★ ★ ★ ★ “Crucially, Circus of Books remains honest to the intentions of the Mason family.” Rachel Mason’s documentary is about her parents, a bookshop and the gay community. In 1982, Karen and Barry Mason took over Circus of Books: a gay book and pornographic store in West Hollywood. But for the Mason family…
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“Dolan’s vision of love and loss comes to life in the most earnestly heartfelt of ways.” Returning with another majestic demonstration of youthfulness, romantic pining and a journey of self-awakening, Matthias & Maxime is a charming and witty display of affection from Xavier Dolan. Childhood friends Matthias (Gabriel D’Almeida Freitas) and Maxime (Xavier Dolan) are life-long companions…
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“Living in the moment, with a disregard for the future, the group continues on their all-day bender leaving empty bottles behind at every stop.” With matching tartan skirts and knee-high grey socks, Our Ladies walks hand in hand with the small-town girl hitting the big city. Five young women are fed up with the strict rules of…
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“Stevens’ songs are the soundtrack to falling in and out of love.” With his melodramatic tones and heartfelt lyrics, Sufjan Stevens is a master of emotional projection. With lyrics and melodies that tug at heartstrings, Stevens’ haunting sound conjures the heavenliest of songs. Perhaps in the most Sufjan Stevens move that Sufjan Stevens could have…
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★★★★★ “A beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman.” With the wind in her face, Agnès Varda’s soft voice cuts through all other noise. The short woman leans on her stick as she balances on a slow-moving industrial camera rig, reeling off anecdotes about her career. Varda By Agnès is the last film from Varda, after the…
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★ ★ ★ ★ “An aching appreciation for this young man.” Sauvage is a searing raw portrait of 22-year-old Leo (Félix Maritaud). Set in the streets of Strasbourg, his story of longing unravels itself explicitly in director Camille Vidal-Naquet’s debut feature. Sauvage frames this narrative of Leo as a male sex worker respectfully, as the character…
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Narrowing films down to lists such as this is an almost impossible task for me. Yet, I have somehow managed to brutally condense my viewings of 2019 so far to a select five. Now I present to you: my personal favourite films as of halfway through twenty-nineteen. 5. Under The Silver Lake. (dir. David Robert…
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To begin with, I will admit, with a heavy heart: Life In The Doghouse is not an outstanding documentary. The film finds itself abiding to a generic documentary style that does not make heads turn. However, and I cannot stress this enough, Life In The Doghouse has struck gold with its subject. Danny and Ron’s…
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The question mark seems apt. “Hail Satan” isn’t particularly a phrase you here everyday and yet it is the slogan of The Satanic Temple. Recognised as a church, this observational documentary follows the non-theistic religious group, led into the dynamics of the organisation by leader: Lucien Greaves. Centring on engagement with political activism, particularly in…
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“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Perhaps one of the most famous phrases ever said by a human. Apollo 11 puts this iconic moment into context; mapping the journey to the moon using audio and footage that had been stored in the NASA vaults until now.
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