1
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Together Together (2021)
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Orla Smith
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Sweetly subversive if a little thin
EDIT
Posted Feb 15, 2021
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2
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Together Together (2021)
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Alex Heeney
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Sweetly subversive if a little thin.
EDIT
Posted Feb 15, 2021
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3
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Pleasure (2021)
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Orla Smith
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Ninja Thyberg's LA porn drama, Pleasure, is an authentic, scathing look at an industry with little regard for boundaries or consent
EDIT
Posted Feb 15, 2021
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4
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CODA (2021)
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Alex Heeney
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Despite a plethora of coming-of-age story cliches, CODA still feels genuinely original, nuanced, and important because it has thoughtful, sensitive storytelling where it counts
EDIT
Posted Feb 15, 2021
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5
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The Night (2020)
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B. P. Flanagan
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It doesn't throw itself into the Jordan Peele-Blumhousian 'social thriller' pattern enough to be designated 'a film about...' Yet its barrage of images are never wild enough to be thought-provoking.
EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2021
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6
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Try Harder! (2021)
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Orla Smith
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Refreshingly, though, Lum's film isn't a narrow look at the rigorous demands of just this one school. She illuminates why the school and its students feel that academically excelling is the only way forward.
EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2021
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7
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We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)
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Orla Smith
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Schoenbrun's debut is one of the only American films that really excited me, in both ideas and film form, at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2021
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8
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Farewell Amor (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Msangi structures the film as a triptych, telling the story from each character's perspective, revisiting some moments, and introducing them to the parts of their lives that they keep hidden from each other.
EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2021
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9
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Make Up (2019)
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Orla Smith
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Claire Oakley's debut feature, Make Up, is a coming-of-age drama that often feels like a horror film, because Oakley immerses us in the terror, confusion, and ecstasy of discovering your identity.
EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2021
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10
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Charlatan (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Charlatan uses Mikoláek as a sort of metaphor for post-war communism in order to ask whether the new regime is really a form of liberation or just a variation on a fascist theme.
EDIT
Posted Dec 30, 2020
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11
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Mayor (2020)
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B. P. Flanagan
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Essential viewing about the lines between small and grand acts of resistance.
EDIT
Posted Dec 8, 2020
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12
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Sex, Sin & 69 (2019)
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Alex Heeney
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It's mostly talking heads, and an animated timeline, but there is something powerful about giving authority to the people who were there and often unable to tell their story in the mainstream media (or historical account).
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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13
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The Strong Ones (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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A quiet, romantic, if bittersweet crowdpleaser
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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14
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Shadow of Dumont (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Cameron treats the film as an adventure narrative, uncovering the story of someone he revered but knew little about. His roots in comedy means he's always looking for a laugh, trying to keep things bright and light and fun
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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15
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Coming Home Again (2019)
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Alex Heeney
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Wayne Wang's Coming Home Again is a heartfelt story of a first generation Korean-American grieving as he takes care of his mother as she dies of cancer.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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16
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Monkey Beach (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Monkey Beach... is a visually sumptuous film made on a low budget, that will make you want to buy a ticket to BC as soon as it's safe to do so.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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17
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()
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Alex Heeney
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Saint-Narcisse is a strong contender for the most "WTF did I just watch" film of the year, and a hell of a ride you're not likely to forget.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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18
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Antisemitism (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Not for the faint of heart, Ilan Ziv's fascinating and harrowing documentary Antisemitism traces the seeds of antisemitism in France, particularly in the 20th century.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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19
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Now (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Now is a wide-ranging and ambitious exploration of its subject that comes in at a tight 73 minutes. I was surprised it's so short, since it packs in so much information that I felt thoroughly schooled (in a good way) by the end of it.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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20
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There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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A wonderful document of a place that one hopes time won't forget, including archival footage of the early days of the store and a sense of what it's meant to immigrants, including Wei's family.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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21
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No Hard Feelings (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Shariat makes some bold directorial moves toward surrealism in the film's final act, an interesting if not always effective choice, but otherwise, this is a thoughtful, naturalistic drama about figuring out who you are and where you fit.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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22
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Queering the Script (2019)
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Orla Smith
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While Zilkha's film isn't formally inventive, and it's less insightful on racial and gender diversity, it's an entertaining and informative watch that invites you to empathise with the women who participate in fandom.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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23
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Ultraviolence (2020)
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Orla Smith
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There is a fine line between depicting violence as a wake-up call versus misery porn, and Fero crosses over to the latter by providing little context for the brutality.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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24
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When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (2019)
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Alex Heeney
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Judith Kerr's beloved children's novel gets a worthy adaptation from German director Caroline Link in this film that balances the hardships and fear of being a refugee with the optimism of childhood.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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25
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Dating Amber (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Ultimately, it's the performances that sell it and make you root for these misfits to find somewhere they feel like they fit in.
EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
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26
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The Dilemma of Desire (2020)
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Orla Smith
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The Dilemma of Desire will change the way you think about sex
EDIT
Posted Nov 9, 2020
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27
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Survival Skills (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Telling this story in the framework of a police training video isn't just a gimmick, but a clever way to draw attention to the problem.
