Tag: BFI London Film Festival

Review: ‘100 Nights of Hero,’ starring Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant and Felicity Jones

December 5, 2025

by Carla Hay

Emma Corrin and Maika Monroe in “100 Nights of Hero” (Photo by Christopher Harris/Independent Film Company)

“100 Nights of Hero”

Directed by Julia Jackman

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed medieval fantasy world, the fantasy comedy/drama film “100 Nights of Hero” (based on the graphic novel “The 100 Nights of Hero”) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: After refusing to have sex with his newlywed wife, her husband makes a bet with a close friend that the friend won’t be able to seduce the wife, who goes through a journey of self-discovery with help from her storytelling maid.

Culture Audience: “100 Nights of Hero” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the novel on which the movie is based, and unusual movies about gender roles, feminist ideology, and sexual seduction through mind games.

Nicholas Galitzine and Maika Monroe in “100 Nights of Hero” (Photo by Matthew Towers/Independent Film Company)

The dark comedy fantasy “100 Nights of Hero” is a quirky adaptation of Isabel Greenberg’s novel. The movie (about a virginal bride at the center of a sexual competition) is sometimes disjointed, but it’s an intriguing rebuke of misogynistic oppression. The film’s pacing is occasionally dull, but if viewers are still interested in watching the movie about 30 minutes into this 91-minute film, then the movie will keep viewers guessing how the movie is going to end. There’s a big part of the movie’s conclusion that is obvious and telegraphed about halfway through the film, but the rest might be surprising to some viewers.

Written and directed by Julia Jackman, “100 Nights of Hero” had its world premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival and later screened at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival. The movie is based on Greenberg’s 2016 graphic novel “The 100 Nights of Hero,” which has been described as a “feminist fairy tale.” The story takes place in a fictional medieval fantasy world where almost everyone has British accents. “100 Nights of Hero” was filmed on location in the Knebworth area of England.

The movie has intermittent voiceover narration from a narrator (voiced by Felicity Jones) who remains unseen. Jones (who is an executive producer of “100 Nights of Hero”) also has a small acting role as a character named Moon, who’s in the movie for only about five minutes. The first third of “100 Nights of Hero” is when the movie is at its most rushed and jumbled. The movie hits its stride by the middle of the story.

“100 Nights of Hero” begins by showing the wedding of a woman named Agnes (played by Markella Kavenagh) to an unnamed man (played by Cory Peterson) whom Agnes does not want to marry. It’s an arranged marriage in this patriarchal society, where women are not allowed to be educated beyond learning how to speak and doing things such as cooking, cleaning and other duties that will please men. In this society, a woman’s greatest purpose is to marry and become a mother. Male heirs are considered more important than female heirs. There are many societies today that still teach these attitudes.

The movie’s narrator explains how this “100 Nights of Hero” world came into existence. A teenage girl named Kiddo (played by Safia Oakley-Green) created the world, but her domineering father Birdman (played by Richard E. Grant) demanded that the world would have a population of many people made into his image. Birdman literally looks like someone wearing a bird costume, so expect to see many anonymous “bird people” in the movie. Unbeknownst to the guests at Agnes’ wedding, Agnes was already pregnant with a daughter named Hero. The narrator says that Hero “will change the world.”

The movie then fast-forwards to 27 years later to a scene taking place at a castle owned by a wealthy lord named Jerome (played by Amir El-Masry), a newlywed who lives there with his virtuous wife Cherry (played by Maika Monroe), who is still a virgin in the beginning of the movie. Jerome and Cherry are having a meeting at a large dining table with Birdman and several other men in the community.

Birdman is upset that Cherry still hasn’t become pregnant after six months of marriage to Jerome. Cherry, who is polite and soft-spoken, is considered Birdman’s “ideal” type of wife. Birdman personally chose Jerome to marry Cherry in this arranged marriage because Jerome promised that Cherry would be able to produce a male heir. Birdman ominously tells Jerome that he has 101 nights to impregnant Cherry, or else Jerome “will not see the next spring” (Jerome will be killed.) “Now, hurry up and conceive,” Birdman tells Jerome and Cherry in his dismissal comment.

A montage of flashbacks show that ever since the wedding night of Jerome and Cherry, Jerome has come up with excuses to delay having sex with Cherry. Is he impotent? Is he not sexually attracted to Cherry? Is ne not sexually attracted to any women? The movie leaves it up to interpretation and never reveals why Jerome is avoiding having sex. Jerome is not overtly cruel to Cherry, but he does treat her like an obligation who has made him bored. Cherry is confused but does not complain, like a dutiful wife.

Cherry has an isolated existence. She has all the material things that most people would want. But she has never experienced romantic and passionate love. Her best friend (and only friend) is her maid Hero (played by Emma Corrin), who is very loyal to Cherry. Hero is also very observant and intelligent and knows a lot more than she reveals to most people.

One day, Jerome is visited by a restless and cocky friend named Manfred (played by Nicholas Galitzine), who is a recent widower. Jerome listens as Manfred complains about how Manfred’s deceased wife had been cheating on Manfred before she died. Manfred, who seems to be relieved that his wife dead, is ready to jump back into the playboy bachelor lifestyle that he had before he got married.

Manfred says with some envy that Jerome is very lucky to have a beautiful and doting wife such as Cherry. Jerome lies to Manfred by saying that he and Cherry have a passionate sex life. Jerome has an upcoming business trip and asks Manfred to look after Cherry while Jerome is away. Manfred asks Jerome out loud why he would leave his wife alone with Manfred. “Because I trust you,” Jerome replies.

This leads to Jerome bragging that Cherry would never cheat on him. Manfred, who thinks he’s an expert at seduction, has a hard time believing it. To prove it, Jerome makes a bet with Manfred: Jerome will leave the castle for 100 nights instead of the original plan for Jerome to only be away for only a few nights. And if Manfred can sexually seduce Cherry before Jerome returns to the castle, then Manfred can have the castle. Jerome and Manfred agree to this secret bet.

Jerome tells Cherry that he will be going away on a business trip for a few days, knowing full well that he will be gone for 100 nights. Sometime during his absence, Jerome tells her that he will be away much longer than he expected. While Jerome is away, Manfred schemes up various ways to try to seduce Cherry and gradually develops romantic feelings for her.

Hero sees right through Manfred and becomes a “third wheel” in his seduction manipulation. Hero is often nearby when Manfred would rather be alone with Cherry. Hero begins telling a long story to Cherry and Manfred to keep them entertained. This story becomes a “movie within a movie” in “100 Nights of Hero.”

The story is essentially about three strong-willed sisters, whose unnamed sea captain father (played by Jeff Mirza) wants all of daughters to become wives and mothers. The three daughters are Rosa (played by Charli XCX), Caterina (played by Olivia D’Lima) and Mina (played by Kerena Jagpal), with Rosa being the most independent minded of the three. One of the three sisters marries a merchant (played by Tom Stourton) while the sisters hide a big secret that could get them persecuted and executed as witches.

The “movie within a movie” aspects of “100 Nights of Hero” are hit and miss. On the one hand, the story of the three sisters has a certain level of suspense because Hero’s storytelling is constantly being interrupted, so she has to continue the story at other times. On the other hand, these interruptions are often clumsily handled in the movie.

The film also an awkward way handling the timeline for the Hero/Cherry/Manfred part of the story. There are few scenes where Manfred and/or Cherry have lost track of how many days have passed. What they think is a time period of only a few weeks turns out to be several weeks. It’s just the movie’s not-so-clever way of speeding up the timeline.

The most entertaining performances in “100 Nights of Hero” come from Corrin and Galitzine because Hero and Manfred develop an unspoken rivalry for Cherry’s attention and affection. There’s a lively and comedic spark to how Corrin and Galitzine perform in these roles that should keep viewers curious to see what will happen when Manfred tries to be sneaky about his seduction and finds it difficult because Hero always seems to be watching.

The real battle of wits isn’t between Manfred and Cherry. It isn’t between Manfred and Jerome. It’s between Manfred and Hero. (Corrin, Galitzine and Monroe all have executive producer credits for “100 Nights of Hero.”)

Monroe is adequate in her role as Cherry, but she’s the only principal character in “100 Nights of Hero” who has an American accent, which makes Monroe look miscast in a movie that’s supposed to take place in an era that existed centuries before the United States was formed. Grant is barely in the movie; his screen time is less than 10 minutes. And when he’s on screen, he’s behind a bird mask.

Charli XCX, who is best known as a music artist, makes her feature-film acting debut in “100 Nights of Hero,” which features some of her original songs, including “Everything Is Romantic.” Charli XCX’s acting is passably good, but Rosa doesn’t do much in the movie except pout and talk to her family members. In other words, it’s not a difficult role.

The narrative occasionally stalls and gets muddled in “100 Nights of Hero,” but the movie’s cinematography, production design and costume design are visually striking. The costume design is slightly reminiscent of some the wardrobe in “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Poor Things,” but there’s enough originality in Susie Coulthard’s “100 Nights of Hero” costume design for it to leave a distinct impression.

There’s some brief comic relief in the characters of three security guards (in armor suits) named John (played by Jordan Wallace), David (played by Michael Keough) and Sam (played by Jordan Coluson), who are in the background but occasional bumble and stumble when they see something unexpected. For a movie where sexual seduction is a big part of the story, “100 Nights of Hero” plays it very safe because there are actually no explicit sex scenes or nudity in the film. “100 Nights of Hero” can be considered a love story that isn’t so much about who ends up with whom but about the power of confidently being and loving who you are.

