best films at Tribeca but also one of the most important.

See this film.

Kinda Like Being There: Tribeca 2014 Day 1 Drugs, Guns, and Swords

Director Josef Wladyka (Manos Sucias)

Today was day 1 of the 2014 Tribeca Festival and no doubt a different wonderful experience for everyone partaking. There are so many different paths to follow and it is incredible to me that this was only the first of many more. Having a day off from work and having a press badge thanks to this here humble online abode, I was able to take in press screenings starting this morning and at last, a few public screenings, which always bring a crucial level of energy and sense of community - both important elements in getting the most out of many films.

I first watched Der Samurai. This was a beautiful nihilistic dream of lurid colors that thrusts the inner turmoil of a sexually and emotionally repressed cop in a quaint German town violently outward. It manifests in the form of a mirror image of himself, only feral in his physicality and with a samurai sword he weaves an alluring and destructive dance. Best appreciated on the big screen.

Next was a film of immense proportions: the Norwegian production In Order of Disappearance. The action thriller filled with breathtaking visuals of snowscapes and ledges overlooking icy rivers takes on a difficult balance of deadpan satirical humor, genuine action, and sympathetic characters' earnest struggles and pulls it all together with panache. Taking a scathing look at Norway's national identity and the tenuous relationship between various ethnic groups, it looks at the pointless folly of men playing gangsters. It also calls to mind a brilliant knack for suspenseful storytelling, seen in other productions from Norway like Headhunters.

Manos Sucias (Dirty Hands), directed by first time director and student of Spike Lee, Josef Wladyka is a nerve wracking trip into the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba where two brothers unwittingly sign on for the same risky job transporting drugs by way of a small motor boat. The feeling of dread and of how fleeting human life can be in this environment is summed up by the words "It's either us or them." When the brothers are not racing for their lives, the film brings out soulful moments of bonding over music and football. An amazingly accomplished debut from a promising new voice in film.

Director Midi-Z (left) and actress Ke-Xi Wu (Ice Poison)

Ice Poison (Bing Du) takes on the drug trade in a very different part of the world and with a vastly different feel. Another first time feature director Midi-Z shot this film in Burma, his native country, but brings his experience studying film in Taiwan. It shows a lifestyle in a hilly village of Myanmar that is heavily influenced by drug use and poverty. Two adult characters, both afflicted by a desire to make enough money to live on, are drawn to each other and an opportunity to sell drugs. As they begin using the product themselves they find a blissful escape from the droll reality around them, but not without a toll on their minds. The views of rural Myanmar are magnificent. At times the film doesn't seem to move, but rather rests in one place, embracing the languid pace of its setting.

More should be said about each of these films, and hopefully will be. For more information or to buy tickets visit the Tribeca Film Festival Website.