rjreview

[rjreview]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi League  (2017) - Rian Johnson 

As always....****SPOILERS ABOUND****

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a rewatchable blockbuster.  And by rewatchable I don’t mean there was so many special effects and visuals that the movie is cloudy and needs rewatching to know what the heck you just watched (ahem I’m look at you Avengers: Age of Ultron).  No, the newest installment in this forty year old saga is a story that gains enjoyment and richness the more it is viewed.  

I’m not going to say that this story goes in “unexpected ways” because honestly, I pretty much called how the Snoke confrontation was going to go down, and if we really look at the characterization of Kylo Ren, Luke, Leia, Poe, Finn, etc., all their actions make sense and follow from past Star Wars canon.  But what was unexpected--and refreshingly so--was the progressive nature and willingness to bask in the ideals and mentality of 2017.  

This movie has three main plot threads: Rey/Kylo, Rose/Finn, and Holdo/Poe.  And as you can see each of these threads has a woman front and center to the plot.  Further, in each of these scenarios it is the woman demonstrates enormous resolve and tenacity which leads to her success (and generally the success of those around her).  This is most clearly demonstrated in the Holdo/Poe plot line where Poe’s brash, machismo is criticized fairly.  First he is reprimanded by Leia when his Dreadnought campaign not only destroys the entirety of the Resistance bombing fleet, but also costs an inordinate amount of lives.  Second, Poe’s is unable to trust Holdo do her job.  He sends Rose and Finn on, ostensibly, a suicide mission, which ends up failing because of his own stupidity in broadcasting Holdo’s secret plan to save the Resistance, which allows the codebreaker to sell the information and kill virtually the entire rest of the Resistance (I mean there are three small ships left, but yeah, pretty much got everyone killed twice).  What is even more exciting and amazing (which we all too rarely see) is that Poe learns from his mistakes and in the scene on Crait, he makes the call to pull back the remaining troops on the advice of his superiors.  The criticism of “looking like a hero” is a broader criticism of a toxic masculinity in which men must act in a way that is “manly” at the detriment to all those around them.  But for Star Wars instead of merely criticizing this problematic behavior they give Poe a chance (well two actually) to learn, change, and improve himself.  

The Rose/Finn plot line definitely felt like a throwaway in the first viewing, but even though it doesn’t have the punch and panache of the Rey/Kylo story, on second viewing it is easier to see its purpose in plot line motivation.  Further it is the most explicit in condemning the old Star Wars moral code where everything is clearly good and evil, black and white.

And finally, undeniably my favorite scenes were the Rey/Kylo ones.  The anger, vulnerability, and loneliness that these two characters share is so well written and so precisely acted.  The chemistry between these two, wow.  Just wow.  The mirror scene is probably one of my favorites in that it is such an amazing mesh of storytelling, emotional growth, and misdirection.  It perfectly demonstrates the idea that what Rey is looking for (a la her parents) doesn’t exist.  Instead, she must look inward, and moreover the juxtaposition of this scene against Kylo listening to her tell her story demonstrates the mirroring of both of their loneliness.  Kylo comes from a wealth of background--a grand family in an epic story--and Rey comes from nothing, she is nothing special by birth, and yet the two of them possess the same power and greatness as well as the same loneliness and longing.  GAH so beautiful.  

And yeah there is so much more I could say: the scene in Snoke’s throne room was all in all spectacular (the little finger flip by Kylo to call the lightsaber to Rey, them fighting back to back, Kylo’s broken plea) followed up by the most epic rejection temper tantrum I have seen.  But I think I’m just going to go watch it again instead.

[rjreview]

Justice League  (2017) - Zack Snyder (and Joss Whedon) 

As a self-styled DC fan-girl I walked into the theater ready to love Justice League and damn was I disappointed.  One of the main reasons I prefer so many of the DC movies over Marvel was their gritty “real-ness”--their ability to transcend the superhero genre and tell us about our own world--disappointedly this movie didn’t feel bigger than it’s genre.  And what is essentially the most frustrating part about the whole experiences is that thinking back on the movie there were so many parts of the two hour tale that I loved: the emotional opening, the further development of the Amazonian, the humor sprinkled in, the absolutely unbearably amazingness of Ezra Miller (The Flash).  However, beyond the larger story telling I missed, the two things that really hurt this movie was the soundtrack and the filming of Gal Gadot (Woman Woman).  

