Berlin International Film Festival Archives

Review: ‘No Other Land,’ starring Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham

December 4, 2024

by Carla Hay

Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham in “No Other Land” (Photo courtesy of Antipode Films and Yabayay)

Directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

Arabic, Hebrew and English with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place from 2019 to 2023, the documentary film “No Other Land” features working-class and middle-class Palestinian and Israeli people in the Palestine’s West Bank region of Masafer Yatta.

Culture Clash: Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta resist the demolition of their homes and pressure to evacuate from Israeli military personnel, while Palestinian and Israeli documentarians film what happens.

Culture Audience: “No Other Land” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in seeing raw and unflinching footage of a West Bank community affected by the ongoing war for this area.

A scene from “No Other Land” (Photo courtesy of Antipode Films and Yabayay)

“No Other Land” can be brutal in its observations of West Bank turmoil. However, this courageous documentary has a powerful message about how Israelis and Palestinians can develop friendships during political conflicts that have existed for centuries. This documentary by no means puts a sentimental spin on all the horrors of war. However, it offer glimmers of hope that not everyone can be divided by hate and prejudice that are based on nationality or religion.

“No Other Land” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and subsequently screened and numerous other film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. The movie won the 2024 Gotham Award for Best Documentary and is nominated for Best Documentary for the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards. “No Other Land” is the feature-film directorial debut of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who all edited “No Other Land” and are part of a Palestinian-Israeli collective. Adra (who is Palestinian) and Abraham (who is Israeli) appear on camera throughout the entire documentary.

Abraham and Adra are two friends in a war zone that expects them to be enemies. When Adra introduces Abraham to people in the community, and the community members find out that he’s Israeli, they express surprise but are not hostile to him. The intention of showing this type of footage is to demonstrate that even during war, civilians understand that militaries and other areas of government are the ones waging the war, while innocent citizens are often caught in the middle.

Adra is the documentary’s narrator and can often be seen filming with his camera, although Szor (who is not seen on camera) is credited as the documentary’s cinematographer. “No Other Land” (which was filmed from 2019 to 2023) documents what happened in the villages of Masafer Yatta, a region of Palestine’s West Bank where Adra and his family live. The documentary was completed in October 2023, the month of the Hamas-led massacre on Israel that occurred on October 7, 2023.

Because Adra provides the narration, most of this documentary is from his perspective. It’s explained in the beginning of the movie that Adra grew up in a family of activists. (His parents’ first names are not mentioned in the documentary.) One of his earliest memories from his childhood is seeing his father arrested in their home. He also remembers going to his first protest at 7 years old. And he also has memories of herding sheep when he was a boy.

Adra’s other family members who are seen in “No Other Land” are his older brother and his older brother’s son Elias, who is about 5 years old in the documentary footage. Although Adra’s parents are still politically active, Adra says that more recently, his father’s gas station has become the center of his father’s life. Adra doesn’t seem sure of what he wants to do with his own life. A scene in the movie shows Adra telling Abraham that Adra at one time studied law, but “I lost hope in it.”

However, there’s no doubt that Adra felt a sense of urgency to film all the chaos going on his community, where Palestinian residents are being pressured to evacuate because an Israeli court determined that the villages of Masafer Yatta could be destroyed to build Israeli military training operations. “I started filming where it started to end,” Adra says in a voiceover of the beginning of this takeover.

Viewers of “No Other Land” will see Israeli soldiers demolishing houses by bulldozer without warning, forcing many of the Palestinian residents to flee in caves. Some of the now-homeless people leave the area in fear. Others are defiant and refuse to leave because, as one woman says, they have “no other land.” This woman (whose first name is not revealed in the documentary) is featured prominently when her adult son becomes a victim of gun violence.

A warning to sensitive viewers: “No Other Land” also shows people getting shot or assaulted for trying to defend themselves or trying to prevent invading soldiers from taking essential items. There’s a scene where a fight breaks out when Israeli soldiers try to confiscate a family’s portable generator. During this fight, a man in his 20s named Harun Abu Aram is shot by a soldier, which causes Aram to be paralyzed from the shoulders down.

His grieving single mother (the woman who made the “no other land” comment) is also the mother of an underage girl, who is shown over this four-year period, when she was approximately 4 to 8 years. Aram’s mother is devastated by what happened to him and has the added stress of trying to find a new home after the family home was destroyed by soldiers. The people in the community are outraged by the shooting of Aram. Protests in the streets are held, with people holding signs that say things such as “Justice for Harun.”

“No Other Land” also shows candid conversations between Adra and Abraham when they are alone together. Abraham, who is a journalist, tells Adra: “Learning Arabic changed my political views.” Abraham also says that the Israeli military tried to recruit him for an intelligence job, but he refused.

At the time this documentary was filmed, Adra and Abraham were both bachelors with no children. Abraham asks Adra if Adra has plans to start a family someday. Adra has a pained expression on his face when he answers, “It’s complicated. There is no stability in this land.” Abraham often looks like he feels guilty that his home life is stable because he has the privilege of not living in an area that is being destroyed by military forces.

Although it would be easy to assume that “No Other Land” has an anti-Israel message, it is not that type of documentary. “No Other Land” is not meant to answer the question of whether or not people of any nationality who kill in the name of war can lose some part of their humanity. Rather, “No Other Land” shows the human cost of suffering during a war and shows in unflinching ways that war can be hell for everyone.

Antipode Films and Yabayay released “No Other Land” in select U.S. cinemas on November 1, 2024.

Review: ‘Dahomey’ (2024), an absorbing documentary about the return of stolen African artifacts and the long-term effects of colonial oppression

November 30, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Dahomey”

Directed by Mati Diop

French with subtitles

Culture Representation: The documentary film “Dahomey,” filmed in 2021 and 2022, features a predominantly African group of people (with some white people) in Africa’s Republic of Benin (formerly known as Dahomey) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: The documentary follows the journey of artifacts that were stolen from Dahomey by French colonials in the 1890s and returned from France to the artifacts’ native homeland n 2021.

Culture Audience: “Dahomey” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in documentaries that take an unusual artistic approach to historical stories affected by colonialism.

A student speaking at the University of Abomey-Calavi in “Dahomey” (Photo courtesy of MUBI)

“Dahomey” gives a narration voice to African artifacts that were taken by France and returned to their African homeland in 2021. This highly unique and artistic documentary invites viewers to contemplate how the artifacts represent stolen histories and oppressed cultures. It’s the type of documentary that is best appreciated by viewers who are open to watching non-fiction films that don’t follow traditional formats. “Dahomey” is only 68 minutes long, but its slow pacing might make some viewers feel like the movie is much longer than 68 minutes.

Directed by Mati Diop, “Dahomey” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear (the festival’s top prize), which is a rare accomplishment for a documentary. “Dahomey” has since screened at numerous other film festivals in 2024, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. “Dahomey” is Senegal’s official entry for Best International Feature Film for the 2025 Academy Awards. “Dahomey” is the first documentary feature directed by Diop, who is known for being a director and actress in fictional feature films.

The African kingdom of Dahomey was under French rule from 1895 to 1960, when Dahomey regained its independence. Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Benin has undergone numerous coups and political upheavals, with constant division over whether or not Benin’s government should be socialist. There are lingering effects of the country’s colonial rule by France: French is Benin’s official language, and Catholicism is the majority religion in Benin.