Indepedent Film Company released “100 Nights of Hero” in U.S. cinemas on December 5, 2025.

Review: ‘Sirāt’ (2025), starring Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Richard Bellamy, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Tonin Janvier and Jade Oukid

October 23, 2025

by Carla Hay

Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Richard Bellamy and Sergi López in “Sirāt” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“Sirāt” (2025)

Directed by Óliver Laxe

Spanish and French with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Morocco, the dramatic film “Sirāt” features a predominantly white and Middle Eastern cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A middle-aged man and his pre-teen son search for the man’s missing adult daughter at illegal rave parties, and these distraught family members get more than they bargained for when they start hanging out with a group of partiers.

Culture Audience: “Sirāt” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in atmospheric dramas that go on unexpected harrowing journeys.

Bruno Núñez Arjona and Sergi López (pictured in center) in “Sirāt” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“Sirāt” is a disturbing and entrancing drama that becomes more than a story about the search for a missing woman in the Moroccan desert. The psychedelic partier lifestyle is on display, but the movie doesn’t stray too far from sobering realities. At a certain part of the movie, “Sirāt” is not easy to watch. However, the movie succeeds in its intention of being an unsettling depiction of how lives can drastically change within a few seconds.

Directed by Óliver Laxe (who co-wrote the “Sirāt” screenplay with Santiago Fillol), “Sirāt” had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize (the equivalent of second place), the Cannes Soundtrack Award, and the Palm Dog Grand Jury Prize for canine actors. The movie made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2025, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Beyond Fest, Fantastic Fest, the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. “Sirāt” is the official selection for Spain’s entry for Best International Feature Film for the 2026 Academy Awards. The movie takes place in an unnamed desert area in Morocco, where “Sirāt” was filmed on location.

“Sirāt” (which means “path” in Arabic) begins by showing a massive sound system being set up outside in a desert for an illegal rave party. The party is then shown in full swing, with people dancing to the electronic music being played on the speakers, Most of the people at this rave are in the 20s and 30s, but some middle-aged people are at the party too.

Amidst this carefree atmosphere are a worried Spanish father and son, who are looking for a missing loved one. Luis (played by Sergi López) and his son Esteban (played by Bruno Núñez Arjona), who’s about 11 or 12 years old, are searching for Esteban’s young adult sister Mar, who was last known to be an attendee of these types of raves in Morocco. Luis, who is Mar’s father, hasn’t heard from Mar in the past five months. The mother of Mar and Esteban is not mentioned in the movie, which implies that Luis is a bachelor father.

Luis and Esteban hand out missing-person flyers with Mar’s photo on it and ask people if they’ve seen her. Most of the people they ask say they’ve never seen Mar. But there’s a possible clue when someone in a group of ravers says that Mar looks familiar, and she could be at the next rave that they plan to go to deeper in the desert.

The group of ravers who might know Mar are a motley crew of five people in their 20s to 40s. They all appear to be drifters who indulge in taking psychedelic drugs on a frequent basis. (LSD is mentioned multiple times in the movie.) Very little is told about their personal backgrounds because they seem to want to escape from their pasts and avoid having “normal” lives.

However, these five ravers have formed a close-enough bond that they travel together. They have two vans for their travels. The five ravers also have a female terrier dog with them named Lupita.

“Sirāt” has non-professional actors in the roles of the ravers. These are the five ravers who are featured prominently in the movie:

  • Jade (played by Jade Oukid), who appears to be in her mid-to-late 20s, is rebellious and seems to be the one who is most likely to know who Mar is.
  • Stef (played by Stefania Gadda), who is an “earth mother” type, seems to be in her 40s but looks older due to her leathery skin.
  • Tonin (played by Tonin Janvier), who is in his late 30s or early 40s, has a metal chair leg for his missing left leg, indicating that he can’t afford to get a prosthetic leg.
  • Bigui (played by Richard Bellamy), who is in his mid-to-late 40s, also has a missing body part: He doesn’t have a right hand. He has a stump where his right hand would be.
  • Josh (played by Joshua Liam Henderson), who is in his 30s, is fluent in multiple languages, including Spanish, English and French. Out of all of these ravers, Josh seems the most well-traveled and the best-educated, which hints that he comes from an affluent background.

No explanation is given for why Tonin and Bigui have missing body parts. However, things happen later in the movie that could lead viewers to speculate a plausible reason why Bigui and Tonin have missing limbs. Tonin and Bigui don’t talk about their disabilities and don’t let their missing limbs prevent them from doing what they want to do.

Not long after Luis and Esteban find out that Mar could be at an upcoming rave party, the current rave party is broken up with the arrival of a military convoy of soldiers, who put a stop to the party and order all the non-Europeans to be taken into custody. The military vehicles have surrounded the partygoer vehicles on all sides while the partygoer vehicles are lined up and ordered to follow the military convoy.

Jade, Stef, Tonin, Bigui and Josh have other ideas. They spontaneously decide to drive away from the line of cars and take a detour into the desert. Esteban urges Luis, who is driving their van, to follow these runaway ravers. Some of the soldiers give chase, but the runaway vehicles are able to escape.

The first half of “Sirāt” is mostly about Luis and Estaban following the ravers further into the desert and getting to know the ravers better. Luis and Esteban have a female terrier dog with them too. Her name is Pipa, who is mostly looked after by Esteban.

At one point in the story, Pipa gets temporarily sick because it’s suspected that she unknowingly ingested the LSD-laced feces of one of the ravers who defecated in the desert. No one admits to causing this problem, but the ravers think it was probably Tonin or Bigui. Although no animals were actually harmed in the making of “Sirāt,” people who love pets will feel uncomfortable watching this part of the movie.

Not much more can be said about what happens in “Sirāt” without giving away too much information. It’s enough to say that in the second half of the movie, problems occur that go way beyond the search for Mar. The movie’s performances are very realistic, with López giving a standout portrayal of a grieving father. The other cast members do sufficiently well in their roles, especially the non-professional actors.

In addition to having a riveting screenplay, “Sirāt” excels with immersive cinematography (by Mauro Herce) and haunting music score (by Kangding Ray) and how these technical elements creatively show the dichotomies of being in this desert location. The desert can be an escapist refuge (as shown in the rave scenes) or an isolating trap (as shown in later scenes). The movie’s use of throbbing electronic music starts out as an expression of joy and then becomes increasingly filled with dread. The biggest flaw in the 114-minute “Sirāt” is that it takes a little too long to tell the story that the movie ends up telling. However, “Sirāt” is a memorable story that cuts deep in showing the cruel nature of human tragedy.

Neon will release “Sirāt” in select U.S. cinemas on November 14, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas in January 2026. The movie was released in Spain on June 6, 2025, and in France on September 10, 2025.

Review: ‘No Other Choice,’ starring Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran and Cha Seung-won

October 12, 2025

by Carla Hay

Lee Byung-hun in “No Other Choice” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“No Other Choice”

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Korean with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in South Korea, the comedy/drama film “No Other Choice” (based on the novel “The Ax”) features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A manager at a paper manufacturing company gets laid off after 25 years with the company, and he decides to murder the rival applicants for the job that he wants.

Culture Audience: “No Other Choice” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Park Chan-wook, the movie’s headliners, and dark comedies that skewer the cutthroat sides of business.

Lee Byung-hun in “No Other Choice” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“No Other Choice” is a compelling satirical look at unemployment trauma and how a laid-off manager goes to extreme lengths to eliminate competition for a new job that he wants. The movie takes a while to get suspenseful, but the performances are superb. This dark comedy is a searing commentary on how a company making layoffs for cost-cutting reasons can take a very real and damaging toll on human lives that go beyond what can be measured in financial terms.

Directed by Park Chan-wook, “No Other Choice” was co-written by Park, Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi and Lee Ja-hye. The movie is adapted from Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel “The Ax,” which was set in the United States. “No Other Choice” takes place in South Korea. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and made the rounds at other film festivals in 2005, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.

“No Other Choice” begins by showing the idyllic family life of factory manager Yoo Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun) at their comfortable middle-class home. Man-su, his wife Lee Mi-ri (played by Son Ye-jin), their two children—son Si-One (who is about 11 or 12 years old) and their non-verbal daughter Ri-One (who is 10 years old)—are having a barbecue party in their backyard for Mi-ri because it’s her birthday. The four family members are the only people at this party.

Mi-ri (who works as a dental hygienist) and Man-su are happily married. Their children are good kids who don’t cause any problems. The family seems to be so picture-perfect, they’ve named their two Golden Retriever dogs (Si-Two and Ri-Two) after the two children. Mi-ri opens her birthday gift from Man-su. It’s a pair of high-heeled shoes. She jokes good-naturedly, “They say you shouldn’t give shoes to your lover because they might run away.

For the past 25 years, Man-su has been employed by Solar Paper, a paper manufacturing company. He is currently a well-respected manager of a Solar Paper factory. He prides himself on being a paper expert. During the barbecue party, Man-soo reads note that he received the company. The note says, “Thanks for your hard work at Solar Paper.” Man-su gathers his family around him so they can give each other a group hug. “I have it all,” Man-su says aloud with happiness and contentment.

Man-su’s stable life will soon be disrupted by changes at Solar Paper. First, he’s ordered to lay off 20% of his staff due to budget cuts. And then, Man-su is laid off too. Man-su is in shock because he thought that his longevity, hard work, excellent performance reviews, and loyalty to the company would make him immune from the layoffs. At the suggestion of Solar Paper, a despondent Man-su joins a support group for laid-off employees.