EDIT
Posted Nov 9, 2020
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28
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I Am Greta (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Nathan Grossman's I Am Greta about teen climate activist Greta Thunberg tells the story of the girl behind the figurehead but fails to take an interest in what matters most to her.
EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2020
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29
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On the Rocks (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Sofia Coppola's latest, On the Rocks, is a vague and out of touch depiction of a working mother's relationship crisis.
EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2020
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30
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John Ware Reclaimed (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Cheryl Foggo's moving, enlightening, and appropriately infuriating new documentary, John Ware Reclaimed, attempts to reclaim not just John Ware's story from the biased history books but the history of Black Canadians in the prairies.
EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2020
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31
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Nadia, Butterfly (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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With Nadia, Butterfly, Pascal Plante used his own experiences as a competitive swimmer to make a psychological character study about the sport where all the swimming is real.
EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2020
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32
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Rurangi (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Rurangi is a film that is all in the character details, and is filled with so many beautiful, lived in performances - many of which are by Maori and gender diverse actors.
EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2020
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33
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Violation (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Violation starts out well but disappoints
EDIT
Posted Oct 19, 2020
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34
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Sweat (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Sweat is one of the first great films about an influencer. Magnus von Horn's Sweat avoids the cliche of portraying an Instagram influencer as shallow and instead extends empathy to her and her fans.
EDIT
Posted Oct 19, 2020
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35
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Nuevo Orden (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Michel Franco's latest provocation, New Order, is a bloodbath of grossly miscalculated 'social commentary'. I've heard it touted as Mexico's Parasite, but the comparisons only go as far as the architecture of the rich families' houses.
EDIT
Posted Oct 19, 2020
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36
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Percy (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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If it takes a workhorse feel-good film to make me pay attention to Saskatchewan, then, perhaps cinema really is doing its job as an empathy machine.
EDIT
Posted Oct 15, 2020
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37
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The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
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Orla Smith
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The funny, smart, wildly entertaining The Forty-Year-Old Version is among other things, an exploration of how difficult it is for a marginalised creator to be authentic to their own voice and get paid.
EDIT
Posted Oct 15, 2020
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38
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180 Degree Rule (2020)
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Orla Smith
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The film is a meticulously-crafted drama that devolves into a psychological thriller when tragedy strikes partway through. It's a provocative film. I admire its boldness.
EDIT
Posted Oct 15, 2020
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39
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Residue (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Merawi Gerima's directorial debut Residue is an impassioned ode to a rapidly gentrifying Washington D.C.
EDIT
Posted Oct 15, 2020
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40
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Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Overall, the good might just trump the bad, especially because it's practically one of a kind: an action movie that works because its main character is a woman, not in spite of her womanhood.
EDIT
Posted Oct 6, 2020
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41
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Beans (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Tracey Deer's Beans is a flawed but incredibly moving about a 12-year-old Mohawk girl's political awakening during the Oka crisis.
EDIT
Posted Oct 6, 2020
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42
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True Mothers (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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True Mothers is one of Naomi Kawase's best films to date, a thoughtful drama about the shame associated with unconventional motherhood.
EDIT
Posted Oct 6, 2020
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43
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Akilla's Escape (2020)
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B. P. Flanagan
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Akilla is a Death Wish-type avenger character who never quite makes sense, especially paired with Williams' work on the film's soundtrack, which leans too hard on Akilla as a pop star persona to be fully convincing.
EDIT
Posted Oct 6, 2020
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44
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76 Days (2020)
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Brett Pardy
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76 Days is a documentary that will be labelled "timely", but the film's strength is that it never stresses its own importance nor is it a didactic call to action.
EDIT
Posted Sep 18, 2020
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45
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Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020)
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Orla Smith
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Jasmila banic's Quo Vadis, Aida?, a harrowing drama about the 1995 Bosnian genocide, is one of the best films of TIFF 2020
EDIT
Posted Sep 18, 2020
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46
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Conviction (2019)
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Brett Pardy
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Prison offers stability, but at the same time, sets them up for failure when they are released into society with no supports in place. Conviction sparks the imagination necessary to envision alternatives.
EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2020
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47
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Ammonite (2020)
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Alex Heeney
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Ammonite is getting billed as a period romance, but where Lee really excels is in evoking the time and place...
EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2020
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48
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Babyteeth (2019)
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Stephen Puddicombe
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Babyteeth is a quirky, surprising, and ultimately very moving film about teenage terminal illness that is less a wistful tearjerker than it is a coming-of-age drama.
EDIT
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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49
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Judy & Punch (2019)
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Stephen Puddicombe
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Judy and Punch gives mixed messages as to whether the film wants us to consider its violence as a slapstick laughing matter or as an earnest critique.
EDIT
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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50
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Lingua Franca (2019)
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Milly Gribben
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It may lack narrative urgency or progression, but it is firmly grounded in reality. This is not a soapy romance about love against all odds; it's a film that quietly traces the bleak, displaced, and unsatisfying lives at its centre.
EDIT
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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