The beginning of “Dahomey” shows this caption superimposed over footage of a boat in the water: “November 9, 2021: Twenty-six royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey are due to leave Paris, returning to their land of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin. These artifacts were among the thousands looted by French colonial troops during the invasion of 1892. For them, 130 years of captivity are coming to an end.”

“Dahomey” is mostly a cinéma vérité documentary, with no interviews, no animation and no re-enactments with actors. What makes “Dahomey” so unusual is that the collective “voice” of these 26 artifacts is the narration in several parts of the documentary. Diop and Malkenzy Orcel (a Haitian writer who is the narration’s haunting voice) wrote the narration for “Dahomey” as speculation of what these artifacts would say if they could speak during this journey from France to Benin.

The narration expresses an array of emotions, including curiosity, fear, sadness, joy, pride and defiance. An early thought expressed in the narration says during the trip, “I journeyed so long in my mind, but it was so dark in this foreign place that I lost myself in my dreams, becoming one with these walls, cut off from the land of my birth, as if I were dead. There are thousands of us on this night. We all bear the same scars.”

The voice then laments, “They have named me 26. Not 24. Not 30. Just 26. Why don’t they call me by my real name? Don’t they know it?” Later, when boxes of the artifacts are being loaded on an airplane, the narration voice says: “I’m torn between the fear of not being recognized by anyone and not recognizing everything.”

All the people who appear in the documentary are not identified by their names when they appear on screen. Anonymous workers unload the artifacts and inspect the artifacts when they arrive in Benin. An unnamed supervisor clinically lists the physical characteristics of the artifacts during an inspection. Unfortunately, “Dahomey” gives detailed information about only a select number—not all—of the 26 artifacts.

Viewers see that a brown statue of King Ghezo has arrived in “average” condition and is made of painted wood, metal and fibers. The statue weighs about 220 kilograms or 485 pounds. Another striking-looking artifact is a red statue of King Glele, which shows him with a horse’s upper body and a human lower body. This statue is also declared as being in “average condition.” A worker begins to sing when he is tasked with inspecting an ebony statue of King Béhanzin, who was the rule of Dahomey from 1890 to 1894.

The artifacts get a hero’s welcome from bystanders on the streets as the artifacts are transported in vehicles before they are put on display. (The artifacts have been on display at the Benin presidential palace and have gone on an exhibition tour across Benin.) The crowds are clearly not cheering about the real or perceived monetary value of these treasures. They are cheering because the return of these artifacts are about an acknowledgement that French colonials stole a lot of historical culture from this nation, which is now getting some of it back through these artifacts.

But not everyone in Benin is happy about the return of these artifacts. The last half of the documentary shows a civil discussion among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi, where they gather in an assembly room and express differing opinions on the arrival of these artifacts. Some students think that out of the approximately 7,000 known artifacts that were stolen by France, returning only 26 is just a token gesture. Other students think that the 26 artifacts beng returned is a good start to healing some of the damage caused by colonialism.

A female student says that she cried for 15 minutes straight after seeing the artifacts for the first time and is one of the people who think that it’s insulting that only 26 artifacts were returned. Another female student comments that the return of the artifacts has more to do with politics than history. A male student says of France president Emmanuel Macron’s decision to return the artifacts: “Macron didn’t do it because we asked. He did it to boost his brand.”

Later, an African American woman who sees the artifacts on display says that there’s a parallel between the return of these artifacts and the possibility that descendants of enslaved Africans can get reparations. She gives a monologue that has a tone of hope that progress will be made.

“Dahomey” is not interested in taking sides on any political issues. In its own thoughtful and observant ways, “Dahomey” is a documentary that shows how the return of these artifacts have opened up discussions about how national pride and colonialism can affect people in the past, present and future. “Dahomey” is not a story about inanimate objects. It’s a story about living history.

MUBI released “Dahomey” in select U.S. cinemas on October 25, 2024.

Review: ‘A Traveler’s Needs,’ starring Isabelle Huppert

November 25, 2024

by Carla Hay

“A Traveler’s Needs”

Directed by Hong Sang-soo

Korean, French and English with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Seoul, South Korea, the comedy/drama film “A Traveler’s Needs” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with one white person) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A French woman, who has recently immigrated to South Korea, starts working as a private French-language tutor with unconventional teaching methods.

Culture Audience: “A Traveler’s Needs” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of star Isabelle Huppert, filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, and talkative movies with arthouse sensibilities.

Kwon Hae-hyo, Isabelle Huppert and Lee Hye-young in “A Traveler’s Needs” (Photo courtesy of The Cinema Guild)

The comedy/drama “A Traveler’s Needs” offers a unique slice-of-life story of an unorthodox French-language tutor in South Korea. It’s best enjoyed by viewers who appreciate dialogue-driven movies in ordinary realistic settings. Everyone else will be bored.

Written and directed by Hong Sang-soo, “A Traveler’s Needs” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury’s Silver Bear prize, the equivalent of second place for Best Picture. “A Traveler’s Needs” also screened at he 2024 New York Film Festival. “A Traveler’s Needs” is the third Hong Sang-soo movie to star Isabelle Huppert, after 2012’s “In Another Country” and 2017’s “Claire’s Camera.”

“A Traveler’s Needs” consists entirely of conversations in a very limited number of settings, usually in someone’s home or in a park. The movie’s protagonist Iris (played by Huppert) doesn’t say too much about herself. However, from conversations in the movie, viewers find out that Iris has recently moved to Seoul, South Korea, from her native France. She also has a fondness for drinking makgeolli, which is Korean rice wine.

Iris has recently decided to become a private tutor teaching the French language. Her first clients are affluent—not ultra-wealthy but upper-middle-clas. “A Traveler’s Needs” shows her meeting with two of these clients for the first time. Most of the characters in the movie are not identified by their names, but they offer glimpses into their lives in the time that Iris spends with them.

First, Iris is seen meeting with a woman in her 20s (played by Kim Seung-yun) in the student’s home. While they are talking, the student suddenly gets up to play the piano. When she’s finished, Iris asks the student what she felt when playing the piano.

The student replies, “I felt happy.” But Iris asks more probing questions until the student admits she wishes she were a better piano player. Iris takes notes on index cards and translates in French what the student said about her feelings. The movie soon reveals that this is how Iris wants to teach French.

At a nearby park, the student shows Iris a stone monument that has her father’s name on it. The student tells Iris that her father’s name is only the monument because he donated a large sum of money. The student says she’s a little embarrassed about it, but she tearfully adds, “He loved me very much.”

Next, Iris meets with an outspoken woman in her early 60s (played by Lee Hye-young), who is a CEO of an unnamed major company. Her mild-mannered and quiet husband (played by Kwon Hae-hyo), who has a flirtatious side, is not the one taking the French lessons, but he is her constant companion during this teaching session. The husband eventually reveals that he is an attorney who quit his law practice to become the “right-hand man” for his wife in her business.

These two spouses have a young adult daughter (played by Kang So-yi), who lives with them. According to the mother, this daughter quit her job about a year ago and is still looking for another job. The daughter doesn’t have any specific career goals in mind, just some “ideas.” The mother doesn’t seem to be too bothered by her daughter’s aimlessness.

