Ian Thomas Malone

Friday

29

January 2021

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Sundance Review: Flee

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The terms through which the film Flee engages with its subject shines a spotlight on the countless voices that won’t be heard at it. Filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen illustrates the story of an anonymous Afghan refugee, presented as Amin Nawabi in the narrative, who he befriended growing up in Denmark. To protect Amin’s identity, Rasmussen uses animation to bring Amin’s story to life, a novel approach that’s as haunting as it is powerful.

Through a simple 2D palette, Rasmussen manages to capture the power of Amin’s narrative without losing any of the emotion that his real face might be able to provide. Amin’s voice speaks volumes alone. A skilled storyteller, Rasmussen quickly dispels any apprehension that the audience may have toward his fairly novel approach, a bit of humor in the form of an 80s pop music homage to bring some early levity.

Amin has lived an incredibly tough life. Forced to flee Afghanistan at an early age, his family was stranded in Russia, relying on an older brother, who had escaped early to avoid being drafted into the army, for money. The complex geopolitics of the late 1980s made travel difficult, forcing the family to rely on shady human traffickers to gradually smuggle their family out of Moscow.

Rasmussen’s grasp of pacing is exceptional, portraying the agony of waiting that Amid and his family experienced through their years in Moscow, under constant fear of further deportation and imprisonment. The film hammers home the brutality and cruelty, which never loses its impact across the eighty-three-minute runtime.

The animation continuously enhances the narrative, especially during its bleaker moments. Rasmussen constantly plays with the color scheme, introducing shades of black, white, and grey that captures the anxiety of that period in Amin’s life. The film occasionally includes archival news footage, providing a fuller context for the audience’s understanding.

Flee blurs the lines between documentary and biopic, a relentlessly haunting masterpiece by an extremely innovative filmmaker. At times, Amin is understandably drained, reluctant to share his traumatic story. The animation clearly takes some artistic licenses, it would have to, but it never feels like it’s operating on a different wavelength from his subject. Rasmussen compiles it all so beautifully.

Amin’s homosexuality serves as an anchor throughout the film. Rasmussen includes some contemporary animation featuring Amin’s occasionally strained relationship with his partner, Kasper, exacerbated by his anxieties toward settling down and buying a home. You get the sense that by opening up to Rasmussen, Amin finds some therapeutic value that helps him come to terms with all that’s happened in his life.

The inclusion of the contemporary narrative also firmly grounds the film as Amin’s story. The hardships of his life are undoubtedly similar in nature to countless other refugees, many of whom weren’t able to escape the horrors of war. Flee connects on a universal level, illustrating the injustices of the refugee system, while also maintaining a deep sense of intimacy between the audience and its subject. Without ever showing his face, Amin bares his soul for the world to see. Rasmussen’s grasp of storytelling is absolutely exceptional to experience.

Friday

29

January 2021

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Sundance Series: The Fourfold

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As our Sundance coverage rolls along, we are excited to welcome Alisi Telegnut to the show to talk about her short film The Fourfold. Alisi talks about her technique that combines under camera filming with stop-motion animation, all in breathtaking detail. This is one short you won’t want to miss!

You can learn more about Alisi on her website http://cargocollective.com/AlisiTelengut/

Alisi’s Instagram also features some fascinating behind-the-scenes photos of her process @alisitelegnut

 

Poster image of The Fourfold by Alisi Telengut, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Friday

29

January 2021

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Sundance Series: GNT

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Our Sundance coverage continues with another film from the Shorts Program. GNT is a hilarious film all about thrush, aka yeast infections! Filmmakers Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown chat with Ian all the way from Australia about their process making the short. The color palette and writing is top-notch. Ian highly recommends checking out the film!

 

Poster image of GNT by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Friday

29

January 2021

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Sundance Review: Censor

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For all the talk of censorship and “cancel culture” in this modern age, previous eras had a much firmer ability to shape public consumption. Set in Britain during the 1980s, a time when Margaret Thatcher ruled over the standards of public decency, the film Censor explores the toll inflicted upon those trusted to determine what material is fit to watch.

Enid (Niamh Algar) works as a film censor, presiding over reels of horror movies ripe for the burgeoning VHS market. Her work is woefully depressing, serving as the vanguard against scene after scene of tasteless violence. It is a somewhat amusing notion that people back then were concerned about the effects of repeat viewings of such abominations by the youth of England.