Three months later, the only work that Man-su has been able to find is a low-paying job stocking products at a big-box retail store. One of his former Solar Paper subordinates named Nam-su, who was also laid off by Solar Paper, now works for a rival company called Papyrus. Nam-su helps Man-su get a job interview at Papryus, but it’s a job at a lower level than what Man-su had at Solar Paper. In fact, if Man-su gets this job at Papyrus, he would have to report to Nam-su.

Man-su needs the money, so he does the job interview, which is conducted by a panel of four men. During the interview, Man-su rattles off a list of his accomplishments. When he’s asked what he think is his biggest weakness, Man-su replies that his biggest weakness is not being able to answer that question. This cheekiness doesn’t work. Man-su doesn’t get the job.

At home, Man-su is feeling the pressure of bringing in an income so that he and his family can continue in the life to which they’ve become accustomed. In order to reduce their expenses, the Man-Su and Miri cancel the family’s Netflix subscription and give the family’s two dogs to Mi-ri’s parents (played by Oh Gwang-rok and Lee Yong-nyeo), but Mi-ri does not want to cancel Ri-One’s cello lessons because Ri-One is a very talented cello player. Mi-ri says that Ri-One is a musical prodigy who should have a teacher who is a college-level music professor.

Man-su’s biggest fear is that he will have to sell their house, which was his childhood home that he bought after he and his family moved around several times. He fulfilled a major dream by buying this house. However, the house mortgage is in default, and the house will be in foreclosure if the overdue mortgage is not paid in three months. Mi-ri thinks that they should sell the house, but Man-su vehemently disagrees.

Desperate people sometimes do desperate things. Man-su applies for a manager position at another company called Moon Paper, which is even more successful than Solar Paper. The job would also pay more than the salary that Man-su had at Solar Paper. With the deadline approaching to pay his overdue mortgage, Man-su finds out who else applied for the job, and he plans to kill them all.

One of the most darkly comedic parts of the movie is how Man-su deals with a Moon Paper job applicant rival named Koo Beom-mo (played by Lee Sung-min), who has been unemployed for eight months, is often drunk, and is having marital problems with his aspiring actress wife Lee A-ra (played by Yeom Hye-ran), who resents having to be the sole source of income for their household. Other supporting characters in the movie are Moon Paper line manager Choi Sun-chul (played by Park Hee-soon) and Moon Paper job applicant Ko Si-jo (played by Cha Seung-won).

“No Other Choice” (which clocks in at 139 minutes) doesn’t get to the murder schemes until the last half of the film. It’s the movie’s way of showing the gradual mental unraveling of Man-su and how he is planning on committing crimes that he wouldn’t have ever considered doing if hadn’t lost his job. Although all of the acting is done very well, Lee Byung-hun is the obvious standout as the troubled Man-su, an anti-hero who is both overwhelmed but also calculating about his predicament.

“No Other Choice,” which has impressive cinematography by Kim Woo-hyung, is a rare movie that skillfully balances a tone that is darkly disturbing and absurdly comedic. The movie also invites viewers to ponder the emotional cost of Man-su’s murderous schemes. Even if Man-su succeeds in getting what he wants, will he lose his soul in the process? Considering that there’s no guarantee that he won’t get laid off from the job that he wants, “No Other Choice” has an ironic title and story about obsessive tunnel vision that doesn’t consider life’s unexpected possibilities.

Neon will release “No Other Choice” in select U.S. cinemas on December 25, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas. A sneak preview of the movie will be shown in U.S. cinemas on December 8, 2025. “No Other Choice” was released in South Korea on September 25, 2025.

Review: ‘Harvest’ (2025), starring Caleb Landry Jones, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen, Arinzé Kene, Thalissa Teixeira and Frank Dillane

August 11, 2025

by Carla Hay

Caleb Landry Jones in “Harvest” (Photo by Jaclyn Martinez/MUBI)

“Harvest” (2025)

Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unspecified time period in rural Scotland, the dramatic film “Harvest” (based on the novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with one black person, one Asian person and one multi-racialperson) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A longtime serviceman of an affluent land owner has various conflicts with himself, the local villagers and strangers who arrive in the area.  

Culture Audience: “Harvest” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and rambling dramas about people who are boring and/or strange.

Harry Melling in “Harvest” (Photo by Jaclyn Martinez/MUBI)

Dull, meandering and pretentious, Harvest is the type of movie that seems to be confused about everything it’s trying to be. Caleb Landry Jones plays yet another eccentric loner in a drama where his character mumbles and fumbles through life. By the end of the film, you probably won’t remember any meaningful conversations or fascinating characters. That’s because there are none—although some viewers might be fooled into believing that “Harvest” is more important than it really is, just because the movie was at several high-profile film festivals.

Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari (who co-wrote the “Harvest” screenplay with Joslyn Barnes), “Harvest” is adapted from Jim Crace’s 2013 novel of the same name. “Harvest” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival before making the rounds at several other film festivals in 2024, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. The movie is mostly faithful to the book’s story, but the changes that are in the movie are not improvements.

The “Harvest” movie takes place in an unspecified time period in an unnamed village in rural Scotland. (“Harvest” was actually filmed on location in Argyllshire, Scotland.) Some of the cast members do not have convincing Scottish accents. The movie’s story is in a period of time before cars were invented, because the main mode of transportation is by horse.

“Harvest” protagonist Walter Thirsk (played by Jones) is a widower who is the longtime servant of Master Charles Kent (played by Harry Melling), a wealthy land owner in the village. Walter’s wife Cecily died an untold number of years ago. He still seems to be grieving over her death, due to his reluctance to find a new love partner. However, there are hints that Walter has some mental health issues that probably existed before he was married.

It’s eventually revealed, from a conversation that Walter has with someone, that Walter and Master Kent have known each other since childhood because Walter’s mother was Master Kent’s milk nurse. When Walter and Master Kent were children, they had a brotherly friendship. Things changed as they got older and their differences in social class put Walter in a subservient position to Master Kent.

Near the beginning of “Harvest,” a horse barn is on fire on Master Kent’s vast farm property. Walter and several of the villagers who work on Master Kent’s farm work frantically to put out the fire and rescue the horses. Master Kent, who has a blank personality, wants to know who or what caused the fire, but no one knows or says anything.

Not long after this fire happens, three strangers—two men and a woman—are captured by the villagers and accused of stealing livestock and burning down the barn. These strangers deny committing these crimes. The villagers don’t believe them.

The two men are identified in the movie’s end credits as Older Beldam (played by Gary Maitland) and Younger Beldam (played by Noor Dillan-Night), while the woman is named Mistress Beldam (played by Thalissa Teixeira). Older Beldam and Young Bedlam are imprisoned next to each other in a pillory in the town square. Also in the same location, some of the female villagers cut off almost all of Mistress Beldam’s long hair to humiliate her, before Mistress Beldam is allowed to leave. She quickly runs away.

The rest of “Harvest” is a series of frequently turgid and sometimes incoherent scenes, where Walter interacts mostly with Master Kent; a resourceful map maker named Phillip Earle, also known Quill (played by Arinzé Kene); and a confident woman named Kitty Gosse (played by Rosy McEwen), who is very attracted to Walter. Any loves scenes in the movie are about as interesting and sexy as looking at a run-down fence.

A girl named Lizzie Carr (played by Maya Bonniwell), who’s about 11 or 12 years old, is crowned the Gleaning Queen of a festival that is a major event of the village. Lizzie will later represent a pivotal turning point in the story. About halfway through the movie, Master Kent’s smirking cousin-in-law Master Edmund Jordan (played by Frank Dillane) arrives unannounced. Master Jordan has an agenda that’s easy to predict, even if some people are tricked by Master Jordan’s smooth-talking ways.

Walter is an inscrutable oddball whose weirdness is not endearing and becomes repetitive. The very first scene of “Harvest” shows Walter biting some bark off of a tree and then spitting out the bark. And then, he sticks his tongue in a hole in the tree. Later, he demands that Quill hit him hard in the face for no reason. Walter shows other indications that he likes to self-harm.

Even though “Harvest” has lovely outdoor locations and very good cinematography, the performances in “Harvest” can get downright tedious. Most of the “Harvest” cast members seem bored with the characters they’re portraying and unsure of their purpose in the movie. The characters in “Harvest” are all surface-level, with mostly vague personal backgrounds and superficial dialogue. By the end of this flaccid movie, you won’t learn much more about protagonist Walter, and you’ll know you probably don’t want to see Walter or any of the other “Harvest” characters again.

MUBI released “Harvest” in selet U.S. cinemas on August 1, 2025. The movie premiered on the MUBI streaming service on August 8, 2025.

Review: ‘The Way We Talk’ (2024), starring Neo Yau, Chung Suet Ying and Marco Ng

August 6, 2025

by Carla Hay

Neo Yau, Marco Ng and Chung Suet Ying in “The Way We Talk” (Photo courtesy of Illume Films)

“The Way We Talk” (2024)

Directed by Adam Wong

Cantonese and Hong Kong Sign Language with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Hong Kong in 2024 (with flashbacks to 2005), the dramatic film “The Way We Talk” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Three deaf friends, who have various levels of hearing abilities, have different opinions about how they want to interact with people who are not deaf. 

Culture Audience: “The Way We Talk” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in stories told from the perspectives of deaf people, particularly deaf people who are affected by.

Marco Ng and Chung Suet Ying in “The Way We Talk” (Photo courtesy of Illume Films)

“The Way We Talk” is a lovely and candid drama that explores various opinions, perspectives, and debates about deaf people’s use of sign language versus communicating in other ways. The friendship between three young adults is the movie’s driving heartbeat. “The Way We Talk” is not a preachy film. Instead, it gives viewers the options to make up their own minds and think more about deaf people’s struggles for equality in a world that is heavily oriented toward people who are not deaf.