I am a soundtrack junkie.  Growing up in the music world, I developed an ear and a love for the way a sweeping soundtrack can move and transport you to another dimension.  Sadly, Danny Elfman’s score was uninspired and lacking.  The only points in which it made any impact was the opening song by Sigrid (decidedly not an Elfman composition) and when Superman shows up and Elfman nodded to the old John Williams theme.  Beyond that: boring.  And then the frankly gross filming of Wonder Woman.  There is this concept in film theory called the “Male Gaze,” it is the idea that because men are typically behind the camera lense (as both cinematographers and directors) they tend to capture women on film in an extremely sexual and evocative manner.  Exhibit A of “male gaze” was Joss Whedon’s Justice League.  So many lingering butt shots, and upskirt shots, made me super uncomfortable and deeply saddened.  Especially because of the sharp contrast between this movie and Patty Jenkins's beautiful portrayal of female strength in Wonder Woman.  (Seriously, if you don’t understand “male gaze” watching Wonder Woman and Justice League back to back is akin to a textbook example of the difference between the two and proof of its existence).  And I do want to do want to point out that before the movie came out there was a great deal criticism of the change in costuming of some of the Amazonians, but those scenes the women in the more scantily clad outfits were the lifters and filmed with more of a 300-esqe vibe (so I’m assuming those scenes were Zac Snyder’s doing rather than Whedon’s).  

In the end there were some great moments in the film, and I almost want to go see it again, ignore the soundtrack and creepy shots of Wonder Woman, because maybe I would have enjoyed it.  But that is not the movie that we were given, and that makes me sad.  

~rjreviews

P.S. holy shit it is so blatantly obvious how much of a hard on professional critics have for Marvel movies, and how much of a vendetta they have on DC.  The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes* have this movie at a 41% by critics and over 81% with the general fans (as of 12/03/17)

*I have big issues with Rotten Tomatoes view percentages, I’m sure I’ll write about it in a later post

[rjreview]

Vacation to the Netherlandsand Marseilles, France

So I visited my sister! So I thought an unconventional review was in order.  Typically I review movies, but I thought I would give my brief impressions of the Netherlands and Marseilles.  

Netherlands: rainy, cute, biking, homey

Marseilles: nothing is every fuckin’ open.  

That about sums it up.  My time in both places was fun, and if I had to visit one again, it would definitely be the Netherlands (least of all because my sister is studying there), but there was something familiar about the country, a place where I could see myself living and working, were I to get the opportunity.  The transit system (at least to an outsider) worked like a charm, the whole biking thing--once you get the hang of it--is actually super dope, and the vibe is great (specifically Rotterdam, where we spent all of 5 hours, but the city felt like such a cool mix of old and new.  Angular modern architecture plopped right beside cute canal houses.)  

Regarding Marseilles nothing was open, seriously, we wandered three hours one night looking for food.  I mean if you wanted a drink, awesome, you got it easily, but food, real food, nope, nada.  (I can totally see why people there are skinny, they just flow from place to place in a slightly inebriated state on an empty stomach).*

But of course, the best part was hanging with my sister

xoxo love ya gurl!

~RJ

*Note: to be fair my view of Marseilles might be a bit compromised seeing as my phone was stolen/lost? while there.

P.S. Oh and the photo is one I took while in Marseilles at Parc national des Calanques.  

[rjreview]

Thor: Ragnarok  (2017) - Taika Waititi

So, um....this was a movie

I think my biggest problem for this movie, and honestly, what has been for most movies in the Marvel cinematic universe is tone.  For all their groundbreaking attitude, and money and power, it seems that the movies can never take themselves seriously.  Every time there is an emotional moment, there has to be some joke or butt added on.  Thor: Ragnorok was no different.  It whiplashes from slapstick to serious to comical to self-deprecating to emotional.  The movie can't seem to decide its tone and it leaves the audience laughing and enjoying their time, but when I walked out I felt empty and had no desire to watch again.    

I did like the nods to the original Thor comics in some of the action moments, styling, costuming, and music.  And Hela is pretty dope (seriously Cate Blanchett is immortal, she gave me Galadriel vibes all over the place and she barely looks like she aged in almost twenty years).  Oh and I did also appreciate that the introductory sequence actually had to do with the plot line, since Marvel movies tend to utilize that opening moment for hollow character intros, rather than plot pushes.  