For the ones tasked with making the determination of what’s suitable for the masses, the gore takes its toll after a while. Algar does a great job conveying that turmoil, leading Enid on a downward slope throughout the narrative. The decay is so convincing that you’re never really left wondering why she wouldn’t just quit. The edge of oblivion is an invisible cliff.

Director Prano Bailey-Bond showcases her impressive command of the craft in her debut feature. The sets are wonderfully exquisite, particularly in the third act. The lighting throughout the film perfectly captures the mood that each scene is trying to convey. From a technical standpoint, Censor gives the eyes plenty to marvel at.

Trouble is, the story starts to lose steam pretty quickly into the eighty-four minute runtime. The second act is a mess, muddling the narrative without any clear sense of purpose. The film does rebound a bit in the third act, which has a few entertaining sequences, but the whole thing never really comes together.

For all the ways Bailey-Bond nailed the period aesthetic, she spends a fair bit of time at the beginning on broader cultural exposition that doesn’t really matter as the narrative progresses. She also hints at a bit more of an ensemble dynamic early on that ends up not being the case. Algar works well opposite Michael Smiley for a bit, but she’s left on her own to carry the film for large chunks.

Censor is a visually stunning film that’s dragged down by an incohesive narrative. There are too many ideas left unexplored to make for a compelling experience. Bailey-Bond has a lot of skill as a director, but the story just doesn’t work. Fans of horror might find much to appreciate in the aesthetic, but the material feels too comfortable emulating the b-movie fare it attempts to subvert.

 

Friday

29

January 2021

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Sundance Review: Coda

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A natural part of growing up for many is the understanding that one’s own path may differ from that of their parents, an often awkward departure from the nest. The heart can tear itself in two directions, attempting to plot a course that fits both reality and dream. The film Coda tells the story of a girl caught between her natural gift for singing and her role within her family where she’s the only one who can hear, a moving narrative of love wrestling under the weight of the world.

The Rossi family have a nurturing home. Parents Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and Frank (Troy Kotsur) are madly in love. Leo (Daniel Durant) works alongside his father on a fishing boat, both carrying the natural stress that comes with that grueling profession burdened by regulations. Ruby (Emilia Jones) may have grown up in a different kind of household than her peers, but the Rossi’s are a hell of a lot happier than most families.

On a whim, Ruby joins the school choir, seeking an outlet for her musical gifts. Her abilities are instantly noticed by her teacher, Bernardo (Eugenio Derbez), who quickly takes her under his wing, attempting to prepare her for auditions for a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, just weeks away. Ruby’s extra-curricular quickly overburdens her obligations to translate for her family, causing additional strain as Frank and Leo attempt to form a co-op with the local fishermen to make a better living.

Director Siân Heder packs an impressive amount of story into a runtime of just under two hours. In the leading role, Jones juggles the worlds of her music and family life quite well, even as Ruby naturally buckles under the stress involved. Jones expresses all the angst of a teenager while layering in Ruby’s gradual understanding of her life’s passions.

Though Jones centers the bulk of the narrative, Heder gives the rest of the principals an arc of their own. Matlin and Kotsur are incredible together, bringing plenty of humor to their characters. Durants plays the role of older brother well, coming into his own as he helps his father carry the load of their business.

Heder’s script wears its emotions on its sleeves. Coda celebrates life in real-time, both the highs and the lows. There’s a clear picture painted of why the Rossi family thrives, through their willingness to express themselves. Other families crumble under the weight of repression. At times, maybe the Rossi parents are a bit too open, but everything leads with love. It’s rare for a fictional narrative to connect with such a level of authenticity.

While the film takes full advantage of its runtime, the narrative does kind of bend over backwards to squeeze itself into a period of only a few weeks. Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts in the fall, Coda’s affection for water-based scenes grows a little puzzling for anyone familiar with the region at that time of the year. The clashes that result from Ruby’s social life feel a bit under-cooked, considering Frank’s long history as a fisherman.

The meteoric rise of Ruby from prodigy to music school applicant also feels a bit unnecessarily rushed, a senior in high school undergoing a major pivot in an incredibly short period of time. The sheer force of will of the film works wonders toward forgiving some of the plot decisions. Backed by a spectacular cast and Heder’s emotionally charged script, Coda is an electrifying cinematic experience. Few films depict family drama so beautifully.

Thursday

28

January 2021

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Sundance Review: Hive

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A film like Hive strikes at the core of the global fight for women’s rights. To think of a woman being mocked for obtaining a driver’s license is so fundamentally sad on a human level. For all the triumphs that feminism has achieved, a simple look at a war-torn region like Kosovo demonstrates how far the world still has to go.