Directed by Adam Wong, “The Way We Talk” was co-written by Wong, SeeKing, 1000springs and Ho Hong. Wong and Hong are two of the movie’s producers. The movie had its world premiere at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival. “The Way We Talk” takes place in Hong Kong, where the movie was filmed on location. “The Way We Talk” received seven nominations, including Best at the 2025 Hong Kong Film Awards.

Singer/songwriter Panther Chan, who performs the movie’s theme song “What If,” has a cameo as herself in “The Way We Talk.” Chung Suet Ying, who wrote the lyrics for “What If,” won the award for Best Actress at the 2024 Golden Horse Awards. “The Way We Talk” director/co-writer Wong was inspired to make the movie after seeing Hong’s short film series about dead people who communicate by sign language when underwater. There are several underwater scenes in the film showing deaf people communicating by sign language when scuba diving and swimming.

“The Way We Talk” begins with a flashback to 2005, and the movie occasionally goes back to 2005 for more flashbacks. In 2005, best friends Wolf Yip (played by Nathan Cheng) and Alan Ng (played by Jesse Wong) are 6 or 7 years old and students a school for deaf children. Wolf (who is fun-loving and rebellious) is completely deaf. Alan (who is quiet and obedient) is partially deaf and wears a hearing aid.

This particular school has an oralism policy that is common in Hong Kong and in mainlaind China. Oralism is teaching deaf people to learn how to read lips and speak out loud as much as possible instead of teaching sign language. The school that Wolf and Alan attend forbids communicating in sign language. They have a strict teacher named Miss Chan (played by Leung Yuen Wan) who enforces this policy.

From this early age, Wolf is very much against this oralism policy. He defies Miss Chan’s orders by communicating in sign language as much as he. During a classroom session, Miss Chan sees Wolf talking in sign language to Alan.

Miss Chan scolds Wolf and tells him that he cannot speak in sign language and must speak out loud if he wants to communicate. She adds, “This is for yur future. I don’t want you to be marginalized by society.”

Most of the “The Way We Talk” takes place in 2024. Now in their mid-20s, the lives of Wolf (played by Neo Yao) and Alan (played by Marco Ng, also known as Ng Tsz Ho Marco) have gone in very different directions, and they drifted apart. They also have the same contrasting beliefs about how they want to communicate with people who aren’t deaf.

Alan had a cochlea implant at the age of 10, so he has most of his hearing restored. Alan is an art designer who has been chosen as an ambassador for a government-sponsored public awareness campaign for deaf people to get cochlea implants. Alan believes it’s better to communicate with hearing people by reading their lips and speaking out loud.

By contrast, Wolf (who works as a car washer on a roving basis) doesn’t want to have any surgery that would give him hearing abilities. Wolf also will only communicate by sign language. Wolf believes that more people who aren’t deaf should be willing to learn sign language, which he thinks needs to be taught in schools, just like any other language.

As shown later in the movie in a family dinner scene, Wolf’s entire immediate family is deaf. He a good, close-knit relatonships with his father (played by Ng Chi Wai), Wolf’s mother (played by Zhu Hunwen), Wolf’s sister (played by Chan Kei Yau) and uncle Gun (played by Wong Ching Hoi), who also only speak in sign language. It explains why Wolf is proudly deaf and refuses to abide by oralism policies.

Meanwhile, a talented academic student named Sophie (played by Chung Suet Ying), who is partially deaf, is shown graduating from a university with a degree in actuarial science. She plans to work at an insurance company. Just like Alan, Sophie had a cochlea implant when she was a child (she was 6 when she had this surgery), and she has been chosen to be an ambassador for the same campaign for cochlea implants. Sophie and Alan meet each other for the first time at a photo shoot for this campaign.

Unlike Alan, Sophie has never learned sign language. Alan is attracted to Sophie, who seems to like him too. She flirts with him a little bit, but their dates are always platonic. Because Sophie doesn’t know sign language, and because she and Alan have partial hearing, they speak by talking to each other out loud.

One day, after years of not seeing each other, Alan and Wolf see each other at a press conference for the cochlea implant public awareness campaign. They have a friendly reunion. Sophie is one of the speakers at the press conference. Alan introduces Sophie to Wolf. During her speech, Sophie talks about how she’s glad she had the cochlea implant surgery because it’s made her life easier.

Wolf stands up from his seat in the audience and angrily says in sign language: “What are you saying? I’m proud to be deaf?” Sophie doesn’t understand sign language but she can see that Wolf is very upset by her speech. Later, Alan tells Sophie why Wolf was offended by her speech: Wolf thinks that it’s ableism to expect deaf people abandon sign language and to do everything to “fit in” with a hearing-dominated society.

Sophie makes an apology to Wolf, but he’s still not convinced that the apology is sincere as long as Sophie doesn’t care to learn sign language. Even so, Sophie, Wolf and Alan end up hanging out together. And how this trio of friends will feel about communicating won’t necessarily be the same for all of them in the beginning of the film, compared to the end of the film.

Wolf, Alan and Sophie go through various challenges during the course of the story. Wolf starts off working for a deaf entrepreneur, but a dispute on the job motivates Wolf to start his own car-washing business with deaf employees. He assembles a crew of four other guys. Wolf also takes scuba diving lessons because his main career goal is to open a scuba diving school for all people, regardless of their hearing abilities.

Sophie gets what she thinks is her dream job when she’s hired to be an actuary by an insurance company. However, she is treated like a token “diversity hire” to boost the company’s public image. Sophie is not treated as as respected equal. And it starts to undermine her confidence.

Sophie’s prejudice against sign lanaguage is rooted in trauma. Sophie reveals that when she was a child (played by Hathy Law, also known as Law Hei Yi Hathy), her overbearing mother (played by Yam Yuen) used to beat Sophie with wire hangers if Sophie did not verbally speak “correctly.” Sophie’s mother continues to pressure Sophie to not act as if Sophie has any hearing disabilities.

Alan doesn’t really have any career challenges, but his easygoing personality is tested when he sees that Sophie is becoming very attracted to Wolf. At first, Alan had been a sign-language interpreter for Sophie when she talked to Wolf. And then, Sophie asked Alan to teach her sign language, and he willingly obliged.

Alan can’t help feeling a little jealous that Sophie has become closer to Wolf, ever since she learned sign language. Alan tells Sophie that he thinks Wolf and Sophie aren’t very compatible because he thinks Sophie will always prefer speaking out loud over sign language. At first, Wolf teases Sophie about her faulty sign-language skills, but he becomes more impressed with her as she improves.

Fortunately, this “love triangle” turn of events does not overshadow the movie. “The Way We Talk” could have easily made the movie about guessing which person Sophie will choose as a love partner. However, the focus of the story remains the friendship of these Wolf, Alan and Sophie and how they support each other, despite their differences. Thanks in large part to the Wong’s emotionally intelligent direction, the story beautifully unfolds in way that looks natural, not melodramatic.

In addition to having terrific performances, “The Way We Talk” has excellent sound design. The movie uses similar sound techniques as the Oscar-winning 2020 drama “Sound of Metal” (about a rock drummer who becomes deaf), by having sound that reflects what the main character in the scene is experiencing from hearing loss. For example, when Alan takes off his hearing aid and put its back on, the movie depicts the “before and after” sound effects of what Alan hears. Wolf’s hearing perspective is complete silence, while Sophie’s hearing goes through different phases when she finds out something about her hearing condition.

It should be noted that the cast members who portray Wolf, Alan and Sophie are not deaf. There is consderable debate over whether or not any movie about deaf people should have real-life deaf people in the lead actor roles of deaf people. “The Way We Talk” (which had real-life deaf people in some of the movie’s small supporting roles) is not going to resolve this ongoing debate. However, it does give enough authenticity in showing that deaf people are not a monolith and are deserving of dignity and respect in how to communicate.

Illume Films released “The Way We Talk” in select U.S. cinemas on August 1, 2025. The movie was released in select Hong Kong cinemas on December 3, 2024, before going into wider release in Hong Kong on February 20, 2025.

Review: ‘The Surfer’ (2025), starring Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand and Justin Rosniak

May 2, 2025

by Carla Hay

Nicolas Cage in “The Surfer” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“The Surfer” (2025)

Directed by Lorcan Finegan

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in Australia, the dramatic film “The Surfer” (a remake of the Telugu-language movie of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Asian people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An Australian-born, American-raised businessman goes back to the Australian beach area where he spent part of his childhood so that he can go sufing, but he encounters a group of hostile, violent and terroritorial surfers who don’t want him to surf there. 

Culture Audience: “The Surfer” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Nicolas Cage and suspenseful psychological thrillers where everything might not be what it seems.

Nicolas Cage and Julian McMahon in “The Surfer” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“The Surfer” evokes a moody fever dream where the protagonist is an unreliable narrator. This psychological thriller (about a man in conflict with a group of menacing surfers) is suspenseful but might be too weird or confusing for some viewers. It’s the type of movie that has enough to hold viewers’ interest, even if the ending of the film could be considered divisive.

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Thomas Martin, “The Surfer” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The movie subsequently made the rounds at several other film festivals, including the 2024 BFI London Film Festival and the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. “The Surfer” takes place in an unnamed city in Western Australia and was actually filmed in Yallingup, Australia.

