New Directors New Films 2020 Starts Wednesday

Wednesday the annual New Director New Films starts and it runs through December 20th.  The festival was supposed to run last spring but a couple days into the press screenings the festival was postponed as Covid closed the world down.  However the festival was not to be denied and it has come back to life and the now virtual event is hitting  for 12 days of cinematic madness. Okay this is New Directors New Films so it won’t be too crazy but it will have a lot of great films. The festival this year has some great films in it and you should prepare yourself for some really wonderful viewing experiences. 

One thing you should be aware of, is since the festival has moved over pretty much intact from the spring, some of the films have played other festivals. Time and tide didn’t allow for the films to wait to première so you may have seen some of the films elsewhere. If you haven’t seen some of the previously screened films here is your chance to catch up with them since films like BABYTEETH, COLLECTIVE and MOLE AGENT are some kick ass films you want to see.(My reviews below)

As for the rest of the selections, pick a few and graze.  I recommend pretty much everything I’ve seen. While some films like ATLANTIS or RED MOON may loose a little bit by not getting to see their visuals on a huge screen, they are still kick ass films.

MOLE AGENT 
COLLECTIVE
BOYS STATE
BABYTEETH

I have also seen TWO OF US which is France's entry for the Oscars. I am restricted in how much I can say about the film, they asked reviews the February release. I can say that you'll want to see this film. Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier give two of the year's best performances as two older women who have been in a loving relationship for decades without their families ever knowing. From the opening moments to the final fade out these two women create a love that bleeds off the screen and into your heart. It will move you to tears in all the right ways. Trust me on this these two ladies give an acting masterclass.  Highly recommended.

Reviews started appearing earlier today with a repost of a piece on the excellent IDENTIFYING FEATURES which I saw at Sundance and will run through the fest.

For more information on the films and details how to watch go here

Hard Road of Hope (2020) Chain Film Festival 2020

 

A revision of the history of West Virginia from an economic stand point. No longer was the state cut off from Virginia because it supported the North in the Civil War, rather it was sold to big business by Lincoln for support of the Northern cause. Additionally all the moves that have taken place are do to the demands of the coal industry who want to keep their workers cheap and uninformed.

Good, if preachy look at the history of a state that is fighting for its life. As the coal industry tries to save itself and fracking is coming to town many people are trying to save their state from destruction. It's an eye opening film that puts things in to context and makes you thing about the hands controlling events in the state. As is pointed out it isn't the EPA that is the problem its the coal industry that refuses to change or see that it is a dying dinosaur.

If you can get through some of the overly passionate narration, this is a really good look at a place most people don't really think about and the destruction big business is causing inside it.

Identifying Features NDNF 2020

This is a repost of my Sundance Film Festival Review.

A mother's son leaves home to cross into America. He disappears and she goes off to find him. A long the way she meets a young man heading home to his mother after being deported from the US.

This magnificent and haunting film has vexed me since I saw it the first time (I have seen it several times now).  It is not that I have nothing to say about the film, rather how do I talk about what a special and magical film this is? I want to somehow express the awe and wonder that I felt the first time when I simply sighed at the wonder of it all.

The problem with writing on the film, in discussing the  twists and turns of the plot is that it doesn't do the whole package justice. I can talk about the plot but it doesn't explain how the acting and the music and the shot choices not only make the film real but something more than that. In it's way the film is a kind of mythic tale of everyday life. Director Fernanda Valadez has fashioned a story that not only gets under our skin but reveals a greater truth about the world today.

This truly is filmmaking and storytelling at the highest level- so much so that instead of reviewing IDENTIFYING FEATURES I simply want to press a ticket in to all you hands and say "just watch this"

One of the best films  of 2020

IDENTIFYING FEATURES plays NDNF . For more information and tickets go here

Nightingales In Berlin (2020) Chain Film Festival 2020

 

David Rothenberg and his friends work to create music that has human's duetting with nightingales.

While the film can be a case of incredibly self-centered naval gazing as Rothenberg and his friends try to explain what they are doing, you really don't care because most of the film is simply the music made by the musicians and birds. There is some great stuff here  and I found that I was playing sections of the film over and over again simply because the music was so good.

If you can forgive the pretentious talk,  then this film will reward you with some amazing music.