The film follows Fahria (Yllka Gashi), a woman struggling to keep her family afloat after her husband went missing in war, a plight that plagues thousands of families in the region. Fahria seeks to support her family by making homemade ajvar, a popular pepper-based condiment, and honey. Fahria employs many women in her village, struggling to support herself in a highly patriarchal society.

Based on a true story, director and screenwriter Blerta Basholli crafts an intimate family drama that’s easy to follow along with regardless of one’s understanding of the politics of the region. Fahria is a very relatable protagonist, a person who merely wants to support herself in a part of the world that doesn’t look too fondly on women with agency. She puts her skills to good use, undeterred by any external considerations.

The acting is top-notch. Gashi delivers a subtle performance that aims for more an inspirational tone than to evoke a degree of pity from the audience. Fahria doesn’t need help, she needs a fair chance, the kind of opportunity sorely missing for women in too many parts of the world.

As Fahri’s father-in-law Haxhiu, Çun Lajçi delivers a strong supporting performance. Haxhiu is predictably old-fashioned, but with a sense of depth that reflects both Lajçi’s talents as an actor and Basholli as a screenwriter. Haxhiu is a proud traditional man living in the rubble of a world that no longer exists. The two have a relationship based on mutual respect rather than a stubborn adherence to rules that no longer apply.

Basholli is a confident filmmaker who recognizes the raw power of her narrative. Rarely does the film play any drama up for shock value, nor does it feel the need to wallow in misery that would be pretty understandable given the circumstances. Hive is an uplifting story of perseverance with a stellar cast and first-rate production values.

The only element that could have been improved upon, especially for international audiences, is the lack of exposition regarding the broader politics of the area. The film frequently mentions how many men were forced to fight in the war, with many lost without any sense of clarity or closure for their families. It is quite impressive that a film clearly made for people with ties to the region possesses such a degree of universality.

Hive is a great film for those looking to understand the struggles that women still have to face in other parts of the world. Basholli works with a bare-bones sense of realism that’s quite inspiring. Rarely does a film win over its audience with such effortless execution.

Thursday

28

January 2021

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COMMENTS

Sundance Series: Doublespeak

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We are delighted to kick off our Sundance coverage with Hazel McKibbin and Angela Wong Carbone, director and star of the film Doublespeak from the Shorts Program. Doublespeak follows Emma (Carbone) as she deals with the aftermath of a sexual discrimination case in her workplace.

The film, which premiered today at Sundance, is available on Vimeo for everyone to watch (highly recommended before listening to this episode): https://vimeo.com/439062018

You can learn more about Hazel and the film on her website: https://hazelmckibbin.com/  and on Instagram @hazelmckibbin

You can learn more about Angela on her website: Angelawongcarbone.com and on Instagram @labellacarbone 

Film poster courtesy of the Sundance Institute 

Wednesday

27

January 2021

1

COMMENTS

The Lady and the Dale provides a riveting perspective of a trans pioneer

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Trans people often have to deal with people claiming that the trans identity is some sort of “new” phenomenon, despite all the history to the contrary. The life of G. Elizabeth Carmichael is a pretty wild story even before you take her gender identity into consideration. The new HBO four-part documentary The Lady and the Dale offers a wide-ranging portrait of a colorful American life.

True to its title, the series largely splits its attention between Carmichael and the Dale, a three-wheel automobile designed to be the flagship offering for Carmichael’s Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation, which fizzled out in the late 1970s amid criminal fraud charges for Carmichael. The life of Carmichael and the Dale itself would make for fascinating documentaries in their own right, though co-directors Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker do an excellent job weaving the many strands of their story through the four episodes.

Carmichael, a skilled con artist from an early age, makes for a fascinating subject. Though Liz died in 2004, interviews with her family, as well as archival audio tapes provide a thorough examination of her as a person. Carmichael is a complicated figure, a loving mother and a force of nature in the business world, flying a bit too close to the sun with some of her ambitions.

The series uses extensive cut-out animation to liven up some of the archival footage. This approach makes the experience a bit more colorful, while also adding to the emotional resonance of the material. The pacing is quite exceptional, a highly-bingeable experience that leaves you hungry for more at the end of each episode.

Trans people are frequently accused of deception by our very existence. For Liz, a trans woman, this dynamic is complicated by the fact that she was a literal con artist. Her story, especially her prosecution, exposes some of the ways that marginalized people are treated differently both by the justice system and the public at large. Cammilleri and Drucker spend a lot of time on the media reception to the case, including some fascinating interviews with some of the newscasters who worked on the story.

