1
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7/10
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Vampires vs. The Bronx (2019)
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Kathia Woods
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Young Afro-Latinos Shine in
EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2021
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2
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I'm No Longer Here (2019)
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Mario A. Cortez
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The songs were originally written about Colombia's countryside, but convey the same longing for a distant Monterrey.
EDIT
Posted May 29, 2020
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3
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Mala Mala (2014)
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Mary Angelica Molina
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Mala Mala is truly a wonderful documentary with a lot of life and high hopes for the kinds of societies we could be the world over.
EDIT
Posted May 28, 2020
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4
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Tranny F... (2018)
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Manuel Betancourt
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This documentary is uninterested in making you feel comfortable with the images and ideas they're presenting, and confronts you head on about current issues.
EDIT
Posted May 27, 2020
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5
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Kokoloko (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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Set in a picturesque coastal town in Mexico, the trio meets a series of terrible events through an almost experimental, unpolished style in this stunning colorful 16mm film.
EDIT
Posted May 14, 2020
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6
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Pacified (2019)
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Monica Castillo
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It's an isolating feeling shared by nearly all of the other characters trying to survive this latest government intervention.
EDIT
Posted May 14, 2020
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7
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499 (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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Although the stories are undoubtedly powerful and the cinematography of rural and urban Mexico looks beguiling, Reyes never clearly connects the ramifications of colonialism to the violence and loss his bemused explorer experiences.
EDIT
Posted May 14, 2020
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8
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|
Through the Night (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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Without making it too obvious, Limbal's documentary shines a light on the unspoken backbone of our economy.
EDIT
Posted May 14, 2020
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9
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|
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Every anecdote is colorfully animated so you get to experience what they're all describing in clearer detail.
EDIT
Posted May 13, 2020
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10
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|
The Infiltrators (2019)
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Manuel Betancourt
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As both document and chronicle of radical activism, Rivera and Ibarra's project is a call to action.
EDIT
Posted May 1, 2020
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11
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Good Manners (2017)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Eerie and shot with a lurid formalism that makes it all the scarier (São Paulo's nights have looked more frightening), Good Manners delivers on its chills and thrills.
EDIT
Posted Apr 27, 2020
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12
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|
Signature Move (2017)
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Manuel Betancourt
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This multicultural film's exploration of relationships, cultural exchanges, and the mother-daughter dynamic will enthrall.
EDIT
Posted Apr 27, 2020
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13
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|
Duck Season (2004)
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Maria-Christina Villaseñor
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This Mexican coming of age tale shows itself to be a tender and quirky take on the genre.
EDIT
Posted Apr 20, 2020
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14
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LA Originals (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Giving a firsthand account of how that rose bloomed out of the concrete, Oriol's crackling (if oftentimes meandering) documentary feels deeply personal, a snapshot of a subculture that's since gone mainstream.
EDIT
Posted Apr 10, 2020
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15
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Diamantino (2018)
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Manuel Betancourt
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This dazzlingly original feature from longtime collaborators Daniel Schmidt and Gabriel Abrantes skewers its subjects with loving cinematic gusto.
EDIT
Posted Apr 7, 2020
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16
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|
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
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Maria-Christina Villaseñor
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His (Toro's) incredible visual style, uncanny CGI world, and gift for a particular style of storytelling knock this out of the park.
EDIT
Posted Apr 7, 2020
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17
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The Year of the Plague (El año de la plaga) (2019)
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Manuel Betancourt
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The Year of the Plague keeps patients off screen, mere numbers to be displayed in televised graphs. This is a movie about what a lack of empathy can look like, both at the level of its plot as well as its form.
EDIT
Posted Apr 6, 2020
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18
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|
Nighthawk (2019)
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Manuel Betancourt
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A thrilling social parable for contemporary politics - in Brazil specifically but with enough universality to have it feel familiar enough abroad - Bacurau is the kind of non-English language film primed to find a devout audience in the United States
EDIT
Posted Mar 31, 2020
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19
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|
Mosquita y Mari (2011)
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Nick MacWilliam
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If that (the premise) sounds corny, the film is anything but, with supreme performances from the two leads.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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20
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|
()
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Manuel Betancourt
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Almada shows deep empathy for her main character, etching an unforgettable poetic portrait of one women finding herself anew.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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21
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El lugar más pequeño (2011)
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Carlos Aguilar
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Memory is their most powerful weapon for a peaceful future and El lugar más pequeño is proof positive of the way storytelling can be both a way to look back and to move forward.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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22
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XXY (2007)
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Maria-Christina Villaseñor
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Fluid camera work filled with shots of window frames, mirrors, and reflections emphasizes the story's doubling, narrowness of view, and constant thinking about fixed ideas and viewpoints.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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23
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|
Nobody's Watching (2017)
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Manuel Betancourt
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In a moving depiction of this vibrant city, director Julia Solomonoff's touching feature presents a portrait of immigrant solitude.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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24
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Bellas de Noche (2016)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Shot over eight years, María José Cuevas's documentary is a thrilling look at these exotic dancers who continue to search for the love and adoration they got on stage all those years ago.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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25
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The Second Mother (2015)
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Iñaki Fernández de Retana
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Director Anna Muylaert, who has worked as a film critic and reporter, drafted a thoughtful script and put care into directing the actors, with a big payoff.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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26
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Zama (2017)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Zama is that rarest of creative feats: a perfect coupling of literary source material and cinematic sensibility.