The Girl With No Mouth (2020) is out on home video and VOD December 8

Can Evrenol who made the truly disturbing BASKIN switches gears and makes a family friendly apocalyptic tale. The film is the story of the title character who was injured by a toxic explosion. Her uncle arrives and want to take the girl away as part of a plan to hide the crimes of the corporation he works for. She escapes into the forest and meets up with several other children who have their own physical problems. They are pursued by the uncle and his men as they try and make their way to a magical lost city.

I think this is a surprisingly good fairy tale. And make no mistake this is a fairy tale, with characters all seeming to represent certain aspects of  human experience. Yes they are kids, and evil adults, but they are all representative of something more as you will realize when you realize one kid has no no nose, another no eyes and so on. This is not meant to be a straight on representation  of reality but some part of the world it is taking place in. I was enchanted.

More to the point I absolutely love that the film simply puts forward its story and doesn't try to explain it all. Not everything explained. The story kind of bleeds off the screen and we are left to ponder things for ourselves. I also love that the kids fumble about as kids would fumble about, without a clear direction except the one dictated by fate.

And the film gets bonus points for have real danger and exacting a cost. Where most American family films would make it all okay, here things aren't. Stuff happens and even the ending makes you wonder what is next- in a good but also wary way.

This is a super little film. This is the type of film that I love to highlight.

Recommended, especially for those who live to go off Hollywood, THE GIRL WITH NO MOUTH hits homes video and VOD December 8.

Vanguard (2020)

The events in VANGUARD are set in motion in London during Chinese New Year  when a rich accountant is kidnapped by a band of mercenaries. They want the accounts that he had been handling for now deceased head of a terrorist organization. His son wants the cash, and revenge since the accountant had ratted him out to authorities.  Two Vanguard agents then rescue the accountant and his wife. However the terrorists threaten his daughter and the chase is on as Vanguard tries to keep everyone safe in an escalating series of pitched battles.

One of the few truly new films playing in theaters VANGUARD is another action film from director Stanley Tong and nominal star Jackie Chan. While Chan is billed first he is actually a more a supporting player, being the head of the multinational security firm that gives the film its title. Not to worry, this film is great fun.

Yes, I’m breaking with my fellow critics and I’m going to reveal I had a blast watching this film. Pure popcorn for body and soul, VANGUARD is far from deep, meaningful or even logical but it moves like the wind and entertains more than most recent films I’m seen. Sure the CGI, like the animals, such as lions and hyenas, is crappy, but I really didn’t care. VANGUARD is never pretending to be anything other than entertainment, and on that level this film kicks serious ass. This is a 105 minute mind cleanse and we are so much better for it.

Frankly I don’t know why this film isn’t getting talked up more. The action is well done and gripping. Sure there are times when Jackie’s being goofy makes you groan, and some of CGI is clunky but the rest of the violent ballet makes you go wow.

Simply put I has a blast watching.

To hell with high art- give me crazy ass action that just moves and I am happy.

Currently in theaters  VANGUARD is the perfect film for anyone who just wants to sit and not think about serious stuff for a couple hours. Highly recommended for anyone who can go with it’s lets have fun vibe.

Walk Away (2020) Chain Film Festival 2020

Five friends go on a vacation and find that they can't leave. If they try to walk away they can only get so far before they snap back and appear in the house. While the food they placed in the fridge when they arrived replaces itself every time they open the door, things like toothpaste, tampons and toilet paper are not. Tempers flare as everyone finds that there is only so long they stand each other. 

How you like this film is going to be determined entirely by how you react to the very deliberate pacing. Moving at a very slow pace for  much of the first hour it can seem maddeningly. Why doesn't the film get on with it? But its the same question that the characters experience as they are stuck reliving the day over and over again. It's a gambit that is supposed to simulated being stuck with everyone for a very long period of time. I'm not going to guess whether it will work for you or not, I'm only putting it out there.

In the third act things get interesting as madness takes over. Its an interesting turn of events with a twist I didn't quite expect.

 To be certain there are some things left unexplained like how did  they find out about  the cabin? And some weird didn't you realize there is a big mistake such as an early BBQ where the grill is clearly not lit, but for the most part this is a well done little time passer that is worth a look.

Chain Film Festival Shorts: BECKONED, BLACK SUN, THE BODY, CAPROCK, DARK ROOM and FOOLISH RONIN

 

BECKONED
A couple traveling at night end up keep running to the same road closure - and their cellphones don't work and something is in the woods. Good suspenser overcomes the feeling we've been here before to be entertaining , though I'm not quite sure of the ending.