Notes: soo like we are supposed to believe that Bruce Banner doesn't remember stuff from when he was the Hulk and Valkyrie doesn't recognize Bruce Banner.  Then why when he jumps does he say "You'll see" to her...does he remember the Hulk and Valkyrie being friends?  Also why the f*** did Loki come back to help, we have no indication that he has grown and changed and yet he keeps coming back to help Thor, we don't even really get him acknowledging that.  The only time we see something regarding change or development is during a scene which he is watching Thor and the Hulk fight.  You can see Hiddleston acting the CRAP out of every time he is on camera there, trying to give his character a sensible story and plotline, but it is wayy too much in wayyy too short of a time, with no discernible ties to the rest of his dialogue or actions...sooo?  Also how did he get out of the basement after he let the firebeast out?   

Additionally who thought it was a good idea to style Tom Hiddleston like he was Tommy Wiseau from The Room...poor decision, especially because The Disaster Artist was LITERALLY the last trailer before the movie

And for all the money they spent on CGI, it seemed as though they ran out of money for one specific scene with Odin, Thor, and Loki in Iceland.  Seriously, look at the shitty green screen they did for the water...idk what was up with that, but no, not good guys...

~RJ

[rjreview]

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - Denis Villeneuve

(WARNING: spoilers abound) I LOVED this movie. 

But then again, I like confusing, meta, beautiful cinematography-ed movies...there's that.  (and Villeneuve is one of my favorite directors atm) Blade Runner 2049 is a spectacular whirlwind of color and darkness--a sweeping exploration into a dystopian future of robots and existential crises.   I went into this movie without knowing the original, I tried to watch it, mind you, but got about 30 minutes through and was distracted with...life?  Anyways, you really didn't need to know much about the original to be able to keep up:  there are human-like robots called replicants, and some got too emotional and shit so they now have new ones who only obey.  And in 2040 the brains and money guy behind replicants wants to make fertile replicants and when he finds out there exists a child from a replicant/human coupling he tries to find it and uses Ryan Gosling's character, K to find him.

But beyond any of the surface plot, this movie is truly about human-ness and what it means to be human.  K's search for the lost child leads him to believe he is human and he starts to freak out, break down, lose it, only to have this revelation ripped out from under him.  But with this sequence of emotional upheaval we are treated to an understanding that being human has less to do with the reality of one's birth and more to do with one's own perception of themselves.  But it goes deeper than that, Ana de Armas plays K's computerized companion, Joi.  Never are we or her for that matter, disillusioned into believing she is anything other than a computer program, however in her desire to leave the house computer and acceptance of an ultimate fate of death, she is able to become "just like a real girl."   

The whole movie is incredible  and haunting and chock full of emotional depth and meaning, a movie that deserves multiple re-watches, and extended introspective analyses.  And honestly, my measly four hundred and fifty-seven word write up cannot even being to scratch the surface of this movie's true meaning (I could speak about the role of women in the film, the subversion of expectation, the meaning behind the harsh music--both the throwback and the incorporation of new--, the color story, and on and on).  Basically this movie is fantastic and yeah, it's confusing as f*** and I totally get why this hasn't done well for a popular audience.  But Blade Runner 2049 feels like a movie whose legacy will far surpass its releases reception.  

~RJ Oh and can we not talk about how all of Harrison Ford's most famous characters have turned out to be shitty fathers...I mean it makes sense, but lolssssss

[rjreview]

While We are Young (2014) - Noah Baumbach

Well, it's be a while.  So let's review a movie.

So like anyone who has access to any type of media at the moment knows, a new Star Wars movie is coming out, which means we have been inundated with a constant barrage of images from the movies, prominently displaying the visages of Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, and Kylo Ren...I mean Adam Driver.  So ya know, Adam's been on my mind lately.  So when I logged onto Neflix last Sunday and was shown a lovely photo of Adam Driver in some rando indie movie...I guess I just had to watch it...for cultured movie reasons...right.... While We're Young (2014), so this is a movie.  I wanted to like it?  The movie is about a couple (Naomi Watts and Ben Stiller) whose lives are stagnating and in their malaise meet this hip fun couple (Amanda Seyfried and Adam Driver) who seem to be open and exciting and ready to take life and experience it as it comes.  Oh and Stiller's character, is a documentary film maker...and so is Driver's and so is Watt's dad...ya know, typical indie movie fodder (you write what you know).  I didn't have a huge problem with this, and the plot plays out fairly typical: the bright optimism we see in the young couple is slowly wiped away and we see that they are just normal people striving to get to the top.  It seemed like a good lesson, but honestly, it all got lost in the dialogue.  Driver is a fantastic actor, but even he is weighed down by a clunky and awkward script.  The banter seems forced, and the reality of these characters is undercut by how awkwardly they speak to one another.  I'm sorry Adam, you did your best, but even you can't polish that turd. ~RJ Side note, i think Stiller and Watt's characters are supposed to be in their mid-30s....like they look great and all, but you can't pass 50 year olds off for 15 years their junior.