EDIT
Posted Mar 9, 2020
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27
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Epicentro (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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Epicentro may not have an imperialist lens, but it still feels like a colonizing one.
EDIT
Posted Mar 2, 2020
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28
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The Last Rafter (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Mining rich detail from their own experiences finding a footing in the United States... filmmakers Carlos Rafael Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega have crafted a powerful film that is at once personal and strikingly timely.
EDIT
Posted Feb 25, 2020
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29
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|
Beneath Us (2019)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Neither as thought-provoking as it thinks it is, nor as powerful a conversation-starter as it should be, Pachman's modern-day parable is not likely to change anyone's mind.
EDIT
Posted Feb 24, 2020
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30
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|
Workforce (2019)
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Manuel Betancourt
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This feature debut from writer-director David Zonana progresses like a quietly humming thriller, with each scene contributing to the film's gathering power.
EDIT
Posted Feb 24, 2020
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31
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|
Wander Darkly (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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Wander Darkly remains a potent romantic drama with some thrilling elements.
EDIT
Posted Feb 12, 2020
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32
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|
Sylvie's Love (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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While Ashe's film may have all the sweets and schmaltz of an old school romantic drama, it feels fresh and almost radical to have a period movie so focused on a Black couple with the thrill to see if they'll live happily ever after.
EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2020
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33
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|
Once Upon a Time in Venezuela (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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The colorful images have a way of immersing you into the setting, helping the outside viewer see what the residents of the town already know.
EDIT
Posted Feb 7, 2020
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34
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|
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Mucho Mucho Amor isn't merely a biographical doc. It is also a character study that aims to go beyond the capes, beyond the memes, beyond the flair.
EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2020
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35
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|
I Carry You With Me (2020)
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Carlos Aguilar
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Ravishing and unshakable, Ewing's authentic film feels like the crossbreed between a painful memory and a hopeful dream about a place, a relationship and a fight for acceptance that's not political but entirely humanistic.
EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2020
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36
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|
The Last Thing He Wanted (2020)
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Monica Castillo
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The script, which Rees and Maro Villalobos adapted from Didion's book, is barely coherent. It's easy to lose track of what's going on, who's lying about what and why Elena's compelled to make some pretty awful decisions.
EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2020
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37
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|
High Tide (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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High Tide makes us keenly aware of these variously intersecting identities, using a beautifully constructed house as the setting for a miniature treatise on class warfare.
EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
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38
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|
Blanco de Verano (2020)
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Manuel Betancourt
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Summer White paints a dour image of contemporary masculinity. But in centering its story on such toxicity, Summer White asphyxiates its viewer before they even get a chance to breathe.
EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
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39
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|
The Good Intentions (2019)
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Carlos Aguilar
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Home videos from Argentine director Ana García Blaya's childhood furnish her autobiographical first feature with an invaluable component that makes her memories tangible.
EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
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40
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|
Leona (2018)
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Marcos Hassan
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The characters are portrayed in a realistic way.
EDIT
Posted Jan 15, 2020
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41
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|
()
|
Manuel Betancourt
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Scenes at the church, in living rooms and outdoor cookouts ground the film not in lofty abstract ideas about immigration but in real-life concerns about absent fathers and co-workers. It's as illuminating and hopeful as it is enraging.
EDIT
Posted Jan 3, 2020
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42
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|
Araña (2019)
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Carlos Aguilar
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Polished in a serviceable manner, Spider has a studio feel.
EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2019
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43
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|
Queen of Lapa (2019)
|
Manuel Betancourt
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Their cameras feel like visitors that have been allowed into a safe haven that would otherwise have excluded them.
EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2019
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44
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|
Our Mothers (2019)
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Kiko Martinez
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Our Mothers resembles the skeletal remains Ernesto pulls from the earth - brittle and incomplete.
EDIT
Posted Dec 4, 2019
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45
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|
Tu me manques (2019)
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Kiko Martinez
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Tu me manques is a triumph, not only because of the bold and creative choices it makes to tell its story, but also for its urgent message of acceptance.
EDIT
Posted Dec 4, 2019
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46
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|
()
|
Kiko Martinez
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A beautifully photographed drama that doesn't take advantage of its locations to tell an intriguing enough narrative about its coffee growers.
EDIT
Posted Dec 4, 2019
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47
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|
Everybody Changes (2019)
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Kiko Martinez
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Everybody Changes might have its heart in the right place, but its script is sorely lacking in authenticity and sense of time.
EDIT
Posted Dec 3, 2019
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48
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The Projectionist (2019)
|
Beatrice Loayza
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Cabral bewitches and baffles with a dark story that has all the subliminal force of a recurring dream.
EDIT
Posted Dec 2, 2019
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49
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|
Heroic Losers (2019)
|
Beatrice Loayza
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Heroic Losers makes for an inoffensive, risk-averse heist film riding on the charisma of its performers and the satisfaction of its anti-upper-class escapades.
EDIT
Posted Dec 2, 2019
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50
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|
The Projectionist (2019)
|
Beatrice Loayza
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A gutsy tribute to the ways in which we psychologically invest ourselves in moving pictures.
EDIT
Posted Nov 27, 2019
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