“The Surfer” is a movie inspired by a mix of fact and fiction. In “The Surfer” production notes, Martin says he got inspiration for the screenplay from Australian writer Robert Drewe’s short stories; John Cheever’s 1964 short story “The Swimmer”; and the 1968 “The Swimmer” film adaptation, starring Burt Lancaster. “The Surfer” is also based on the true crime stories about the real-life surfing gang the Bay Boys, who were headquartered in Palos Verdes, California, and caused terror throughout the 1970s.

“The Surfer” begins by showing an unnamed businessman (played by Nicolas Cage) parked in a car with his teenage son Charlie (played by Finn Little) at Luna Bay, a beach area where this father spent the earliest years of his childhood. The man (who is identified only as The Surfer in the movie’s end credits) speaks reverentially about surfing and how it can teach important life lessons. This is the first time that The Surfer has brought Charlie (who is about 15 or 16 and is identified only as The Kid in the movie’s end credits) to Luna Bay, which The Surfer considers to be a very special place.

The Surfer wants to spend some time surfing with Charlie at Luna Bay. Charlie is not so enthusiastic and wonders out loud why his father told him to skip school for this excursion. The Surfer is in the area because the Lunda Bay house where he spent the earliest years of his childhood is now up for sale. The Surfer is obsessed with buying this house because it’s the last connection that he has to his father, who died when The Surfer was a boy.

Observant viewers will immediately notice that The Surfer has an American accent, while his son Charlie has an Australian accent. It’s explained later in the movie that The Surfer was born in Australia, but he and his mother moved to California after his father died. Charlie’s mother Helen (played by Patsy Knapp and voiced by Brenda Meaney) also has an American accent, which implies that The Surfer and Helen met in the United States but have been raising Charlie in Australia.

The Surfer and Helen have been separated for an untold period of time and are headed for a divorce. In a phone conversation shown later in the movie, Helen urgently asks The Surfer to sign the divorce papers because Helen wants to marry her boyfriend Derek, who is not seen or heard in the movie. Helen has another announcement for The Surfer that isn’t surprising because of how she wants this divorce to be final as quickly as possible.

The first indication that Luna Bay is an unfriendly place to strangers is when a man named Pitbull (played by Alexander Bertrand) brushes past The Surfer and snarls, “Fuck off,” even though The Surfer wasn’t bothering anyone. Just as The Surfer and Charlie are about to hit the waves on their surfboards, they are approached by hostile surfer known only as Blondie (played by Rory O’Keeffe), who gruffly says to these two out-of-town strangers: “Don’t live here, don’t surf here.”

It’s eventually revealed that Blondie is part of a Luna Bay all-male surfing gang called the Bay Boys. The gang’s leader is a wealthy heir named Scott” Scally” Callahan (played by Julian McMahon), who comes across as charming but it’s a mask for his true vicious personality. The Bay Boy gang members are extremely territorial about the beach and will instigate violent attacks on anyone who defies their orders to not surf at the beach. Scally runs the gang like a toxic fraternity, including having macho rituals, dangerous hazing initiations, and rowdy parties with plenty of alcohol and drugs.

Someone who’s a lot friendlier to The Surfer is an unnamed elderly homeless man (played by Nic Cassim), who is identified in the end credits only as The Bum. The Surfer and The Bum establish a rapport, partly because The Bum reminds The Surfer of The Surfer’s father. The Surfer also meets a friendly unnamed photographer (played by Miranda Tapsel) on the beach and has a brief conversation with her where he reveals that when he was young, he spent a number of years being as a surfer and travelogue writer

Someone who isn’t helpful at all (and is on the Bay Boys’ side) is an unnamed local cop (played by Justin Rosniak), who is called to the scene when The Surfer phones in a complaint about the Bay Boys assaulting The Surfer and stealing The Surfer’s surfboard. The cop does nothing about these crimes because he says that Scally’s family is too rich and influential. The corrupt cop also confirms Scally’s lie that the Bay Boys have had the surfboard on display at their beach shack for months. It’s also revealed that several local residents enable and excuse the Bay Boys’ reign of terror.

During this conflict with the Bay Boys, The Surfer becomes increasingly stressed-out about the sale of his childhood house. Early in the movie, the estate agent Mike (played by Rahel Romahn) told The Surfer in a phone conversation that a family has offered a better deal buy the house and pay $1.7 million in cash. The Surfer had made an offer to pay $1.6 million for the house and pleads for more time to match the other potential buyer’s offer. Mike gives Ther Surfer an extra two days to come up with the additional $100,000. Meanwhile, his mortgage broker (voiced by Greg McNeill) tells The Surfer that The Surfer’s credit is stretched to the limit.

It’s never stated what The Surfer does for a living, but he’s a businessman who has clients. He also seems to be successful because he drives a Lexus. But there are signs that The Surfer’s mental health has been unraveling, and his job could be in jeopardy. The Surfer has taken a personal day off from work to spend time with Charlie at Luna Bay on a day that The Surfer should have been in business meetings. A phone conversation with an office colleague reveals that The Surfer wasn’t wearing shoes and socks at a recent client meeting.

As the tension and anger start to build and boil over between The Surfer and the Bay Boys, some other things go wrong for The Surfer. In between, he has dream-like memories of his childhood. The movie’s cinematography is excellent at creating a retro idyllic glow to these scenes that seep into the story when The Surfer wants some escapism from his harsh reality. At several points in the movie, viewers might be asking, “Where is this story going?” How much you will enjoy “The Surfer” will depend on your curiosity to see how the movie ends.

Cage is known for playing a long list of eccentric characters. In “The Surfer,” he does an admirable job of not playing this character as too over-the-top (which is a major criticism that Cage has gotten for his recent performances) but as someone who has sides to himself that are not immediately apparent. McMahon also stands out as the villainous Scally, although there’s nothing complex about this evil character.

Looking beyond the obvious crime thriller aspects of the story, “The Surfer” also has subtle commentary about how outward appearances can be deceiving, when it come to who can be trusted as honest and credible. The Bum is often dismissed by people who think he’s mentally ill and worthless because of his physical appearance and his poverty, but he is a truth teller. That’s in contrast to The Surfer, who has the image of being a respectable businessman, but he could be telling lies to himself and to other people. “The Surfer” might disappoint some viewers looking for a straightforward and predictable story, but this film is actually an artistic depiction of how memories (good and bad) can shape someone’s reality in the past and present.

Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate released “The Surfer” in U.S. cinemas on May 2, 2025. The movie will be released in Australia on May 15, 2025.

Review: ‘Misericordia’ (2024), starring Félix Kysyl, Catherine Frot, Jacques Develay, Jean-Baptiste Durand and David Ayala

March 21, 2025

by Carla Hay

Félix Kysyl and Jean-Baptiste Durand in “Misericordia” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)

“Misericordia” (2024)

Directed by Alain Guiraudie

French with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2023, in Saint-Martial, France, the dramatic film “Misericordia” features an all-white group of people representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An unemployed con artist goes back to visit a bakery family whom he used to work for, and he proceeds to cause chaos in their lives.

Culture Audience: “Misericordia” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in twist-filled psychological dramas about con artists and their victims.

Pictured clockwise, from center: Tatiana Spivakova, Salomé Lopes, Sébastien Faglain, Catherine Frot and David Ayala in “Misericordia” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)

“Misericordia” is a spellbinding psychological thriller about how a con artist fools people into thinking he’s harmless but is actually intent on causing havoc in people’s lives. It’s a superbly acted story about manipulation and murder. Some of the subject matter is intended to be unsettling in showing how victims of con artists can continue to dismiss or ignore indications or evidence that they’ve been conned because it’s easier than facing the truth.

Written and directed by Alain Guiraudie, “Misericordia” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It then made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2024, including the Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. “Misericordia” (which takes place in 2023, in the small town of Saint-Martial, France) received seven nominations, including Best Picture, at the 2025 Cesar Awards, the French version of the Oscars.

“Misericordia” (which takes place in 2023) begins by showing Jérémie Pastor (played by Félix Kysyl), a con artist who’s in his 30s, returning to Saint-Martial, after many years spent living somewhere else. He has most recently lived in Toulouse, France. Jérémie used to live in Saint-Martial when he worked for a family-owned bakery. The family’s patriarch Jean-Pierre Rigal (played by Serge Richard, seen in photos and flashbacks), who was the bakery’s manager, has recently died at the age of 62. Jérémie is back in town to attend the funeral.

Jérémie’s presence gets mixed reactions. Jean-Pierre’s widow Martine Rigal (played by Catherine Frot) seems happy to see Jérémie. By contrast, Martine’s son Vincent Rigal (played by Jean-Baptiste Durand), who’s about the same age as Jérémie, isn’t thrilled to see Jérémie and asks him when he’s going back to Toulouse. Jérémie says he’s only visiting for a few days. He ends up staying much longer than that.

Jérémie tells people he is currently unemployed and has no plans on what to do with his life. Martine assumes that Jérémie’s unemployment means that he’s struggling financially, so she generously invites him to stay at her house. She says that Jérémie can sleep in the bedroom that Vincent had when he lived there. Vincent has his own home with his wife Annie Rigal (played by Tatiana Spivakova) and their son Kilian Rigal (played by Elio Lunetta), who’s about 7 or 8 years old.

Vincent is slightly annoyed to see Jérémie sleeping in Vincent’s former bedroom. He’s also suspicious that Jérémie has come back to Saint-Martial to take over the bakery. Now that Jean-Pierre is deceased, Vincent is expected to become the chief manager of the bakery. Jérémie assures Vincent that he has no intentions of working at the bakery again.