The daughter also acts aloof when her mother asks her to come over and say hello in French to Iris. Even though this daughter took French for three years in high school, the daughter claims not to remember any French at all. Viewers are left to ponder what this family is really like behind closed doors, when there are no strangers who are visiting. These are questions that the movie doesn’t answer.

The CEO student is surprised and disappointed that Iris will not be teaching French by using textbooks but will be using index cards instead. This student also plays an instrument. During this session, she plays an acoustic guitar, but Iris excuses herself to go up on the couple’s rooftop lounge area to smoke a cigarette while the student plays the guitar. The spouses later joins Iris on the rooftop to smoke cigarettes too.

Iris asks the CEO student how she felt when she played the guitar. The student says she felt happy, But once agan, Iris prods the student for a more introspective answer, until the student admits she felt a little proud and a little annoyed because she likes her guitar playing but doesn’t feel she’s a “good-enough” guitar player to be at the playing skills that she wants. Iris did the same thing she did with the other student: She writes down those feelings in French and tells her student to memorize this translation.

Iris eventually admits to the couple that she has no training to be a French-language teacher and she’s trying a non-traditional way of teaching. Iris’ line of questioning sounds more like something a therapist would ask. It becomes obvious to observant viewers that Iris’ method of teaching is to get her students to express how they feel, and Iris then translates those feelings, with the intent being that her students are more likely to learn French if they learn sentences that are personally relatable to them.

And who exactly is Iris? It’s a mystery that “A Traveler’s Needs” doesn’t quite answer. But some clues emerge when Iris is seen with the person who knows her best in South Korea: her platonic roommate Inguk (played by Ha Seong-guk), an ntroveted, aspiring poet who is in his 20s. It’s eventually revealed that Inguk invited unemployed Iris live with him rent-free at his apartment until she could get a job. He was the one who referred her to her French-lesson clients when she decided to make money as a French-language tutor.

Through conversations in the movie, viewers find out that Inguk met Iris randomly in a park, where he saw her playing a recorder musical instrument. (This meeting is shown in a pivotal flashback scene.) Iris wasn’t very good at playing this instrument, but Ingkuk was intrigued by her, and they struck up a conversation. There’s no sexual attracton between Iris and Inguk, but they are clearly charmed by each other.

After they became roommates, Inguk tells Iris: “You are so bright and talented.” Iris later tells Inguk: “No matter what happens, don’t give up your poetry.” Iris is paid in cash (₩200,000, which is about $143 in U.S. dollars in the mid-2020s) for her first day as a French-language tutor. She insists on giving all of the cash to Ingkuk, who has set ₩500,000, or $356 in U.S. dollars, for Iris’ share of the rent.

Inguk is afraid to tell his domineering and overprotective mother (played by Cho Yun-hee, also known as Jo Yoon-hee) about Iris being his roommate. And so, when Inguk’s mother shows up at the apartment for an unannounced visit, some low-stakes hijinks occur that won’t be detailed in this review. It’s enough to say that after Inguk’s mother makes her appearance, it starts to make sense that he emotionally gravitates to Iris, who is the empathetic mother figure whom Inguk doesn’t have with his own mother.

Because “A Traveler’s Needs” doesn’t tell a lot about Iris’ background and just shows her having conversations with people, some viewers might find it hard to connect with this movie. “A Traveler’s Needs” is by no means a masterpiece, but it invites viewers to speculate about what circumstances led Iris to move to Seoul without a job and without knowing anyone. Iris’ unconventional way of teaching already indicates that she is someone who doesn’t want to live a conventional life.

Huppert gives a very intriguing performance as “go with the flow” Iris, while Cho has a likeable screen presence as the shy and socially awkward Inguk. It’s perhaps no coincidence that these two unlikely roommates are the only two characters who have names in the movie. Ultimately, “A Traveler’s Needs” (in its very understated way) shows the impact of finding and appreciating human connections, whether people are living in a country that is familiar or unfamiliar to them.

The Cinema Guild released “A Traveler’s Needs” in select U.S. cinemas on November 22, 2024.

Review: ‘Small Things Like These,’ starring Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Clare Dunn, Helen Behan and Emily Watson

November 8, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Small Things Like These”

Directed by Tim Mielants

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1985, with some to the 1950s, in New Ross, Ireland, the dramatic film “Small Things Like These” (based on the novel of the same name) features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A coal delivery driver, who was raised in a convent, has his past come back to haunt him when he discovers dark secrets about the convent.

Culture Audience: “Small Things Like These” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and dramas abut religion having major influences in people’s lives.

Cillian Murphy and Zara Devlin in “Small Things Like These” (Photo by Enda Bowe/Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)

“Small Things Like These” is a worthy adaptation of the novel of the same name. This meditative drama has slow pacing but many moments of hard-hitting realities about how a convent’s dark secrets affect generations of people in a small Irish community. “Small Things Like These” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.

Directed by Tim Mielants and written by Edna Walsh, “Small Things Like These” is adapted from Claire Keegan’s 2020 novel of the same name. It’s an intimate story that speaks to larger issues of abuse in religious institutions that often control or dictate how people live. Although the movie has fictional characters, their experiences are what untold numbers of people have experienced in real life.

“Small Things Like These” takes place primarily in 1985, in the small rural town of New Ross, Ireland. (The movie was filmed in the Irish cities of Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin.) Bill Furlong (played by Cillian Murphy, one of the producers of “Small Things Like These”) is a happily married father of five daughters, ranging from primary school age to high school age. His wife Eileen Furlong (played by Eileen Walsh) is a kind and optimistic homemaker.

Bill works as a coal delivery driver. He is a well-respected member of the community and he’s known as a “regular guy” who lives an unassuming, low-key life. Later, the coal stains that he has to wash off when he comes home from work later become symbolic of the stains of bad memories from hs past that he tries to wash from his psyche.

Bill doesn’t live too far from the Good Shepherd Convent, where he was raised as a child. The Catholic nuns who operate the convent often have teenage girls living there to help them with their work as unpaid employees. The girls who are sent to the convent are considered “wayward” girls who end up at the convent as punishment or simply because the girls have nowhere else to go.

The Catholic Church and this convent are powerfully influential in this community for many reasons, including being the main source of school education. Bill’s eldest daughter Kathleen (played by Liadán Dunlea) has been educated by the convent’s nuns at the local high school. Bill’s other daughters—Joan Furlong (played by Agnes O’Casey), Sheila Furlong (played by Rachel Lynch), Grace Furlong (played by Aoife Gaffney) and Loretta Furlong (played by Faye Brazil)—also plan to attend the same high school.

One day, Bill is outside when he sees a teenage girl named Sarah Redmond (played by Zara Devlin) arrive at the convent with her unnamed mother (played by Sarah Morris), who is practically forcing Sarah into the building. Sarah is fighting and resisting her mother every step of the way and screaming that she doesn’t want to go. Sarah is quickly taken into the building.

