“Every possible future points back to and is contained in this moment in time and space, and every possible past culminated in this moment” — Lawrence Tribe Loosely based on the 19th century novella of Friedrich de la Motte Fouque about an aquatic spirit who must marry a knight to gain a soul, but has…
“You can kill me if you want. I kind of wish you would.” Once Upon a River is a 92-minute, independent film that marks Haroula Rose’s debut as a feature film director, and an impressive first feature it is. Based on the novel published in 2011 by Bonnie Joe Campbell, a writer who has been…
Youthful rebellion goes on a road trip in Martin Monk’s short film Favourites, which offers a simple, patient look at how chance encounters can reframe our perspective on life. In an unbroken opening shot, we follow behind teen Sofia (Lia Wilfing) as she strolls determinedly alongside a busy Viennese road, sticking out her thumb and…
How many readers and cinema aficionados have a strained relationship with their parents? Maybe a there’s a neglecting mother to be ashamed of? Or how about daddy issues stemming from some form of abuse? Well . . . the animated horror story, To Your Last Death, introduces viewers to four siblings, all of them seriously…
What we find scary will vary enormously. For some it’s the supernatural, for others the psychological. We may be revolted by physical suffering or horrified by social oppression. The Owners is a film that capitalizes on multiple registers of fear to create an unsettling space, both within the framework of the film and more widely,…
A zombie outbreak has hit the world pretty hard in Jeff Barnaby’s gnarly apocalyptic horror thriller Blood Quantum. Well, except for the isolated Mi’kmaq reservation, whose inhabitants appear to be immune the virus. As the Native peoples are beset by townies and tourists alike who stream to their lands seeking refuge and possibly a cure,…
The film Robin’s Wish is a 77-minute documentary about Robin Williams, who died tragically by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63 as a result of the brutal disease called Lewy Body Dementia. The catalyst for producing the film was Susan Schneider Williams, Robin’s widow, who wished to explain the anguish Robin experienced and…