In a conversation with Vincent, Jérémie mentions that he recently broke up with a girlfriend whom he had been dating for three years. The movie eventually shows that Jérémie is bisexual, queer or sexually fluid. Jérémie doesn’t put a label on his sexuality. After a while, it’s pretty obvious that he’s sociopath who will have sex with or try to seduce anybody if it’s a way to get what he wants.

And that’s why there’s another reason why Vincent is highly suspicious of Jérémie: He senses that Martine has a weird crush on Jérémie: Martine treats Jérémie like a second son, but she also seems to be sexually attracted to Jérémie. Vincent is concerned that Jérémie will take advantage of widow Martine’s loneliness.

There’s an even more complicated twist to this dynamic, which further explains Vincent’s apprehension and resentment about Jérémie. When Jérémie used to work at the bakery, Jérémie told Jean-Pierre that he was in love with him. It’s unclear if Jean-Pierre did anything sexual with Jérémie, but Jérémie is the type of person who would at least try to sexually seduce someone he wants to target.

Martine and Vincent know about all Jérémie’s “romantic feelings” for Jean-Pierre, which is why Vincent is alarmed that his mother Martine seems so willing to let Jérémie back into their lives, even if it might be for a few days. The tension starts to grow between Jérémie and Vincent when Vincent sees that Martine is treating Jérémie like a son who has permanently come back home to live with the family.

A local elderly priest named Philippe Griseul (played by Jacques Develay) is a friend of the family and frequently stops by the house to visit. Martine lives near a wooded area, where the priest likes to pick mushrooms. One day, Father Griseul is on one of these mushroom-picking walks when he sees Vincent and Jérémie playfully roughhousing in the woods. It’s not a real fight, but there’s some real anger simmering between Vincent and Jérémie.

Another person who affects the dynamics between Jérémie and the Rigal family is Walter Bonchamp (played by David Ayala), a middle-aged bachelor who lives near Martine. Walter is an eccentric loner who doesn’t know Jérémie very well. But when Jérémie sees Walter again, Jérémie pretends that they were good friends during the time that Jérémie worked at the bakery.

The word “misericordia” is a Latin word for having compassion or pity for someone. And that is the reason why Jérémie is a successful con artist. He’s not handsome, nor is he especially charismatic. But he has a “sad sack” way about him that makes people feel sorry for him and want to offer to help him. Vincent can see right through Jérémie, which is one of the reasons why Jérémie and Vincent clash with each other.

As already revealed in the trailer for “Misericordia,” Vincent disappears and is reported missing to the local authorities. Two unnamed police officers (played by Sébastien Faglain and Salomé Lopes) show up and start investigating. Jérémie is the main person of interest because he was the last-known person to see Vincent alive.

Jérémie denies anything to do with Vincent’s disappearance. The cops put Jérémie under surveillance anyway. He becomes paranoid, which starts to affect what he does. About halfway through the “Misericordia,” the movie shows what happened to Vincent, so there’s no real mystery. The only mystery is if whoever is responsible for Vincent’s disappearance will be caught and held accountable.

Kysyl gives a compelling performance as manipulative Jérémie, who is not as “smooth” as he likes to think he is. Although the other cast members give very good performances, “Misericordia” is effective mainly because Kysyl is convincing in his “Misericordia” role as a con artist who pretends to be a “regular, harmless guy” but is actually the opposite. “Misericordia” has an ending that some viewers might dislike, but it’s an ending that is uncomfortably realistic, considering everything that takes place in this memorable story.

Sideshow/Janus Films released “Misericordia” in select U.S. cinemas on March 21, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on March 28, 2025. The movie was released in France on October 16, 2024.

Review: ‘Eephus,’ starring Keith William Richards, Cliff Blake, Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee, Wayne Diamond, Joe Castiglione and the voice of Frederick Wiseman

March 18, 2025

by Carla Hay

Jeff Saint-Dic, David Torres Jr., Theodore Bouloukos, Ethan Ward, John R. Smith Jr. and Brendan “Crash” Burt in “Eephus” (Photo courtesy of Music Box Films)

“Eephus”

Directed by Carson Lund

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1994, in Douglas, Massachusetts, the comedy/drama film “Eephus” features a predominantly white group of people (with few African Americans, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Amateur baseball teams Adler’s Paint and the Riverdogs face off agant each other in their last game of the season and their last game in a field that will be demolished.

Culture Audience: “Eephus” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of baseball and movies about amateur athletes.

Patrick Garrigan, Chris Woodwin, Peter Minkarah, Stephen Radochia, Ari Brisbon, Ray Hryb and David Pridemore in “Eephus” (Photo courtesy of Music Box Films)

People interested in baseball will find a lot to like about “Eephus,” a leisurely comedy/drama about the last game that an amateur team plays in a soon-to-demolished baseball field. People who don’t like baseball might be bored by the movie’s insider talk. There’s a very specific audience that “Eephus” director Carson Lund wants to appeal to with this movie. “Eephus” is a love letter to that audience, told in a language of baseball that is best understood by people who already know the game and culture of baseball.

Writer/director Richard Linklater’s 1993 movie “Dazed and Confused” became a cult classic for teenage stoner comedies. “Eephus” (written by Lund, Michael Basta and Nate Fisher) might do the same for comedies about amateur baseball players. Both movies make viewers feel like they’re “hanging out” with several people in a clearly defined community, during a period of less than 24 hours. It’s not about having an action-filled plot but about having a storytelling vibe that shows a brief glimpse into the lives of ordinary people seeking social acceptance and pleasure in whatever makes them happy.

“Eephus” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and made the rounds at other film festivals in 2024, including the New York Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival. The movie was inspired by Lund’s own passion for baseball and his upbringing in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he played baseball in his childhood. “Eephus” is Lund’s feature-film directorial debut.

“Eephus” takes place on a Sunday in October 1994, at Soldiers Field, in suburban Douglas, Massachusetts. The baseball field in the movie was inspired by North Common Baseball Field in Nashua, New Hampshire, but “Eephus” was filmed on location in Douglas. The movie’s title refers to the name of an unnatural curveball pitch that’s intended to confuse the batter because the eephus looks like it’s being pitched in slow motion.

The two teams shown in “Eephus” have been meeting to play games on Sundays at Soldiers Field for years. But the baseball game in this movie is the end of an era. “Eephus” begins with radio announcer Branch Moreland (voiced by Frederick Wiseman, in a cameo role) reporting the news about Soldiers Field being demolished in the near future, so that a new middle school can be built on the site. All of “Eephus” takes place on the field.

The movie begins sometime in the mid-afternoon for a game between Adler’s Paint (the home team whose team colors are red and white) and the Riverdogs (the away team whose team colors are blue and gray). Both teams have players ranging in ages from 30s to 60s. Franny (played by Cliff Blake), the diligent scorekeeper/umpire for the game, is inspired by the real Francis “Frannie” Whitford, a baseball enthusiast from Nashua, who died in 2023, at the age of 67. (“Eephus” has an “in memory of” caption to Whitford in the movie’s end credits.)

The game gets off to a bumpy start because the Riverdogs need nine players to qualify, but a ninth team member named Garrett Furnivall (played by Chris Goodwin) is running late and hasn’t shown up yet. Adler’s Point graciously allows the Riverdogs to participate in the game, on the condition that Garrett needs to be there by the second inning, or else the Riverdogs have to forfeit the game. Garrett (who’s the Riverdogs’ catcher) shows up just in time, so the game continues. But when Garrett goes up to bat, he’s immediately hit by the ball.

Although almost everyone on each team is shown talking, some members of the team have more memorable personalities and more screen time than others. The Adler’s Paint team and the Riverdogs team each has a hot-headed, stubborn player: short-haired and clean-shaven Bobby Crompton (played by Brendan Burt) pitches for Adler’s Paint; long-haired and bearded Rich Cole (played by Ray Hryb) plays left field for the Riverdogs. Graham Morris (played by Stephen Radochia) is Riverdogs’ mild-mannered third baseman, who becomes the target of Rich’s wrath during multiple parts of the game.

Preston Red (played by Jeff Saint-Dic) is the Adler’s Paint friendly third baseman/right fielder, who gets a home run during his first time at bat during the game. Adler’s Paint trivia-spouting pitcher Merritt Nettles (played by “Eephus” co-writer Fisher) is based on real-life Major League Baseball pitcher Zack Greinke. Adler’s Paint outfielder Chuck Poleen (played by Theodore Bouloukos) is the unofficial spokesperson for the team and is usually the peacemaker when conflicts happen between team members.

Other players include scruffy Riverdogs pitcher Troy Carnahan (played by David Pridemore); talkative Adler’s Paint catcher John Faiella (played by John R. Smith Jr.); comedic Adler’s Paint second baseman Tim Bassett (played by Ethan Ward); and jaded Adler’s Paint pitcher Ed Mortanian (played by Keith William Richards), who is usually benched and has to observe from the sidelines.

This game has very few spectators (less than 10) at any given moment. Most of the spectators are family members or significant others of some of the players. Riverdogs second baseman Bill Belinda (played by Russell G. Gannon) has his wife Linda Belinda (played by Timber Holmes) and their middle-school-aged daughter Julie (played by Annie Callan Tisdale) cheering him on at this game. Before the game begins, Julie sings an off-key version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to the teams and the sparse crowd.

Two skateboarders named Reggie (played by Gregory Falatek) and Eddie (played by Luis Vicente) yell at the players to be an annoying distraction. One of the skateboarders yells, “How many touchdowns?” Rich becomes infuriated yells back at them to “fuck off.” Rich, who’s the type of person to hold petty grudges, later goes looking for these two troublemakers in the wooded area because he thinks they deserve to be punished for distracting the players during the game.