Bill sees Sarah again a few days later when he finds her hiding in his shed because she has run away from the convent. Bill doesn’t know what else to do but to return her to the convent, which is under the domineering rule of Sister Mary (played by Emily Watson), the convent’s mother superior, whose calm exterior masks a cruel and abusive personality. Bill can’t help but feel uneasy about Sarah’s obvious desperate unhappiness and unwillingness to live at the convent.

After witnessing these disturbing incidents with Sarah, Bill experiences a flood of memories and emotions about his own mother, whose name was Sarah Furlong (played by Agnes O’Casey), who was an unwed teenager when she had Bill. Sarah is now deceased but there are several flashbacks to when she was a teenager and in a relationship with the teen who was Bill’s biological father Ned (played by Mark McKenna). Bill also has visions of himself (played by Louis Kirwan) when he was about 9 or 10 years old.

Through conversations in the movie and these flashbacks/visions, viewers find out that Bill never knew who his biological father was when Bill was growing up. As a child, he lived for a while with a widow Mrs. Wilson (played by Michelle Fairley), most likely in a foster care situation. Bill’s mother Sarah disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances. There’s a scene where boyhood Bill asks Mrs. Wilson, “Do you think my father knows what happened?” Mrs. Wilson replies, “I don’t know.”

Bill begins to wonder what’s really going on in the convent. A local shop owner named Mrs. Kehoe (played by Helen Behan), who is knowledgeable about some of the town’s secrets, warns Bill not to be an antagonist to the people who operate the convent. “If you go making a nuisance of yourself,” she tells Bill, “you could be denying your children of an education.”

If you’ve seen enough of these types of movies, then you will be easily able to figure out how all these clues and fragmented memories add up to a horrifying truth. Murphy gives an admirably understated performance as someone thinks he’s had an uncomplicated life, but the memories that come flooding back indicate that he has had some past trauma because of his mother being an unwed teen mother in this very religious community.

Watson (who won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival) gives an unsettling performance as Sister Mary, who is convinced that abuse can be justified in the name of religion. Sister Mary is the worst type of villain: someone who appears to be harmless but in reality causes a great deal of harm.

“Small Things Like These” is true to its title by not being a sweeping epic about people with big personalities getting justice for crimes and other wrongdoings. It’s a story about people who want to live quiet, ordinary lives and might feel overwhelmed by the scope of abuse that they know about or experience. They might not seek justice in the court system but they make a difference through small acts of kindness to people who need it the most.

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions released “Small Things Like These” in U.S. cinemas on November 8, 2024. The movie was released in Ireland and the United Kingdom on November 1, 2024.

Review: ‘The Outrun,’ starring Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Saskia Reeves and Stephen Dillane

September 29, 2024

by Carla Hay

“The Outrun”

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United Kingdom, the dramatic film “The Outrun” (based on Amy Liptrot’s memoir of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and Middle Eastern people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A 29-year-old woman recovering from alcohol addiction moves back in with her mother, who lives on a farm, and there are flashbacks to what led her to this point in her life.

Culture Audience: “The Outrun” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of star Saoirse Ronan and well-acted movies about people coping with addiction and mental health issues.

Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Dillane in “The Outrun” (Photo by Anne Binckebanck/Sony Pictures Classics)

“The Outrun” has a narrative that is told in non-chronological fragments, but collectively, the story is an impactful portrait of alcohol addiction and recovery. Saoirse Ronan gives a devastatingly realistic performance. This thought-provoking drama also has authentic portrayals of how mental illness in families can leave generational trauma.

Written and directed by Nora Fingscheidt, “The Outrun” is based on Amy Liptrot’s 2015 memoir of the same title. “The Outrun” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. The movie was filmed primarily in Scotland’s Orkney islands, but some parts of the story take place in London.

In “The Outrun,” the main character is named Rona (played by Ronan), a 29-year-old who has a master’s degree in biology but whose life is in spiral of alcohol addiction. It’s briefly mentioned that Rona also does psychedelic mushrooms, but alcohol is her main drug of choice. Because the movie’s timeline jumps all over the place, viewers have to put the pieces of the story’s puzzle together.

What emerges is Rona’s story of self-loathing that’s intertwined with her addiction. Her hair is different colors in the film. During her worst addiction periods, her hair is bright pink or aquamarine. During her period of recovery, her hair is mostly her natural blonde. In the beginning of the movie, Rona is seen being aggressive while she’s drunk at a pub and is eventually forced to leave the bar.

Rona grew up in Scotland’s Orkney islands but has an Irish accent because her mother Annie (played by Saskia Reeves) is Irish. For the past 10 years, Rona lived in London, where she was living a party girl lifestyle with her best pal (played by Izuka Hoyle). But a turning point came when something happened that made Rona go back home to Orkney islands and live with her mother while Rona recovers from her alcoholism.

A clue about this turning is shown early in the movie in a scene where Rona (who has a bruised right eye and lesser injuries) is being interviewed by a female counselor who asks unemployed Rona what’s her age, occupation and if her family has a history of mental illness. Because this scene takes place right after the scene where drunk Rona got thrown out of a pub for being too rowdy, it might be easy to assume that Rona got the bruised eye from a pub fight. However, “The Outrun” eventually reveals the real reason for Rona’s injuries.

Rona has a tense relationship with Annie, who is very religious and thinks that praying for Rona will help Rona on her rough road to recovery. Rona has a lot of anger and resentment over Annie’s religious beliefs and drunkenly tells her in a scene where Rona has relapsed: “They [Annie’s religious friends] have you brainwashed. That’s why dad left you … All that praying didn’t help.” Rona is immediately remorseful over these cruel remarks and sobs when she tells Annie, “I’m sorry.”

Rona’s father is named Andrew (played by Stephen Dillane), who has a sheep farm, where Rona goes to visit him. (She also helps in lambing, the birthing of lambs.) Andrew is bipolar, so Rona’s feelings about him are complicated. She clearly likes spending time with Andrew more than she likes spending time with Annie. But Andrew is unpredictable. When he’s having a manic episode, Rona often has to act like she’s his psychiatrist and parental figure to calm him down.

“The Outrun” also has some flashbacks to Rona’s childhood when 11-year-old Rona (played by Freya Lexie Evans) witnessed some horrific events because of her father’s mental illness. For example, she saw her father being airlifted by helicopter because he was being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility. In another scene, Andrew smashed windows in their home during a storm because he wanted to let the gusty winds to flow throughout the house.

When she was living in London, Rona was dating a man who’s about her age named Daynin (played by Paapa Essiedu), and they fall in love. However, Rona’s alcoholism gets worse during their relationship. The movie shows what happened to Daynin and Rona as she starts to get more and more out of control.

The scenes between Daynin and Rona are among the best in the film in their raw realism. For example, after Daynin has protectively come to Rona’s rescue during an alcohol-induced low point in her life that put her in a hospital, he sits with her outdoors on a street, where a pub is nearby. Rona is so deep in her addiction, she nods toward the pub asks Daynin, “Do you want to get a drink?” The incredulous expression on Daynin’s face says it all.

“The Outrun” also has scenes of Rona is Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, led by no-nonsense Julie (played by Lauren Lyle) and where she meets a goofy jokester named Samir (played by Nabil Elouahabi), who is one of the few people who can make Rona laugh. Rona finding some tranquility when she watches seals swimming in the ocean. Swimming and outdoor scenes represent Rona’s respite during the inner turmoil that she experiences during her addiction and recovery.

