WELCOME TO CHECHNYA – ★★★★

Incredible documentary covering the efforts of a Russian organisation to help LGBT people in Chechnya escape from persecution. There were some pretty distressing scenes in this showing the treatment of these groups in Chechnya. It’s hard to believe that in 2020 this kind of bigotry and hatred can still exist. Please consider donating to https://outrightinternational.org to help make a difference.

CORPUS CHRISTI – ★★★☆

This Polish film sounded like its plot was similar to that of ‘Troubled Water’, a Norwegian film from MIFF 2009; in both films someone comes out of jail, and ends up trying to escape their past by becoming part of a church in a small town. (The former was by playing the organ, the latter, by pretending to be a priest). This one is apparently based on real events, and I thought it was very well done. It’s obvious that the character is trying to reconcile their past, and uses it to help provide good to a community that is still trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy. An excellent performance by the lead, too.

SWEET THING – ★★★☆

Nice enough (mostly) black and white film about a brother and sister going through a series of adventures when dealt a pretty bad hand when it comes to parents. Brilliant performances by the real life kids of the writer/director.

BLACK BEAR – ★★★☆

This was one of my highly anticipated films for MIFF 2020. It was an interesting film in terms of genre, with elements of suspense, some humour, a bit experimental, and plenty of drama, and overall probably not something that can be pigeon-holed. Aubrey Plaza was great, as was Sarah Gadon (who starred in Indignation, one of my favourites from MIFF 2016). After a strong first part, I felt like the second part went a little longer than I’d have liked, but still worth watching.

EXILE – ★★★

Very nicely filmed, and well acted German film about the workplace environment of a ex-pat from Kosovo. Tension runs throughout the whole film as you follow in his path, not quite sure where the film is leading. Is he the victim? Is he overly-paranoid? Is he creating the tension himself? The themes were interesting, but it felt like it was keeping the audience on the outside, perhaps to make their own decisions. As the main character stood in front of a red curtain in the final scene, I was reminded of Twin Peaks, and like Twin Peaks the film ended without payoff. Sometimes the journey makes it worth it (Like in most of David Lynch’s work), but in this case it didn’t work for me.

THE GO-GO’S – ★★★☆

Documentary about the band. I’m familiar with the band and still recall the video of Vacation when it came out. Overall enjoyable story of the band. It was nice to see the members be able to look back with some degree of sensibility, but perhaps the story wasn’t entirely unpredictable. Congrats to them for the achievements they made.

MARONA’S FANTASTIC TALE – ★★★★

I really enjoyed the French animation “I Lost My Body” last year at MIFF 2019, so hoped that lightning might strike twice with this animation about the life of a dog. And, it did. What a touching, wonderful film. If you have a special dog in your life, I dare you to make it through without shedding a tear. See it if you get the chance.

BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS – ★★★☆

Wonderful kind-of documentary about the last day of a Las Vegas bar before it closes forever. Except that it’s not in Las Vegas, and that it didn’t close down. The patrons though were real, or at least playing characters that resembled their own stories, as far as I could tell. If you’ve ever had a local where everybody knew your name, this did a good job of representing it, as well as showing several walks of life.

MAYOR – ★★★☆

Documentary that follows the re-elected Mayor of Ramallah, the capital of Palestine. Gripping to watch as it jumps from something almost light-hearted, almost like a real-life version of Parks & Recreation, to the complete opposite, showing heart stopping dramatic scenes as Israeli forces enter the town. Easily something that should be watched if you have the opportunity.