Also portraying spectators are former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee (as a character named Lee Henderson) and former Boston Red Sox announcer Joe Castiglione, who has the role of Mr. Mallinari, the owner/operator of a Harry’s Pizza food truck that’s parked near the field. It’s the closest place to buy food during the game, so getting pizza to eat is mentioned several times during the movie. In real life, Lee was known for perfecting the eephus. The “Eephus” character of Lee Henderson is the field’s lawn mower, who suggests that the Riverdogs use the eephus strategy, and then he is unexpectedly pulled into the game for reasons that are shown in the movie.

“Eephus” has a lot of droll commentary for the movie’s comedy. When Bobby tries to steal second base and gets called out, Tim muses out loud: “Is there anything more beautiful than the sun setting on a fat man stealing second base?” A running joke in the movie is bitter Ed complaining to a spectator kid named Jack (played Jack DiFonso), who’s about 9 or 10 years old. When Ed asks Jack if he plays baseball, and Jack says yes, Ed tries to crush the kid’s dreams by giving him this one-word piece of advice: “Don’t.”

The game extends into the night because several extra innings end in a tie. Because the field has no lighting, the players improvise and come up with a way to have lighting on the field. A few of the players have to leave because the game runs so late, but the die-hards stay until the very end. “Eephus” shows how some of the players seem kind of glad that the game has gone on this long, like partygoers who don’t want a farewell party to end.

“Eephus” isn’t overly sentimental, but it does offer some emotionally poignant observations about aging athletes who love playing a sport and struggle with deciding when is the right time to retire from the sport. Because most of the cast members are not professional actors, “Eephus” has a naturalistic tone that might be too casual for some viewers, but the tone perfectly captures the patience required for this baseball game that goes on longer than expected. Simply put: “Eephus” is an admirable cinematic celebration of baseball players whose bodies are no longer in the peak of their youth, but their love of the sport never gets old.

Music Box Films released “Eephus” in select U.S cinemas on March 7, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 15, 2025. “Eephus” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 24, 2025.

Review: ‘Chasing Chasing Amy,’ starring Sav Rodgers, Kevin Smith, Joey Lauren Adams, Riley Rodgers, Guinevere Turner and Scott Mosier

December 31, 2024

by Carla Hay

Joey Lauren Adams, Sav Rodgers and Kevin Smith in “Chasing Chasing Amy” (Photo courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment)

“Chasing Chasing Amy”

Directed by Sav Rodgers

Culture Representation: The documentary film “Chasing Chasing Amy” (filmed from 2018 to 2022) features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans, Latin people and Asians) discussing the culture and personal impact of the 1997 film “Chasing Chasing Amy” (written and directed by Kevin Smith), a comedy/drama about a heterosexual man who falls in love with a sexually fluid/queer woman.

Culture Clash: “Chasing Chasing Amy” director Sav Rodgers, a “Chasing Amy” superfan went through his own sexual identity journey while making the documentary when he got engaged to a queer cisgender woman and when he came out as a transgender man.

Culture Audience: “Chasing Chasing Amy” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of “Chasing Amy,” filmmaker Kevin Smith and documentaries about the intersections between pop culture and LGBTQ personal stories.

Riley Rodgers and Sav Rodgers in “Chasing Chasing Amy” (Photo courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment)

“Chasing Chasing Amy” is more than just a fan tribute for the 1997 comedy/drama “Chasing Amy.” This charming and insightful documentary has layers of meaningful perspectives of LGBTQ on-screen representation and off-screen dynamics in love and filmmaking. “Chasing Chasing Amy” might take some viewers by surprise by how deeply personal some people are in telling their stories in this documentary.

Directed by Sav Rodgers, “Chasing Chasing Amy” is his feature-film directorial debut. “Chasing Chasing Amy” had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and subsequently screened at several other film festivals in 2023, including the Frameline Festival and BFI London Film Festival. “Chasing Chasing Amy” was filmed from 2018 to 2022 in various parts of the United States. Rodgers appears in “Chasing Chasing Amy” and is the movie’s narrator.

“Chasing Chasing Amy” begins by Rodgers explaining that when he was a child growing up in Kansas, he became obsessed with watching “Chasing Amy,” written and directed by Kevin Smith. Rodgers says that at one point, he was watching “Chasing Amy” every day including a period of time when he watched the movie very day for a month. Rodgers was bullied at school for being queer. He says “Chasing Amy” helped him stay alive during dark periods of his life when he was feeling suicidal.

In “Chasing Amy,” a comic book artist named Holden McNeil (played by Ben Affleck) meets aspiring writer Alyssa Jones (played by Joey Lauren Adams), and they begin dating each other and fall in love. What makes their relationship complicated is that at the time Holden and Alyssa met, she identified as a lesbian. In her relationship with Holden, Alyssa isn’t quite so sure she wants to continue to identify as a lesbian, but she knows she’s not heterosexual either. Adams was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in “Chasing Amy.”

Nowadays, Alyssa would probably identify as queer, bisexual or sexually fluid. But in 1997, it was rare to for a mainstream movie to have a main character who was experiencing what Alyssa was feeling. Rodgers says that he connected immensely with “Chasing Amy” because it was the first movie he saw at the time where he saw a character who was neither gay nor straight but defining sexuality on their own terms. It was a something that Rodgers could relate to but he couldn’t express himself about it at the time.

In 2019, Rodgers gave a TED Talk about how “Chasing Chasing Amy” changed his life for the better and helped him come out of the closet as a queer person. Footage from this TED Talk is in the documentary. By this time, Rodgers had already decided to make a documentary about his love of “Chasing Amy.” After the TED Talk, “Chasing Amy” director Smith reached out to Rodgers on social media and arranged for Rodgers to meet and interview Smith at Smith’s Los Angeles home. It was a turning point for Rodgers and this documentary, as Smith eventually became a mentor of sorts to Rodgers.

“Chasing Amy” is a movie where art imitated life in more ways than one. Smith (who is described by colleagues in the documentary as a constant jokester and highly creative) and Adams (who is described by colleagues in the documentary as intelligent and grounded) dated each other from 1995 to 1997. Smith and Adams have both said in many interviews that the characters of Holden and Alyssa were partially based on Smith and Adams, except that Adams did not identify as a lesbian in real life. Adams is one of the people interviewed in “Chasing Chasing Amy,” which was released in April 1997, about six months before she and Smith broke up.

What many people might not know, but which is included in the “Chasing Chasing Amy” documentary, is that the queer aspect of Alyssa and Holden’s romance was based on a real-life relationship that “Chasing Amy” producer Scott Mosier had circa 1994 with filmmaker/actress Guinevere Turner, who identifies as a lesbian. Mosier and Turner, who both had small roles in “Chasing Amy,” are interviewed separately in “Chasing Chasing Amy.” Mosier and Turner both describe their relationship at the time as a “romantic friendship.” Smith decided to write “Chasing Amy” based on that relationship, but he made the Alyssa character have a personality that was a lot like Adams’ real personality.

“Chasing Chasing Amy” admirably acknowledges that although the low-budget independent film “Chasing Amy” was a critically acclaimed hit (“Chasing Amy” had a $250,000 production budget and $12 million in ticket sales), some people consider it problematic that a movie about an unconventional romance with a queer woman was written by a heterosexual man and told from a very hetereosexual male perspective. In “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Smith says that he understands how people have that opinion, but he can’t change who he is and how he made the movie.

The documentary also points out that the issue isn’t just about “cultural appropriation.” It’s also about the hierarchy in the film industry where cisgender men still get the best opportunities as filmmakers, compared to people who aren’t cisgender men. Turner comments that when she and Smith were at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, they were peers starring in separate buzzworthy movies filmed in black and white: Turner was at Sundance for her lesbian comedy/drama “Go Fish” (a movie she co-wrote with “Go Fish” director Rose Troche), while Smith was at Sundance for his feature-film debut “Clerks,” a comedy/drama written by Smith. Looking back at what happened after that fateful 1994 Sundance Film Festival, Turner says bluntly: “What emerged was Kevin got an empire, and we were just some dykes.”

“Chasing Chasing Amy” also peels back the curtain in how making “Chasing Amy” was a very different experience for Smith than it was from Adams. In “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Adams and Smith are interviewed separately and together. The interviews that Smith and Adams do together are jovial, but they get more somber in their separate interviews. Their experiences are reflections of larger issues of gender and power dynamics in filmmaking.

In his interviews for “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Smith seems to be basking in the praise that he gets from Rodgers at how “Chasing Amy” changed Rodgers’ life. However, Smith says he now has mixed feelings about “Chasing Chasing Amy” being distributed by Miramax, the company co-founded by Harvey Weinstein, who later became a disgraced mogul/convicted rapist in the late 2010s. Smith notes in the interview that the Miramax deal for “Chasing Amy” started at the 1997 Sundance Festival, where actress Rose McGowan says Weinstein raped her. Smith says he was “naïve” and the time didn’t know at the time about Weinstein’s criminal acts behind the scenes.

In her separate interview in “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Adams is visibly uncomfortable and gets emotionally tearful a few times. Adams makes it clear that she’s grateful for the opportunity of making “Chasing Amy” and says she’s happy that the movie helped save Rodgers life. However, making the movie brings up bittersweet memories of her that are still painful. Smith says that Adams was his “muse” at the time, but she remembers their relationship falling apart over similar issues that plagued “Chasing Amy” characters Alyssa and Holden: He was insecure that she was more sexually experienced than he was. He also constantly questioned if she loved him less than he loved her.