“The Outrun” is not an easy film to watch for certain scenes that show the painful and damaging results of addiction. Some viewers who are expecting a more traditional narrative might also be put off or confused by all how the story is told in bits and pieces instead of as a continuous storyline. However, the acting “The Outrun” is superb, with Ronan (who is one of the producers of the “The Outrun”) being entirely compelling throughout the movie. “The Outrun” might not have a traditional narrative structure, but it’s a more honest movie about addiction than many of those that follow a familiar formula.

Sony Pictures Classics will release “The Outrun” in select U.S. cinemas on October 4, 2024. A sneak preview was shown in select U.S. cinemas from September 26 to September 30, 2024.

Review: ‘A Different Man’ (2024), starring Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson

September 28, 2024

by Carla Hay

Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson in “A Different Man” (Photo by Matt Infante/A24)

“A Different Man” (2024)

Directed by Aaron Schimberg

Culture Representation: Taking place in New York City, the sci-fi/drama/comedy film “A Different Man” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An aspiring actor, who has a severely disfigured face, undergoes an operation that gives him a handsome face, but he starts to psychologically unravel when a play is made about his life, and he is upstaged by a disfigured man who is cast to star in the play.

Culture Audience: “A Different Man” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of star Sebastian Stan and movies with social commentary about how physical appearances can dramatically affect people’s lives.

Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan in “A Different Man” (Photo by Matt Infante/A24)

“A Different Man” is an interesting social satire about the superficiality of being judged by physical appearances, and how good looks aren’t necessarily synonymous with confidence. However, the film’s concept runs out of steam in the last 30 minutes. “A Different Man” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, where Sebastian Stan won the prize for Best Acting in a Leading Role.

Written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, “A Different Man” takes place in New York City, where the movie was filmed. “A Different Man” begins with a scene of aspiring actor Edward Lemuel (played by Stan) acting in a filmed scene in a room, where he is directed to act less like he’s freaking out over having a brain aneurysm and act more like as if he’s woozy. Edward has a very disfigured face that he developed for unknown medical reasons. A scene later in the movie shows a childhood photo of Edward, who did not have a disfigured face when he was a child.

Edward is a loner who lives in a small apartment, where he has a leaky roof that he delays getting fixed. The leaky roof later becomes a symbol of how Edward handles his life before and after he has facial surgery. Based on what is shown in the movie, Edward doesn’t work much as an actor. The most recent gig he’s been able to get is doing a corporate workplace video on how to treat disfigured co-workers, but the video is very tone-deaf and condescending. Viewers can assume that Edward lives off of government disability payments since he is obviously not wealthy and he seems to be mostly unemployed.

One day, someone moves into the apartment across the hall from Edward. This new neighbor is an aspiring playwright/theater director named Ingrid Vold (played by Renate Reinsve), who seems to be friendly and is very curious about Edward. When she comes over to Edward’s apartment to borrow laundry detergent, it just happens to be right after he has accidentally cut himself with a knife while slicing some onions.

Ingrid immediately applies bandages to Edward’s wounded hand. He is visibly affected by this stranger showing him kindness when he has become accustomed to most people insulting him, staring at him rudely, or trying to avoid looking at him. Ingrid notices that Edward has an antique red typewriter where he has written: “They taunt me and beg me to show my face, only so when I do, they can turn away in horror.” Later, Eward gives the typewriter to Ingrid as a gift.

Ingrid is curious about Edward and seems to genuinely want to be his friend. But it turns out she has an ulterior motive. Meanwhile, Edward undergoes radical surgery to get a new face that isn’t disfigured. He is told that this surgery is risky, but the rewards could outweigh the risks. After the surgery, his hand wound disappears, his disfgured face painfully peels off, and his new handsome face is underneath. Edward keeps the outer skin of his old face as a mask memento.

Edward decides he wants a new identity with his new face. He tells people, including those in his apartment building, that Edward suddenly died by committing suicide. Edward pretends to be a bachelor named Guy Morantz (also played by Stan), who now lives alone in the apartment unit. The movie’s narrative then kind of sloppily fast-forwards to Guy being celebrated at his job as a hotshot real-estate agent, where the company uses him to be a spokesmodel in its advertising.

“A Different Man” never bothers to answer questions about how Edward/Guy was able to get this real-estate job and how he was able to establish this new identity so quickly without anyone (such as his landlord) finding out the truth. The movie also doesn’t explain why “Guy” has kept all of Edward’s belongings and why there are no records of Edward’s death. In other words, there are plot holes in this part of the movie.

Guy/Edward is a little overwhelmed by but enjoying his new life as a good-looking, available bachelor. The attention he gets from women when he’s out in public is obviously very different from when he had a disfigured face. Guy/Edward is still very much attracted to Ingrid, who seems to be distracted by something else.

Even so, Guy/Edward and Ingrid strike up a flirtation and eventually become lovers, as Guy/Edward keeps his secret about his fake Guy identity from her and everyone else in his life. Guy/Edward then finds out something shocking to him: Ingrid is writing an off-Broadway play based on Edward’s life. The play is holding auditions for the lead role of the disfigured man. Guy/Edward auditions for the role using his disfigured face mask, even though he is uncomfortable with Ingrid exploiting his life story for her own personal gain.

In rehearsals for the play, Guy/Edward makes criticisms about Ingrid’s choices for the play. He also isn’t a very good actor in this role. Things start to go awry for Guy/Edward when a British man named Oswald (played by Adam Pearson) auditions for the role and is clearly a better actor. Ingrid decides to cast Oswald in the role instead, especially since he is authentically disfigured.

Oswald has an outgoing personality and charms many people, including Ingrid, although he can be a little pushy in how he barges in on people’s social circles. The rest of “A Different Man” shows how Guy/Edward becomes increasingly unstable as his jealousy over Oswald takes over Guy/Edward’s life. Ingrid also shows that she has a sexual fetish for men with disfigured faces. Whatever her kink is, Ingrid ultimately only cares about exploiting Edward’s life story to make it into a play that she wants to be financial hit and for the play to be a means get accolades for herself.

Stan gives a very watchable performance about a man leading two different lives because of having two different faces. However, what Guy/Edward eventually figures out is that he’s still the same person inside with the same personality flaws. Pearson provides much of the comic relief in his performance as the effervescent and confident Oswald. “A Different Man” shows in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that having a physical appearance that society considers “better” than another can only get someone far enough if they don’t have healthy self-esteem and are constantly seeking approval from people based on physical appearances.

Although “A Different Man” has good acting and solid cinematography, the movie’s portrayal of the concept gets wobbly and weak toward the end of the film. The satirical situations that make Guy/Edward a buffoon start to wear thin and become tiresome. The movie also lets duplicitous Ingrid off the hook way too easily. However, if people want to watch a dark satire where there are no heroes or villains as main characters—just deeply insecure people who make questionable decisions—then “A Different Man” can pass the time but ultimately doesn’t have anything profound to say.

A24 released “A Different Man” in select U.S. cinemas on September 20, 2024, with the movie going into wider release on October 4, 2024.