Popular culture is filled with con artists like Jordan Belfort, celebrated by many for their bombastic greed. Shows like Billions and Succession revel in their protagonists’ abilities to game the system. People like Liz Carmichael get treated differently, not necessarily because of the particulars of their crimes, but because of who they are as people.

Which isn’t to say that Liz Carmichael was actually a hero or that she didn’t deserve to be prosecuted for violating securities law among plenty of other offenses. Liz Carmichael did bad things, but The Lady and the Dale isn’t concerned with judgement, providing testimony from her relatives and former employees that paint a much fuller picture of the woman.

In her own way, Liz was a trailblazer. Trans people still face rampant employment discrimination. To see a woman like her take on the big auto companies can give inspiration to anyone looking to carve out their own mark on the world. For too long, women have been told we can’t succeed in a men’s world. Much of Liz’s problems were her of her own making, but she had some impressive achievements. Above all else, Liz lived her life on her own terms.

The Lady and the Dale thoroughly explores a complicated figure in trans history, a fascinating glimpse at a rebel who dared to dream big. One may not necessarily aspire to be like Liz, except in the courage she exhibited to live her truth and ask for more. Being out can be hard enough sometimes. To remove the weights of discrimination will hopefully create a world where more trans people can wield the power that Liz held, if only for a moment.

Wednesday

27

January 2021

0

COMMENTS

Zackary Drucker, director of The Lady and the Dale

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We are so excited to welcome trans icon Zackary Drucker to the show to talk about her fascinating new HBO documentary series The Lady the Dale. The series dives into the complicated life of G. Elizabeth Carmichael, a trans woman whose Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation created the three wheel car known as the Dale. Zackary & Ian discuss Liz’s life and legacy and the ways the world responded to her gender identity at the time.

The Lady and the Dale premieres on HBO on January 31st.

Ian’s review of the series: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2021/01/the-lady-and-the-dale-provides-a-riveting-perspective-of-a-trans-pioneer/

 

ladyandthedale.jpeg

 

 

Film poster courtesy of HBO. Headshot courtesy of Zackary Drucker.

 

 

Monday

25

January 2021

1

COMMENTS

Haymaker is a worthy entry into the trans film canon

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The last few years have exponentially increased transgender visibility across film and television. Equality requires a bit more than merely being “seen.” Equality requires equity. Trans people need to have more than just a place in the room to stand, we need a seat at the table.

Haymaker follows Nick (Nick Sasso, who also directed the film and wrote the screenplay), a retired Muay Thai fighter, who’s a bit aloof trying to figure out what comes next in his life. Nick is calm and strong, a natural fit for the position of bodyguard, which comes his way via Nomi (Nomi Ruiz), a trans singer in need of a little muscle. The film mostly follows Nick and Nomi as they travel across the globe, developing feelings for one another which clash a bit with Nick’s ambitions to return to the ring.

As a film, Haymaker constantly works to juggle the dual narratives of Nick and Nomi across its eighty-three-minute runtime. Sasso is a capable director, making the most out of what’s clearly a limited budget. With filming locations in New York, Los Angeles, Greece, Mexico, and Thailand, Haymaker works hard to set itself apart from other indie productions.

Sasso is a capable actor, aiming to be more than a stock figure that the fighting genre often uses. As a character, Nick often functions in more of a reactionary capacity than as a driving force, an intriguing dynamic for the point-of-view character. Sasso’s chemistry with Ruiz works well, forgiving the more muddled aspects of his hero’s journey. His writing can be a bit choppy, but there are a handful of scenes that showcase his drive as a storyteller.

Ruiz largely carries the film on the sheer force of her energy. Nomi is pretty absurd character with seemingly boundless wealth, an aspect of the narrative that often feels out of place with the film’s indie production values.  There’s something rather refreshing about the film’s outlandish presentation, giving a trans performer a rare opportunity to wield real power on screen.

Haymaker is presented more from Nick’s point of view, but Ruiz is more often than not the main driver in the film, possessing a palpable degree of confidence. It’s a silly romance at times, albeit the kind that trans people are rarely allowed to have on screen. There’s practically no transphobia in the narrative, another refreshing aspect that’s too often sorely missing from trans stories.

Sasso put together an ambitious film, one that consistently strives to be more than its budget would allow. Muay Thai, largely reserved for the third act, doesn’t play as big a role as the film description suggests. Haymaker is a satisfying journey, one that trans people will particularly enjoy.

Haymaker is in theaters, VOD, and Digital on January 29th