Adams also says that her filmmaking experiences as an actress who was forced to have meetings with “old men” and getting rejected for roles is different from Smith’s experiences where he can get a laugh out of these types of meetings. Adams doesn’t come right out and say it, but it’s obvious that what she means to say that when a man like Smith goes into these types of meetings with predatory people like Weinstein, Smith never had to worry about possibly being sexually harassed or worse. Adams says about the “Chasing Amy” filmmaking experience, “Kevin’s truth is not my truth. It wasn’t a cathartic thing [for me] for me as it was for Kevin.” Adams adds, “I was dating this guy [Smith] who was making me feel bad about myself.”

“Chasing Chasing Amy” also has an “art imitating life” storyline with Rodgers and his love partner Riley, who have been a couple since they were in their late teens, when they met online through Tumblr. The documentary was filmed during the evolution of their romance— from long-distance dating to getting engaged to getting married—all before, during and after Sav came out as a transgender man and later went through his hormonal transition. (The couple’s marriage proposal and wedding are shown in the movie.)

Riley Rodgers, who describes their relationship as being “soul mates,” is interviewed in the documentary and asks Sav some candid questions at the end of the film. Riley mentions that—just like “Chasing Amy” character Alyssa—she identified as a lesbian until she found out that she was in love with a man. It’s briefly mentioned that Sav and Riley’s parents are supportive of their relationship. Sav’s mother Natalie Giannakis is seen toward the end of the film.

Other people interviewed in the documentary are “Chasing Amy” casting director Shana Lory, Outfest executive director Christopher Ractser, writer/lesbian culture critic Trish Bendis, film critic Teo Bugbee, pop culture writer/editor Princess Weekes, “Chasing Amy” associate producer Bob Hawk, filmmaker Andrew Ahn, AFI Festival senior programmer Eric Moore, Film Threat founder Chris Gore, filmmaker Kevin Willmott, “90s Bitch” author Allison Yarrow, writer/filmmaker Carlen May-Mann, filmmaker Dana St. Anand, University of Kansas bisexuality studies professor Dr. Sarah Jen, and “Chasing Amy” co-star Jason Lee. Rodgers also visits some of the New Jersey locations associated with Smith, such as Jack’s Music Shoppe (where Rodgers interviews manager Tim Cronin) and Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, where Rodgers interviews manager Mike Zapcic.

“Chasing Chasing Amy” tends to go off on little tangents when talking about other movies or when Sav geeks out about seeing “Chasing Amy” memorabilia, but the film mostly stays on course. The documentary has a fairly good balance between telling commentaries about “Chasing Amy” and telling Sav’s personal story about what was going on in his own life. In its purest form, “Chasing Chasing Amy”—just like “Chasing Amy”—is a celebration about finding true love wherever you happen to find it and not necessarily being restricted by gender labels.

Level 33 Entertainment released “Chasing Chasing Amy” in select U.S. cinemas on November 1, 2024. The movie was released on digital and VOD on December 17, 2024.

Review: ‘2073,’ starring Samantha Morton

December 27, 2024

by Carla Hay

Samantha Morton in “2073” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“2073”

Directed by Asif Kapadia

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2073 in the fictional U.S. city called New San Francisco, the docudrama film “2073” features a racially diverse group of people (white, black, Latin, Asian and Indigenous) who portray apocalypse survivors (in the drama scenes) or who are real-life political activists.

Culture Clash: The politically liberal activists who make comments for the documentary predict that an apocalypse will happen in the 21st century due to environmental, socioeconomic and political issues.

Culture Audience: “2073” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of director Asif Kapadia and “end of the world” movies that place almost all the blame on politically conservative people.

A scene from “2073” of the Golden Gate Bridge in California affected by wildfires (Photo courtesy of Neon)

Pretentious and derivative, “2073” is a doomsday docudrama that combines dreary apocalypse scenes with left-wing political lecturing. There’s too much whining and not enough talk about practical solutions. The “end of the world” warnings in this movie just add up to a lot of annoying hot air. The so-called experts interviewed for this movie just want to blame the world’s problems on people who don’t share their liberal political beliefs.

Directed by Asif Kapadia, “2073” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival. The movie made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2024, including the BFI London Film Festival and DOC NYC. Kapadia won an Oscar for the 2015 Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy.” Unfortunately, “2073” is a low point in his filmmography.

Although “2073” is undoubtedly a film that has noble intentions, it has a heavy-handed approach. The movie has an obvious political agenda, but that agenda’s credibility is lowered with the movie using fictional, scripted scenes as examples of the gloom and doom predicted in the movie. Kapadia and Tony Grisoni co-wrote the “2073” screenplay.

The concept of “2073” isn’t very original. According to the movie’s synopsis, “2073” is inspired by Chris Marker’s “iconic 1962 featurette ‘La Jetée,’ about a time traveler who risks his life to change the course of history and save the future of humanity.” As explained in the beginning of “2073,” the scripted portions of the movie take place in 2073—37 years after “the event,” which obviously means an apocalypse. In other words, this apocalypse happened in 2036, which is just 12 years after the release of this movie.

The scripted drama scenes in “2073” are in a fictional city called New San Francisco, which is described as the capital of the Americas. In this bombed-out city, there’s an electronic billboard showing news reports about Chairwoman Ivanka Trump. What entity has Ivanka Trump as a chairwoman? Don’t expect this ridiculous movie to answer that question. The “2073” filmmakers’ obvious intention is to provoke viewers who would get upset at the thought of Ivanka Trump being chairwoman of anything.

The movie’s drama scenes follows the depressing and solitary life of an apocalypse survivor (played by Samantha Morton), whose name is listed in the end credits as Ghost. Ghost, who is a voiceover narrator for these drama scenes, is seen living in a dark and destroyed building while avoiding being seen by other people as much as possible. According to Ghost, her memory was “slipping through [her] fingers, like sand.”

Ghost also says she’s in hiding because one day “they” came for her. “I ran. I’m still running. My life is turning into one of those sci-fi comics I used to read. There are others here—survivors, renegades.” Other scenes in the movie show that the Americas—or at least New San Francisco—is being run by an oppressive government that rounds up “renegades” and tortures them.

Ghost is trying to avoid detection from an artificial intelligence being called Jack. “He listens and watches everything,” Ghost says about Jack. “You can’t trust anyone anymore. People thought the world would end, but the world goes on. It’s us who’ll end.”

It’s all so tedious to watch this watered-down ripoff of Big Brother from George Orwell’s doomsday “1984” novel, which was published in 1949 and predicted a dystopian future. In “2073,” Naomi Ackie has a small and ultimately inconsequential role as a professor character. Morton’s acting as Ghost is adequate by can’t overcome the weak screenplay.

As for the “talking heads” interviews in the documentary sections of “2073,” these comments are presented as voiceovers, presumably not to distract from the movie’s dramatic images of Ghost suffering in a decrepit place where food and water are scarce. In the documentary parts of the movie, the people commenting are politically liberal activists from Europe, North America, and Asia. The documentary doesn’t explain why, in a movie about the “end of the world,” there is no commentator representation from other largely populated continents, such as Africa and Australia.

Almost all of the activist commentators are also journalists and/or writers, such as Maria Ressa, Carole Cadwalladr, Rana Ayyub Ben Rhodes, Rahima Mahmut, Silkie Carlo, Cori Crider, George Monbiot, Nina Schick, Douglas Rushkof, Carmody Grey, James O’Brien, Anne Applebaum and Antony Lowenstein. The other commentators are Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls, computer scientist Tristan Harris and environmental activist Alessandra Korap.

The problem with “2073” is that the documentary parts of the movie are just soundbite compilations that recycle whatever rants these people have already said or written in other movies or media reports. Want to know about Ressa’s crusade for freedom of the press in her native Philippines? There was already an excellent documentary about it: 2020’s “A Thousand Cuts,” directed by Ramona S. Díaz. Labor union leader Smalls is the star of the 2024 documentary “Union,” (directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story), which chronicles Amazon Labor Union becoming the first union at corporate giant Amazon.

The “2073” doomsday warnings about the environment are very “been there, done that” and were already well-presented by Al Gore in the Oscar-winning 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” (directed by Davis Guggenheim), as well as in many other documentaries and news reports about climate change. And that why it’s so boring and basic to hear political strategist/security expert Sherri Goodman say in “2073” commentary: “We are truly in a climate emergency.”

Other concerns brought forth in the documentary parts of “2073” have to do with government surveillance, civil rights and the erosion of democracy. The essential messaging of “2073” is that (1) anyone who’s involved in conservative politics is contributing to the end of the world; (2) only progressive political liberals are smart enough to tell you that; and (3) if you don’t believe the commentators in the movie, then you must be an idiot. It’s a very condescending tone that can be an absolute turn-off to people (even liberals) who are open-minded and intelligent enough to make up their own minds about how they feel about world issues.

It’s appalling that so many journalists are interviewed for “2073” but their comments in the movie are not really about investigative journalism but are just soundbite rants that say nothing new. By not presenting anything substantial to prove that opposing viewpoints are wrong, “2073” fails at being balanced and is actually quite didactic in its “political liberals are always right” messaging. For a more informative look at the world’s problems and effective ways to deal with these problems, progressive liberals can watch MSNBC or read Mother Jones and don’t need to watch “2073,” a misguided movie that is unrelenting in its paranoia and political divisiveness that don’t give any logical and hopeful solutions.

Neon released “2073” in select U.S. cinemas on December 27, 2024.

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