[rjreview]

The New Jersey Devils: A Team Defying the Skeptics

I was one of them, no doubt.  I remember speaking with a friend and fellow fan about four months ago before this season started, with all the turmoil and new blood infusing our beloved team, and telling her, “Yeah I’m excited for this season, but seriously, we are going to suck.”  She admonished me saying that I needed to be a better fan and have faith in the team.  Turns out her attitude was the right one.  

No one, not a single prediction spewed out by hockey pundits thought the Devils had a shot in hell this season.  The team was projected to be at the bottom of the barrel, far away from the light.  The best that was hoped for by critics out of the new GM, Ray Shero, and his young, coach, John Hynes, was that the Devils season would end with winning the draft lottery, ie sucking so hard that the league pities you with the best young player.  And let’s all be real, with the inability to win their first few games of the season, the Devils seemed to be heading down the path towards that bleak prospect.  But then something happened and the Devils beat the Rangers, and the Coyotes, and the Senators, and the Sabers and suddenly the bleak prospect for the 2015-2016 season began to disappear.  The team began to pull it together and scratch and claw their way to victories.  It’s been rough and not pretty, goals haven’t been easy to come by (the Devils have been shut out five times the season), and yet somehow the wins keep coming in, one by one, slowly be surely.  And as we arrive at the All-Star break, just over halfway through the season, the Devils sit basically in a wildcard spot (on a technicality the Penguins have the final spot because of games, but whatever).  A feat no one, not even I, believed was possible.  

This feat has been borne primarily on the back of goaltender Cory Schneider, his stellar performances keep the team in virtually every game and basically ensure that if the team can net three goals, they will win the game.  Newcomer and Jersey native Kyle Palmieri (srsly, we can’t say his name without “Jersey native” can we?) has proven his value with a career-high of 20 goals, Michael “Lasagna” Cammalleri is a proven quality, scoring timely goals, and summer tryout Lee Stempniak has demonstrated his speed and value again and again.  Honestly, stopping with four players is not fair, because as great as they are, none of them are truly on the level of an Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby (well except for Schneider, he’s amazing).  But why this team is finding success, despite all the odds, is their coach, John Hynes.  Somehow, Hynes has devised a system and style of play in which every freakin’ ounce of talent, is squeezed out and laid on the ice. (I mean just look at Bobby Farnham!)  And because of this when a player or two isn’t putting their all into a game, the team suffers, if someone is hurt, the team suffers.  But when they are working together, throwing everything on the ice, for 60 minutes, somehow we win.  

At the end of the day, the Devils aren’t a “good” team, they have no super stars, there are no door busting egos, no scandals, nothing shiny and spectacular.  But I don’t mind, I think its better that way.  The team will just quietly go about its business, racking up the wins, and smiling to themselves about beating a system that counted them out.  I was among the skeptics before the season started, but Hynes has made me a believer.  Here’s to a fun run to the end of the season, let’s prove those bastards wrong.  

~RJ

[rjreview]

The Martian (2015)-Ridley Scott

This was a good movie, but after watching Interstellar just days before, the gravitas of this movie felt a bit lacking.  

The Martian tells of the story of a man who gets left behind on Mars after a mission goes ary and his battle for survival on this desolate and unforgiving planet.  And though the concept sounds as though it would lead to some deep introspective piece with great emotional baggage and consternation, in fact the movie was rather light.  The astronaut that gets left behind, Mark Watney, is a jokester and ever the optimistic, even in the face of certain death.  Humor and nerd references are abundant throughout making the movie lively and comical throughout.  And maybe that is why this movie has done so well with critics, and I’m sure will do well in theaters: Watney is the ideal.  He is intelligent, attractive, and even in the bleakest of times remains optimistic and joking.  