BLACK SUN
A man repairs a house in the Irish county side. This is a brief wordless chiller that you just have to see.

THE BODY
A eager young man apprentices as a hitman and has to learn the ropes of body disposal. This is a funny film with a wicked pay off. I can't say more. Recommended.

CAPROCK
Two sisters who just buried their mom go off to check out a haunted motel but are told here they can see a real ghost-and then things go side ways

DARK ROOM
A psychic party goes horribly wrong when they contact a dead girl and the host is found to have an ulterior motive. Good horror film has some really nice moments in it. There is enough here I'm curious how this would play as a feature.

FOOLISH RONIN
A drunk samurai meets a man who "Needs a dead man". Okay little film

Iron Mask (2020) Viy 2: Journey to China, a.k.a. Journey to China: The Mystery of the Iron Mask

This is a sequel to 2014's VIY (aka Forbidden Empire)about a Jason Flemyng's Jonathan Green a cartographer who ended up in Tsarist Russia and took on a demon. It was loosely based on a classic Soviet horror film but refashioned as a crazy action film. I loved it. 

This sequel refashions Chinese legends, Alexander Dumas' The Man in The Iron Mask and god knows what into a totally batshit crazy film that will become legendary for the epic throw down between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan. The plot has way too many plot threads to fully explain (especially since a good number are not resolved). Basically it has Flemyng's Green going to China because an imposter Tsar won't let him go back to Europe and wants him to map the country to the east. He is traveling with Jackie Chan's daughter who is a princess in disguise. She is hoping to get home to free the kingdom from someone pretending to be her. Meanwhile in England Jackie Chan is being held in the Tower of London by Arnold. Jackie is being held with two other prisoners, one of which is the man in the iron mask and is the real tsar.

Confused?

You will be at times....but it won't matter because while the plot is a true mess the action sequences are pretty good and hold your interest. Actually the plot makes just enough sense that you are willing to go with it. Additionally everyone on screen seems to be having a good time and it bleeds off the screen. Yea the effects are not always the best but it strangely okay because it's all just so much fun. This isn't high art, but you won't care.

For me one of the plusses for me is that where normally the appearance of Arnold and Jackie in a film would be considered a come on, with them appearing in a single scene , the fact is that both of the actors are in the film for about a third of the run time. Yes they are largely off to themselves- and they do effect the plot- and they are what you will remember.

Is this worth seeing?

If you are willing to just go with it- absolutely.  This is just a nutsy film that just mashes everything together into a joyous mess. 

Out on VOD and home video

Brief thoughts on THE LEGEND OF BARON TO'A

Fritz  returns to New Zealand and his Tongan neighborhood to sell his family home. His father has died and his uncle is still living there, but he needs the money for new business back in Australia. Thins quickly go from bad to worse when he annoys the local gang who end up stealing his father's wrestling championship belt. This sets Fritz on a quest to get it back and reconnect with his roots.

This is a sweet gem of a film. Why aren't people talking about it? Full of winning characters, funny jokes and great action it makes you smile. In all seriousness the wrestling  based fights are really good. They make you laugh and wince in all the right proportions. 

You want to see this film, trust me.

THE LEGEND OF BARON TO'A hits VOD today and i highly recommended

ALASKA LONG HUNTER (2020) Chain Film Festival 2020

Long hunters as defined by the film are the hunters like Daniel Boone and Davy Crocket who left home and went on long distance hunting trips or went to places where they could go for adventures. This film is about the people who moved to Alaska and the hard conditions that they have had to face.

While this is the story of people in Alaska this isn't just the story of people living in the wilderness but people who had adventures while either just going through their days (bear attacks in the towns). This is a great collections of stories. The stories just keep going and going and drag you along. From falling over the cliff to getting  stuck in a plane running out of fuel its all things that will make your jaw hang open. 

I absolutely love this. I love that for an hour I was carried away somewhere else. I have no idea if this amounts to anything but this is grand story telling of the highest order. 

Highly recommended

Chain Film Festival Shorts: ON THE BRUHL, RETURN OF SPACE GIRL, STATUE ISLAND and TERROR AND HOPE THE SCIENCE OF RESILIANCE

 ON THE BRUHL
Barry Sloan, an Irish pastor living in Chemnitz, Germany has started Inspire, a comunity center in a city in the heart of the Neo Nazi movement. The idea is to create a place where people can find a connection so that they can end the hate. Glorious film about good people do great things. Wow wow and wow.A magnificent must see. One of Chain's best films.