Review: ‘Cuckoo’ (2024), starring Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens and Jessica Henwick

August 5, 2024

by Carla Hay

Hunter Schafer in “Cuckoo” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“Cuckoo” (2024)

Directed by Tilman Singer

Some language in German and French with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, the sci-fi/horror film “Cuckoo” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with few Asian people and Latin people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A 17-year-old girl has nightmarish experiences and finds out that something sinister is going on at the vacation resort where her family is visiting.

Culture Audience: “Cuckoo” will appeal primarily to the fans of the movie’s headlines and will appeal people who don’t mind watching horror movies that are better at having terrifying moments than having mostly appealing characters.

Dan Stevens in “Cuckoo” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

The erratic horror film “Cuckoo” isn’t as clever as it thinks it is, but Hunter Schafer’s lead performance and some genuinely unique terror scenes elevate the story when it starts to become conventional and repetitive. The movie’s ending will be divisive to many viewers.

Written and directed by Tilman Singer, “Cuckoo” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival. The movie uses a lot of formulaic stereotypes of horror film about family “stuck” in a remote area where something sinister is happening. However, “Cuckoo” has some imaginative scenes and scenarios that give “Cuckoo” enough to hold most viewers’ interest.

In “Cuckoo,” 17-year-old American girl Gretchen Vanderkurt (played by Hunter Schafer) has reluctantly traveled to the Bavarian Alps in Germany with her British-born father Luis (played by Márton Csókás); her American stepmother Beth (played by Jessica Henwick); and Gretchen’s 7-year-old mute half-sister Alma (played by Mila Lieu), who is the biological daughter of Luis and Beth. Gretchen’s biological mother is deceased. The family has been invited to a remote “nature preserve” resort by Luis’ mysterious and smirking boss Herr König (played by Dan Stevens), who is clearly up to no good from the moment that Herr König is seen on screen.

Luis and Beth want to build their own resort and are staying at Herr König’s resort for ideas and inspiration. Moody and pouty Gretchen is bored, so Herr König offers her a part-time job working as a front-desk receptionist at the resort. A friendly staffer named Beatrix, also known as Trixie (played by Greta Fernández), trains Gretchen in this new job. Beatrix has a lover named Erik (played by Konrad Singer), who’s a police officer.

It doesn’t take long for Gretchen to notice that the resort’s front-desk employees seem to disappear at around 10 p.m., with no explanation. She also notices that women show up in the resort lobby and vomit. And when a woman vomits in a movie, and she’s not drunk or intoxicated, there’s usually another predictable reason why.

Meanwhile, Gretchen starts having nightmarish visions when she’s asleep and when she’s awake. She has terrifying experiences of being stalked by a hooded woman (played by Kaylin Morrow), but no one seems to believe Gretchen. And so, the movie indulges in another horror cliché: the female who experiences terror but she is not believed by most people around her, and she’s deemed mentally ill.

Someone who believes Gretchen is Henry Landau (played by Jan Bluthardt), who tells Gretchen that he needs her help in finding the hooded woman, whom he says is wanted for murder. Early on in the movie, a resort neighbor named Dr. Bonomo (played by Proschat Madani) introduced herself to Gretchen. It should come as no surprise that Henry and Dr. Bonomo have secrets

There’s a not-very-interesting subplot about Gretchen getting romantically involved with a resort guest named Ed (played by Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), who is in her 30s and has a sarcastic and rebellious personality. Some viewers of “Cuckoo” will think the age gap between Ed and Gretchen (who will soon turn 18) is very inappropriate. It should be noted that in many European countries, including Germany, the minimum age of sexual consent is 14. Although the age gap between Ed and Gretchen might be inappropriate to some viewers, it’s legal in this part of the world.

“Cuckoo” has very effective sound design and recurring close-ups of pulsating necks as a creepy visual motif. Gretchen also frequently listens to music, which makes a room vibrate in eerie ways that could be supernatural or part of Gretchen’s imagination. Grief is a big theme in “Cuckoo,” as Gretchen is very much in mourning over the death of her mother. There are multiple scenes where Gretchen is shown leaving messages on her dead mother’s voice mail.

Schafer holds many scenes together with her authentic-looking performance. Stevens’ performance gets increasingly campy, which might irritate viewers into really disliking the movie. “Cuckoo” is not a great horror movie, but it might be considered good enough for people who want some freaky jump scares and a mystery that’s fairly easy to solve.

Neon will release “Cuckoo” in U.S. cinemas on August 9, 2024.

Review: ‘Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,’ narrated by Martin Scorsese

July 13, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger”

Culture Representation: The documentary film “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” features Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese narrating a retrospective of movies made by filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who were nicknamed The Archers and who made movies together from 1939 to 1972.

Culture Clash: Powell and Pressburger received both praise and criticism for making movies during World War II that were considered propaganda for Allied Forces.

Culture Audience: “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Powell and Pressburger; narrator Martin Scorsese; and British films from the 1940s and 1950s.

A photo from the film set of the 1947 movie “Black Narcissus” in “*Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger”* (Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group)

“Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” is essential viewing for cinephiles. This informative documentary is not only a richly rewarding journey exploring the movies of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, it’s also a tribute to cinema history. Martin Scorsese’s narration makes this retrospective film feel academic yet personal. It has the tone of someone who is teaching a class on Powell and Pressburger, but with the perspective of someone who is an Oscar-winning admirer who turns the lessons in the class into an absorbing cinematic experience.

Directed by David Hinton, “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” features Scorsese narrating the film on camera and in voiceover. There are no “talking head” interviews, which would actually be unnecessary and counterproductive to the intimate style of Scorsese’s narration. The documentary consists primarily of footage that is edited together to demonstrate what Scorsese is saying. “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and its New York premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.

Scorsese (who was born in New York City in 1942) begins the documentary by telling a personal story of how Powell and Pressburger influential to him in his childhood. Scorsese’s childhood asthma prevented him from playing outside a lot or engaging in sports like many of his peers. Instead, when he was at home, he often stayed inside and watched a lot of TV. It was through television that Scorsese says he discovered the films of Powell and Pressburger.

“Some of the very first moving images I remember seeing are from ‘The Thief of Baghdad.’ I didn’t know it then, but Michael Powell was one of the directors on that film,” Scorsese says near the beginning of the documentary. “And, for a kid, there can be no better initiation into the Michael Powell mysteries. This was a picture made by a great showman. And every image filled me with great wonder. The power a movie can hold—it absolutely enthralled me.”

Scorsese says that he experienced these movies for the first time on a black-and-white TV screen instead in Technicolor in cinemas. “And yet, it still had the power to grip me and stay with me forever in my mind.” Scorsese then explains that British films had a major impact on him because at the time, British film distributors would license their films to American television, but American distributors typically would not.

Powell (who was born in 1905 and died in 1990) and Pressburger (who was born in 1902 and died in 1988) were nicknamed The Archers, which was also the name of their production company. Powell was born in England, while Pressburger was a Hungarian native who immigrated to England in 1935, to escape from Nazi invasions. They collaborated on 24 films between 1939 and 1972—mostly lushly filmed dramas, whimsical comedies or intense action-adventures, sometimes with hints of scandals or controversies, and many that were anti-Nazi World War II films.