And yes, I did really enjoy the movie, but personally, I am much more taken in with grit and reality.  Thus, the movie not spending time on the mental state of Watney (dealing with the crushing weight of living alone for over a year with certain death hanging over one’s head every day) made it feel a bit myopic. 

But the movie is great and does do a wonderful job at balancing the three tales--Watney, NASA, and the Hermes crew--well as a whole.  Oh and the cinematography and acting was superb.  

~RJ

[rjreview]

Interstellar (2014)-Christopher Nolan

I was listening to the soundtrack (love you Hans Zimmer) and so I had to take give this movie a second viewing.  A space movie that tells of a not so distant future when our world can no longer grow food and our push “forward” has completely reverted, a team of scientists is looking to save the world.  Their plan: to jump through a wormhole and find another universe and planet to settle on.  Interstellar is a magnificent example of how amazing old school visuals, without 3D can look.  When I first watched this movie in theaters, there wasn’t even the option to see it in 3D and yet I didn’t feel as if I was missing anything or needed anything more.  The sweeping camera movements and overall cinematography was able well enough to give the audience the feeling of vastness and immersion.  Further the story’s scope (all three hours of it) was detailed and assumed the audience smart enough to keep up with the every changing twists and stretches in science (though maybe my being a fan of Doctor Who made the “timey-wimey” elements easy for me to follow).

The movie does a brilliant job of building tension and, without giving spoilers, the incident on the first planet still scared the shit out of me--even watching it a second time.  

The entire package of the movie--music, acting, visuals, script--does a brilliant job of tapping into emotions and had me completely invested in these characters stories and lives, pulling tears out of my eyes more times than I would care to admit.  

One thing of note, they spend a long time on Earth, like a hour there, completely necessary, but that definitely caught me off guard on my first viewing as it is a “space” movie, so just be warned.  

~RJ

[rjreview]

Sicario (2015)-Denis Villeneuve

Numb.  That was the feeling, or rather the lack of feeling I had walking back to my hostel after this movie.  And it was exactly how I should have felt after watching this horrifying and absolutely captivating piece about Mexican drug cartels and the violence that occurs at the Mexican-American border towns.  

I did not initially buy a ticket to see this movie, but on the first day of the festival I heard rumblings that this movie was one I had to see if possible.  So, with my annoyance levels reaching maximum during Return of the Atom, I left that screening to wait online for over two hours to try and snag some rush tickets to the premiere screening of Sicario.  Receiving the last free ticket (not entirely sure why someone was handing out free one’s but I don’t question awesomeness), I raced into the theater to grab one of the remaining seats in the balcony.  

The movie begins with a bang literally, an FBI truck bangs through a wall, and the grumbling ever present moaning of this world begins.  The soundtrack of this movie is incredible, rumbling its way through and adding tension and suspense throughout the movie.  I read a review of the movie after I had seen it that basically said Sicario was a horror movie wrapped up in a war-drug-action facade, and that is probably the best description one could give for this movie.  Gunshots were used as jump scares and horrifying, mutilated bodies were strew throughout the film.  And even with the incredible amount of violence and horror, it never felt gratuitous.  I mean, yes the violence that occurs down there is gratuitous, but the way the director, Denis Villeneuve, portrayed the violence it didn’t feel excessive to the point of ridiculous.  Instead much of the actual violence occurs off screen, either with the camera not on the victim or the audience only witnesses a before or after shot.  In this manner, one’s own imagination is allowed to fill in the blanks, fill in the horrifying reality of what has occurred to many of these people.  

Emily Blunt’s character is confused for the greater part of the movie, but it works magnificently well and her confusion is reflective of what the audience members feel.  Blunt’s acting is nuanced and clean and her fears and sense of duty feel very relatable to an audience member and serves as a point of entry for the audience to get wrapped up in the story.  

This movie was absolutely incredible and was one of my top three movies that I was able to watch at the festival (and I saw it for free!).  So much so that I even ran to go see it at a screening in NYC when I got home last week.  

The movie holds up even on a second viewing and is definitely one I would see again and again, with anyone who will watch it with me.  Though I felt numb walking out of the theater, there really is no other feeling one should have after seeing and attempting to understand that kind of abject and unapologetic violence.  