RETURN OF SPACE GIRL
Space Girl returns from space after five years to teach humanity a lesson. This animated musical driven by the music Bad Mary will either  thrill you or make you want to turn it off. I'm mixed on the film. I love the music, I love the animation, but I don't think they work together. While the music is good the lack of any real variation from hard driving rock and roll works against it as a narrative. As a music video its fine, as a narrative musical it gets monotonous.

STATUE ISLAND
A look at statues on Staten Island. It's an interesting short film that most of us wouldn't notice otherwise. Recommended

TERROR AND HOPE: THE SCIENCE OF RESILIANCE
A look at the toxic stress put upon kids and families in Syria and the efforts to lessen it so that refugees can come back to normal. This is a good look at something that most other documentaries and news reports only touch on, namely the monstrous level of stress put upon the refugees who ae just trying to stay alive. While coming across as a bit too  clinical this is still and important film.. Definitely wrth a look.

Underwater (2020)

 A super deep undersea drilling rig begins to break apart. Is it earthquakes or something else?

It's something else- there are underwater beasties tearing the place apart to get to the tasty humans inside.

Beginning as the rig begins to implode UNDERWATER grabs you and drags you along forcibly for about half it's running time. The sheer motion and uncertainty of what is going on is results in a film as tense  as anything I have seen in 2020. Yea it echoes other films like THE ABYSS and ALIEN, but at the same time it has it's own feel to it. You really won't care that it's like anything else you just want to know where it is going and how it comes out...

..and then things begin to go array. The film gets awfully dark and a bit hard to follow. Watching the film on HBO on Demand I repeated a couple of sequences because I had to really look at what I was seeing. As a result the momentum started t drain as I disengaged. I started to realize that whole chunks of the film doesn't make sense. I stopped being caught up in the events on screen and started to worry about the plot points they dropped by the wayside. I still wanted to see where it was going but I kind of understood why the other reviews of the film were fair at best.

Honestly I like this film over all. Yea I love the the first half, I just wish it had managed to maintain that high level of suspense.

Worth a look now that it is on HBO

Brief thoughts on Minor Premise (2020)

Sathya Sridharan stars as Ethan, a neuroscientist who develops a machine that maps memories and emotions. It all sounds good until he tries it on himself and split himself into ten different emotional version  that show up for six minutes every hour. Now he and his ex-girlfriend have to rebuild him while avoiding the negative emotions that show up every hour.

Heady science fiction film works and excels thanks to the work of Sridharan. His is a masterful performance that is worthy of a dark horse Oscar run.  As some people have pointed out, it's not really one performance but ten. It's such a good performance I'm shocked that more people aren't talking about it.

Over all this is a good little film. I'm not sure how much more to say beyond that. However before you read anything into that, be aware that I have been chasing this film since Fantasia. Back in August I was told by several people that I had to see this film. This was the next great film. I had the film built up. And through circumstances I've been chasing it since then. Now that I've seen it I liked it, but I'm not over the moon as some of my fiends were. Seeing it after four months of hype has definitely effected my feelings toward the film.

Is it worth seeing? Hell yea. If nothing else Sathya Sridharan gives one for the ages. If you like heady films MINOR PREMISE is recommended

The Last Cyclist (2020) Chain Film Festival 2020

Why the cyclists?
Why the Jews?
A repeated refrain in The Last Cyclist

Film version of the the play the Last Cyclist which was to be performed in the concentration camp known as the Terezín Ghetto. The play, a very broad comedy, was a satire about lunatics escape from the asylum and taking over the world. They then insist that the root of all the trouble are bicyclists, just as the Nazi's insist it was the Jews.

First a bit of dry information. The film was shot before an audience at La Mama in New York. The performance is supposed be of the dress rehearsal of the play, since it was never officially performed because the elders in the camp feared what would happen when, and if, the Gestapo saw the not so subtle allegory. It is framed as a memory play by the only person in the production to survive the war. After the war she had written the play down from memory, though she had to alter it to fit the Communist ideas. Using historical interviews as a guide the play was then reconstructed by Naomi Patz to try and bring it closer to what was originally performed in the camp.