Their first movie together was 1939’s “The Spy in Black.” Some of the duo’s most notable films include 1941’s Oscar-winning “49th Parallel”; 1943’s “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp,” which Scorsese says is the first masterpiece” from Powell and Pressburger; 1944’s “A Canterbury Tale”; 1946’s “A Matter of Life and Death”; 1947’s “Black Narcissus”; 1948’s “The Red Shoes”; 1957’s “The Tales of Hoffmann.” All of these movies are featured in this documentary.

As for how they worked together, they would co-write their screenplays. Pressburger (the more introverted partner) would usually outline the movie’s scenes, while they both worked on the dialogue together. Powell (the more extroverted partner) usually directed the movies they did together, although they shared director credits for almost all of their movies. Powell and Pressburger also shared producer credits for their movies. Pressburger was more involved in their movies’ film editing than Powell was.

In the 1970s, after Scorsese became a successful filmmaker, he got to know Powell even more, especially after Powell relocated to the United States and was hired out of semi-retirement to work as a creative director for Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope production company. Scorsese also talks about another personal connection to Powell: His longtime film editor Thelma Schoonmaker (another Oscar winner) was married to Powell from 1984 until his death in 1990.

Because of Scorsese’s more personal connection to Powell, this documentary tends to focus more on Powell than on Pressburger, in terms of what happened to Powell and Pressburger after they amicably ended their creative partnership as filmmakers. The documentary includes some archival footage of Powell and Pressburger doing interviews separately and together. There’s also some behind-the-scenes footage of Scorsese and Powell together on the set of Scorsese’s 1983 film “The King of Comedy,” starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The documentary’s visual tour of Powell and Pressburger’s filmography is told by Scorsese with an appreciation that makes it evident that he is still in awe of their talent but doesn’t shy away from talking about the low points in the duo’s collaborations. There are also some behind-the-scenes stories of how Powell and Pressburger films were made and how they influenced Scorsese’s own moves. For example, In Scorsese’s analysis of “The Red Shoes,” he talks about how the 15-minute uncut ballet sequence influenced how he filmed the boxing sequences in Scorsese’s 1980 film “Raging Bull.”

Scorsese has a storytelling style in his narration that is thoroughly engaging. Adrian Johnston’s beautiful musical score is another perfect part of this documentary. While watching this documentary, if you don’t feel transported to the time when these films were made, then you must not be paying any attention. “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” is shaped largely by Scorsese’s unabashed fan testimonials to this often-underrated duo but the documentary serves as a definitive story of an impactful collaboration that can never again be recaptured.

Cohen Media Group released “Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger” in select U.S. cinemas on July 12, 2024.

Review: ‘The Devil’s Bath,’ starring Anja Plaschg, Maria Hofstätter and David Scheid

July 10, 2024

by Carla Hay

“The Devil’s Bath”

Directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz

German with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Austria, in 1750, the horror film “The Devil’s Bath” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A young newlywed becomes mentally ill in a conservative and judgmental religious community.

Culture Audience: “The Devil’s Bath” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s directors and horror films with religious themes.

Anja Plaschg in “The Devil’s Bath” (Photo courtesy of Shudder)

“The Devil’s Bath” is not easy to watch for people who expect horror movies to have quick pacing and obvious jump scares. This “slow burn” film, set in 1750 Austria, shows the terror of untreated mental illness in a strict religious community. It’s worth watching until the very end to understand the true impact of the story.

Written and directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, “The Devil’s Bath” is based on historical research by Kathy Stuart. The movie had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival. “The Devil’s Bath” swept the 2024 Austrian Film Awards, winning seven prizes: Best Feature Film; Best Actress (for Anja Plaschg); Best Supporting Actress (for Maria Hofstätter); Best Film Editing; Best Production Design; Best Score; and Best Makeup.

The movie (which takes place in an unnamed Austrian village in 1750) begins with a terrifying scene of a woman named Ewa Schikin (played by Natalya Baranova) is walking through a wooded area with a baby (played by Frieda Seidl) until she reaches a cliff with a waterfall. Ewa then throws the baby over the waterfall. After committing this murder, she makes the sign of the cross on herself, calmly walks to a house, knocks on the door, and says to the unseen person opening the door: “I committed a crime.” Was is then shown beheaded, with her head on the ground. An unseen person cuts off one of her fingers.

And why did she commit this murder? That question is answered toward the end of the movie. In the meantime, a young couple named Agnes (played by Plaschg) and Wolf (played by David Scheid) are shown getting married. At the wedding reception, the guests play a game to behead a chicken while blindfolded.

Agnes and Wolf are living in a small shack-like house, near the house of Wolf’s mother Gänglin (played by Hofstätter), who has a close relationship with Wolf. Before Wolf and Agnes got married, the couple lived with Gänglin. Agnes liked living there and expresses disappointment to Wolf that the couple will now be living in this much smaller house. Wolf tells Agnes that he will soon inherit his mother’s farm, which is another way of saying he doesn’t expect Gänglin to live much longer.

This village community is very religious. Every time a clock chimes in the village, several of the residents make the sign of the cross. Women are expected to be wives and mothers. Young and healthy women are expected to out with any physical work that the men do.

Many of the villagers make their living by fishing for catfish. However, later in the movie, it’s shown that the village is experiencing a food shortage. Loaves and bread are rationed. This rationing leads to some tense moments where people have disputes about how much bread they deserve to get.

One day, Agnes is walking through the woods and looking for Wolf when she sees a drawing on a tree. The drawing depicts Ewa throwing a baby over a waterfall and later being beheaded while she was in prison. She also sees that Ewa’s beheaded body on display with Ewa’s head nearby in a small cage. It’s later revealed that Agnes now has the finger of Ewa that was taken from Ewa’s body.

Another death soon happens in the village: A young man named Lenz (played by Lorenz Tröbinger) has committed suicide by hanging. At Lenz’s funeral, a priest gives a sermon has this to say about Lenz’s suicide: “What he did is worse than murder.”

Agnes wants to become a mother but gets frustrated that she hasn’t gotten pregnant. She falls into a deep depression where she refuses to get out of bed. Agnes also overhears her mother-in-law Gänglin tells Wolf: “You should’ve married a local girl … someone who’s a better worker and can get pregnant.”

The movie’s title refers to 18th century Austrian vernacular that described depression as being trapped in “the devil’s bath.” Because psychology wasn’t developed as a science until the late 1870s, religion in Agnes’ 1750s community is used as an explanation for mental illness. In many of today’s communities, religion instead of science is still used as a “cure” or treatment for mental illness and other psychological issues.

“The Devil’s Bath” shows Agnes’ further mental deterioration as she continues to isolate herself. Some extreme things happen that are meant to be shocking but also demonstrate what can happen when desperate people do certain things when they feel trapped and take what they think is the best option. Religious oppression is inescapable in this story.

There are some haunting images scattered throughout the movie. For example, there’s a scene showing decapitated human arms floating in a barrel filled with water and catfish. Another is a scene where moths come out of Agnes’ mouth.

Some of the most squirm-worthy imagex are how the “treatments” that Agnes gets from Wolf in attempts to “cure” her of her depression. Leeches are put on Agnes to “let the melancholy out.” Wolf also uses a needle to thread a dangling string horizontally across the back of her neck, where Agnes tugs the string back and forth. It seems like a very crude and misguided way of treating nerve pinpoints, like a warped version of acupuncture.