~RJ

[rjreview]

Return of the Atom (2015)-Mika Taanila, Jussi Eerola

I left after about an hour.  This documentary about the first nuclear power plant built in Finland after Chernobyl was poorly shot, edited, and felt as though it lacked a clear structure.  When I left it began to take a turn down a path towards criticizing nuclear power with this one man as its main source, but there didn’t seem to be any statistical or facts to back up this man’s claims.  The documentary was sloppy and honestly not worth my time.   

~RJ

[rjreview]

Demolition (2015)-Jean-Marc Vallée 

Good, but not memorable.  Those four words are probably the best descriptors for this lovely, but quite forgetful piece.  Going into this movie the only information I had was that it wasn’t coming out to theaters until April, it starred Jake Gyllenhaal, and I saw this photo of a bearded Gyllenhaal carrying a hand saw.  So basically I thought this movie was going to be super violent, in reality it is a piece about grief.  Davis Mitchell (Gyllenhaal) expresses his grief of his wife’s passing through the deconstruction and demolition of various physical objects.  During the story he befriends a customer services representative from a vending machine company and her son.  The story does feel very fluid, moving outwards and forward in organic and seemingly realistic ways.  But it does feel much like a writing exercise in some ways (“what if someone actually wrote to a vending machine customer service after their candy got stuck?”).  And for this, the movie suffers a bit.  

I would, though, recommend the movie, for its beauty and ability to transcend the typical grief narrative and portray emotions in all their confusing, counterintuitive, and ridiculous realities.  

~RJ

[rjreview]

Where to Invade Next (2015)-Michael Moore

I have to come clean about this, I have never seen a Michael Moore documentary, but from what I understand, this is nothing like anything Moore has produced before.  A wild, engaging, if at times over-simplified exploration, the movie’s premise was kept a tight secret, so much so that “summaries” before hand woefully misunderstand its true nature or even concept.  

Where to Invade Next is part satire, part political rallying call, part emotive breaking down to build up.  The premise is that Michael Moore will “invade” other nations to steal their best ideas and then bring them back to America (ex. Take Italy’s 8 week paid vacation).  Though absolutely engaging and hilarious and, at first, quite a bit depressing, the concept loses a bit of its credibility when one digs a big deeper and starts to ask questions about how reasonable some of these suggestions are.  

Techincally, there were some issues with the film, the biggest of which were the  pacing and what feels like a lack of time when it came down to editing.  There is a point about halfway through the movie in which it feels as though the movie is about to wind down, and the it continues for another hour.  And though this hour is a wonderful addition, the pacing or order of the segments needs to be changed up a bit.  Further the final segment was definitely a rushed job when it came to editing, lingering way too long on certain interviewees faces without much going on.  

Regardless the film is entertaining and emotionally very striking, if a bit sloppy in parts of the execution (I assume that this will be cleaned up once Moore gets a distributor and receives notes).

During the interview after the movie Moore stated how he was not an optimist, but the movie really did end on an optimistic note.  The movie was less of a basing of America and more of a rallying cry, one which I think many Americans can get behind.  

~RJ

(SPOILER)

I want to just point this out about the very end, the ending with the Berlin wall and how seemingly permanent structures can collapse so quickly was poignant and inspiring.  

[rjreview]

A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015)-Natalie Portman

I am a sucker for beautiful cinematography and A Tale of Love and Darkness is chock full of sweeping and prolonged nature shots, long holds on faces, and a darkened and desaturated palette.  Even though this is her first foray into directing, Natalie Portman took charge of this film, from the script to her commanding and arresting presence on screen.  Based on the prolific Israeli writer Amos Oz, this autobiographical account of his experience with his mother’s depression is heart-breakingly sad and deeply moving.  The tale is set in the late 1940s in Jerusalem, thus placing the additional political significance one the time period and what is occurring.  

Though a bit heavy-handed on the metaphors and language spoken by its characters, Portman’s script is buoyed by nuanced acting, and visuals that reflect its poetic style.  And yet, for all this almost unreal language, the world created still feels as though it is in a child’s eye: with absolute clarity and startling simplicity.  At the end of the day this movie is about a loss of innocence, not only by the child as he witnesses his mother’s slip into depression, but also his mother, whose dreams and fantasies about the state of Israel are chipped away at by the harsh, stark reality of life.  

This was my the first festival movie and it was one incredible way to start my journey at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and its lasting impression made it one of the top three movies I was privileged enough to see at TIFF.  

~RJ