This film is very funny. Yes, the pall of evil and death hangs over it, but it is still wickedly funny. I say that because its genuinely true. This is the sort of absurdist tale that Ionesco might have written. There are very funny jokes that will make you laugh out loud. Yes you will feel self conscious about doing do but at the same time I can only imagine the freedom the jokes must have given the prisoners even for a moment.

While you will laugh, in the end the film will crush you. This may have been a "happy" play, but the place where it as created was not, as what happens in the end makes painfully clear. In the end reality crashes in and our hearts break. I was left weeping.  A brief flickering of light and hope snuffed out.

Where normally a film should stand on its own feet, THE LAST CYCLIST is rightly connected to history. I know if you don't know about the Holocaust much of the film' power would be lost. You need to feel the uncomfortableness that knowing this was created in an evil place, under the nose of the very people it was dismantling, and that only comes when you know at the start what the Nazis did and what, sadly came next. 

A wickedly funny gut punch, THE LAST CYCLIST is recommended.

Chain Film Festival Shorts: THE CAROUSEL MAN, IN WANT OF A MASK, LAST UFO, LO: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ULTIMATE MAN'S EX-GIRLFRIEND and N'EVEREST

 

THE CAROUSEL MAN
Portrait of Sal D'Incecco who built a one fifth scale carousel in his garage. This is a good if overlong look at one man's obsession. I'm kind of torn about the film in that I am interested in the making of the model, but a little bit of  D'Incecco goes a long way. Frankly this could be trimmed a bit and not lose anything.

IN WANT OF A MASK
In Hong Kong, thousands of elderly people line up t get free government supplied masks.
Infuriating and heartbreaking record of the desperate measures people in Hong Kong had to take just to get a mask to be safe from Covid. One of the best films at the Chain Film Festival and an absolute must see.

LAST UFO
An investigator for UFO agency wants to see proof of a real UFO before he dies, his friends try to make it happen. An amusing little film

LO: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ULTIMATE MAN'S EX-GIRLFRIEND
Lo,  tries to move on from dating a superhero. An uneven comedy about the pain of interacting with superheroes. There are are some brilliant pieces here(trust me the whole Superman/Lois Lane relationship is punctured hysterically), but there are some clunky bits linking them up. It's funny enough in the pieces to definitely worth a look, just be forgiving.

N'EVEREST
A documentary show host interviews six idiots trying to climb Everest. This is an okay comedy about idiots doing things that have no real right to do. Its funny but too over the top and would have been better in a shorter form where the best jokes could concentrated.

Brief thoughts on New Mutants (2020)

After her village is destroyed by an invisible  monster and knocks her unconscious Danielle "Dani" Moonstar  wakes up chained to a bed in a deserted infirmary. A doctor appears and tells her she has been brought to a special location where they are going to help her find her true potential. Dani is there with several other young people with special powers. It is not clear why they are there or why they aren't being allowed to leave.

Legendary X-Men off shoot film was intended to be horror film and then the studio freaked out (or the test screenings were bad or something) and the film was allegedly cut and recut and recut and reshot and reshot and the release was pushed back two years before being dumped into theaters during the Covid epidemic. 

Far from the disaster that some people have suggested NEW MUTANTS clearly was messed with. There is a rambling nature that has moments where some scenes are there to link up changes. Much of it feels half thought out and cobbled together. It works against real enjoyment.

If there is a problem with the film is that despite some good effects the film feels cheap. Blame a look and feel that mirrors a couple hundred haunted institution film. We've been here before any number of times. If the film hadn't been about the formation of a superhero team this would have been completely lost and there really wouldn't have made it stand out from other similarly set films.

That the film doesn't work is kind of sad. The finale is pretty good. The characters are well drawn, unfortunately they aren't really given anything much do do.

Worth a look, but only when it hits cable or streaming service

Chain Film Festival Shorts: ARE YOU THERE ANDY, AUTISM: ONE MAN'S JOURNEY and BENEFIT OF BILLY HIPKINS

 ARE YOU THERE, ANDY?
Director Holly Lehren explores her obsession with Andy Kaufman and the possibility that he still maybe alive 35 years later. 

One of the best documentaries on Kaufman you will find. While not a full on detail oriented documentary, but an great examination of the man and a his comedy. The film however transcends just being about Kaufman by looking at Lehren's life and life in general through the prism of Kaufman. It's a stunning film

AUTISM ONE MAN'S JOURNEY
Director Scott Michael Klumb looks at ho his late in life diagnosis with autism has effected his life and how things might have been different if he had been diagnosed earlier.