“The Devil’s Bath” succeeds in its intention to depict a dark and claustrophobic experience of someone’s mental illness gradually getting worse and being stuck in a community that equates mental illness with demon possession. Religion is used with rigid harshness to punish those who are mentally ill.

As the troubled Agnes, Plaschg gives a complex performance that is both harrowing and heartbreaking. “The Devil’s Bath” deliberately takes its time to reveal certain deadly motives. The truth has nothing to do with devil possession and everything to do real-life religious fears that human beings place on each other.

Shudder released “The Devil’s Bath” in select U.S. cinemas on June 21, 2024. Shudder premiered the movie on June 28, 2024. UPDATE: “The Devil’s Bath” will be re-released in select U.S. cinemas on November 13, 2024.

Review: ‘Janet Planet,’ starring Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Elias Koteas, Will Patton and Sophie Okonedo

July 2, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Janet Planet”

Directed by Annie Baker

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1991, in western Massachusetts, the dramatic film “Janet Planet” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An 11-year-old girl and her single mother have various uncomfortable adjustments as the girl learns to be more independent and not as tolerant of the people who come in and out of her mother’s life.

Culture Audience: “Janet Planet” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Julianne Nicholson and don’t mind watching a slow-paced but well-acted movie about mother-daughter relationships.

Julianne Nicholson and Zoe Ziegler in “Janet Planet” (Photo courtesy of A24)

Thoughtful and with nuanced performances, “Janet Planet” can be recommended to people who don’t mind watching slow-paced “slice of life” movies. This realistic drama shows the gradual shift in a mother-daughter relationship. Usually movies with this sort of topic has a lot of melodrama or plot developments that are often seen in soap operas. “Janet Planet” isn’t that type of movie. Rather, it shows how relationships can change during when life is mundane and uneventful.

“Janet Planet” is the feature-film debut of writer/director Annie Baker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. The movie had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival and screened at other festivals, including the 2023 New York Film Festival and the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. “Janet Planet” takes place during the summer of 1991, in rural western Massachusetts.

The movie’s opening scene shows 11-year-old Lacy (played by Zoe Ziegler) calling her single mother on a pay phone while Lacy is at summer camp. Lacy wants to go home and makes an alarming statement when she tells her mother: “I’m going to kill myself if you don’t get me.” By the time that Lucy’s mother Janet (played by Julianne Nicholson) arrives to pick up Lacy, Lacy has changed her mind and wants to stay at the camp.

However, Janet has another reason for Lacy to come home: Janet’s live-in boyfriend Wayne (played by Will Patton), who’s about 15 to 20 years older than Janet, has had a motorcycle accident and is recovering at home. Lacy actually doesn’t need to be at home, but because Janet insists that Lacy come home, it’s an indication that Janet wants Lacy there for emotional support. Lacy’s father is not seen or mentioned in the movie.

Lacy doesn’t want to introduce Janet to the other people at camp, which is the first sign that things are somewhat tense between Lacy and Janet. Lacy tells Janet that she wants to stay at camp. But Janet says, “I already convinced them to give me part of the deposit back.”

Lacy, by her own admission, is an introverted loner who has a hard time making friends with people. She likes to read and draw in her spare time. Lacy also takes piano lessons from a an elderly woman named Davina (played by Mary Shultz), who is kind and patient. Lacy is not rude but she doesn’t have a “cute and cuddly” personality either. “Janet Planet” is about how Lacy stops blindly worshipping her mother and sees Janet for the flawed human being that she is.

Janet is a self-employed licensed acupuncturist who has a home office. The name of her business is Janet Planet. Unlike Lacy, who has a very independent personality, Janet constantly craves approval and companionship. It’s one of the reasons why Janet lets people into her life who might not be good for her. At one point in the movie, Janet makes a comment that she’s not beautiful but she can get people to fall in love with her.

Janet and Lacy have the type of household where when they have meals at the same table as other people, there is little or no conversation. When Janet and Lacy (who often sleep in the same bed together) have any heart-to-heart talks, Janet gets uncomfortable if Lacy says things that Janet doesn’t want to hear. Janet gives the impression that she’d rather not hear about any angst that Lacy might be feeling.

Here’s an example of one of their conversations: Lacy tells Janet, “You know what’s funny? Every moment in my life is hell.” Janet replies, “I don’t like it when you say things like that. You seem pretty happy.” Lacy says, “It’s hell. I don’t think it will last though.” Janet admits, “I’m actually pretty unhappy too.”

“Janet Planet” is divided into three chapters, with each chapter focusing on how a different person enters the lives of Janet and Lacy and how each person’s presence affects Janet and Lacy. The first chapter is about Wayne’s effect on this small family. The second chapter is about Janet reconnecting with a long-lost friend named Regina (played by Sophie Okonedo), an actress in a puppet theater collective that has a hippie lifestyle. The third chapter is about Janet spending time with Avi (played by Elias Koteas), the cult-like leader of the puppet theater collective.

Wayne is sullen and keeps mostly to himself, but he has a nasty temper that affects his relationship with Janet. Wayne also seems to have mental health issues because he is seen wandering around aimlessly on the front lawn at night. Regina is friendly and quirky and doesn’t talk down Lacy. Regina needs a place to stay, so Janet lets Regina temporarily live in the household. Avi, who is Regina’s ex-lover, thinks of himself as an intellectual philosopher, but everything about him seems like he’s a con artist. It isn’t long before Avi makes it known to Janet that he’s interested in getting romantically involved with her.

“Janet Planet” doesn’t always have clear resolutions for the dilemmas and conflicts presented in the story because people tend to drift in and out of Janet’s life without necessarily having closure. Lacy is not shown bonding with anyone her age except for a day when Wayne’s daughter Sequoia (played by Edie Moon Kearns) spends time with Wayne, Janet and Lacy at a shopping mall. Wayne has a visitation rights arrangement with Sequoia’s mother, who is briefly heard but not seen in the movie when Sequoia leaves for this visit and her mother says some words of greeting in a friendly tone. Lacy and Sequoia get along with each other almost immediately and have some fun inventing their own language.

After this get-together, Lacy asks Wayne why Sequoia doesn’t live part-time with him. Wayne refuses to answer the question and gets upset, which obviously means that it’s a sore subject for him. Very little is mentioned about Wayne’s family history except that Wayne has grandchildren and he has a 20-year-old son named Eric, who “lives in California and Iraq,” according to Wayne. Wayne’s grandchildren and Eric are not seen in the movie. It can be presumed by Wayne’s statement that Eric is in the military and is stationed in Iraq.

One of the best things about “Janet Planet” is the talented performance by Ziegler, who makes her feature-film debut in “Janet Planet.” This movie is named after Janet, but it’s through Lacy’s perspective that the story has its heart and soul. Ziegler’s performance is very natural and never once looks like she’s trying too hard to be a good actress. “Janet Planet” doesn’t have any grand, sweeping statements about life but it does offer some pointed observations about the time in everyone’s life when a child begins to see parenthood in less idealistic ways.

A24 released “Janet Planet” in select U.S. cinemas on June 21, 2024, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on June 28, 2024.