I am torn about this film. While on one hand it' is an excellent look at what autism is, how it effects one person and how a diagnosis can make things better, the presentation is a bit too clinical for my tastes. Don't get me wrong the material here is gangbusters, but it feels a bit too much like an infomercial then something that is absolutely compelling. Perhaps if it wasn't 35 minutes I'd like it better. Don't get me wrong it's absolutely worth seeing, but its something you'll like more than love- though the information is invaluable.

BENEFIT OF BILLY HIPKINS
Billy Hipkins begins to try and find out about Jennie Gourlay, an actress who was supposed to play Ford's Theater the night after Lincoln was shot and he relates that to his coming out and his life.

This is a lovely little film. Its a beautifully told story about a wonderful man. Highly recommended

The excellent THE CHANGIN TIMES OF IKE WHITE hits virtual theaters Friday

This is the review I ran when CHANGIN TIMES premiered last year at the Camden International Film Festival

I am going to guess that many people are going to try and compare this to SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN the documentary about Rodriguez that came out a few years ago, but don't let that fool you, this is something else entirely. this is one of a kind tale  you just need to see.

The film is the story of musician Ike White who killed a man in a robbery that went wrong and ended up in prison, where he managed to make some absolutely incredible music. It was so good that reporters came to do stories on him, his songs were recorded and Stevie Wonder became an advocate for his release. What happens around and through that is the story and it isn't what you expect (it wasn't what I expected).

You will forgive me if I hold back in discussing this film, its not for lack of desire more it's the realization that as you read this the film is just World Premiering at the Camden International Film Festival and as such I don't want to spoil all of the films twists and turns for you. Sitting, staring at my computer screen when the film was done I had ponder whether I wanted to clue you into the ride or just say buy a ticket and take a ride. I'm going with the just buy the ticket approach.

And never mind the story you're going to want to see this for the music that fills it from start to finish. White was and is and incredible musician and the grooves he came up with are absolutely amazing. This is a glorious primer for his work is nothing else.

Ultimately the best thing I can say is this is a great great film and you should see it. One of the absolute must sees of the year and you'll want to buy a ticket and see it before your friends discover it first and tell you about it.

Opening Nationwide in Virtual Cinema Dec 4

New York - New Plaza Cinema and Sol Cinema Cafe

Los Angeles - Laemmle and Lumiere Cinema

Additional cities include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit,Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco & more!

BRIGHT FUTURE plays Metrograph's Virtual Theater starting Friday

With BRIGHT FUTURE playing Metrograph's Virtual Theater starting Friday, here is my review from the very early days of UnseenFilms

Bright Future is a film most people I know remember because of the image of a jellyfish in an aquarium. It’s the image that made me curious about the movie; I wanted to know what was the movie that went with that image.

The film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa concerns two friends working at a low level seemingly dead end job. One of them is slowly acclimating a jellyfish from salt water to fresh. He hopes to release it into the wild. When a burst of rage causes one of the pair to murder their boss, the remaining friend is left to pick up the pieces and try and work out the what's and whys of it all.

This is a change-of-pace of sorts from Kurosawa who had been making more or less genre films (Pulse, Sweet Home, the Revenge films). While the director’s films grew more and more thoughtful over time, I think this was kind of the moment where he broke the shackles of having to work within some sort of genre designation. I think this when he said to the world "I’m going to do what ever I want to do."

I’m a fan of Kurosawa’s. I’ve seen a good number of his films, and he always manages to surprise me in some way. His storytelling style is such that his films don’t do what you think they are going to do. They also seem to be much heavier than you expect them to be. Rarely is he simply telling you a story; he’s always throwing something in the mix to make you go hmmmm...(The Revenge films, or the second one, being the exception)

Here in Bright Future it’s the same thing. Nominally the story of two friends and the aftermath of a murder that one commits, the film spirals out into an examination of life, our place in it, and how just knowing someone will influence what we do after that point. It’s a heady mix that gives us pause.

I’m not sure it’s entirely successful. I think that the lack of genre structure kind of allows the film to get away from the director, with some bits seeming to wander all over the place. However at the same time the film covers ground that isn’t well worn and is surprising in its landscape.

I like the film a great deal, but its lack of a genre designation (it’s neither a crime film nor a horror film) makes it a tough sell for those expecting something along the lines of what went before. That really shouldn't matter to anyone just looking for a good film.

This film is highly recommended