North America

Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America

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Something Blue – Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2021

Something Blue

As the news channels in Panama look forward to a big celebrity wedding featuring popular TV star Lucia de la Fuente, Ana gets ready for her own wedding taking place in 8 days time. However, an unexpected chain of events sees her racing around Panama City trying to get married as soon as possible. Something Blue is a rare festival rom-com that anyone can enjoy if they know what they’re in for.

If you’re into Eugenio Derbez rom-coms (see Overboard) then Something Blue is a film to look out for. The tone of the film is very similar, with it’s well lit production, light music, and a healthy serving of slapstick and cringe humor to propel the narrative forward. Plus Ana carries the comedy well, being the slightly overwhelming ‘bimbo’ character to laugh at throughout the film. Because of the light-hearted tone of the film, Something Blue feels more like an addition to a streaming service than a film festival film. It’s not particularly artistic or unique, things you’d typically expect from a festival film, but it plays into the cheesy rom-com genre well. So if you’re aware that it’s a cheesy rom-com before you start watching, you’ll be in a good position to enjoy it.

It’s fun to run around the city, with lots of establishing shots of the Panama City skyline and the restored old town. No doubt, these shots will help boost tourism to the city if this film is widely seen. However, Something Blue, like the majority of Latino telenovelas has a pretty un undiverse cast. Whilst only a small proportion of Panamanians define themselves as white, almost the entire cast of Something Blue is white. It’s unfortunately not unexpected, as this is pretty typical of Latino popular films and novelas, but it would have been great to see more diversity considering this is not a big TV production.

So if you’re up for a rom-com refresher to your film festival schedule, Something Blue is worth a watch.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for more reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF.

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Tears of Joy (Saint Kitts & Nevis) – Bullying Isn’t a Game

Tears of Joy

Tears of Joy Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

Tears of Joy is a 15 minute reminder that bullying isn’t a game. It is designed to trigger those who have experienced being bullied and to scare anyone related to the victims. However, its scare tactic methods prioritize melodrama over a real exploration of the subtleties of bullying.

From: Saint Kitts & Nevis, North America
Watch: YouTube, Mubi
Next: Where I Come From, Shaina, Hulhudhaan

Tears of Joy – The Breakdown

Similar to Where I Come From and Shaina, Tears of Joy feels like a throw-back public service announcement. Its message is very clear (bullying is bad) and it uses intense examples to convey it. These examples take up the entire short film and are designed to evoke anger/horror in those who view the bullying, and sympathy and sadness for the victim. However, the intensity of the examples, and obviousness of the bullying, out-shouts what is often subtle and concealed. The bullying is so clear to us that it’s hard to believe that the adults choose to overlook it, especially as it appears to be every student against Joy. There’s no attempts on the school kids to hide it, so it feels unrealistic that they’re not caught and reprimanded. Meanwhile, Tears of Joy also infers that bullying is brutal and obvious, ignoring its more subtle guises.

Joy and the lead bully do get brief scenes with their parents for brief moments of character development, but this isn’t enough to justify the direction each character takes. Almost every scene of this short film is taken up by footage of school kids bullying Joy, or Joy crying alone (which she does very well, kudos to the young actor). This makes the film appear more exploitative – focused on shocking the viewers rather than building on the dialogue around bullying. Less focus on showing traumatic bullying and more focus on the characters and their motivations and feelings would have been helpful to justify the conclusion of the film. Spending more time building the characters would have also helped convey the complexities of bullying and its many forms.

Ultimately, if you’re a sucker for traumatic films designed to trigger emotions with a low budget, here’s Tears of Joy. It manipulates emotion by focusing on shocks and some intense crying scenes, carried out well by Neila Jones.

What to Watch Next

Whilst these exploitative, PSA style ‘message films’ aren’t my cup of tea, there are plenty of them from around the world. For more check out any of the following:

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Papi – Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2021

Papi

Sonia is a precocious 8-year-old girl with a vibrant imagination. Her flashbacks and surreal flights of fancy help her navigate life as the daughter of Papi, a drug dealer who returns from New York to become the biggest crime lord in the city.

For a first time feature, Noelia Quintero Herencia captures the slightly zany tone of Rita Indiana’s novel very well. She creates 8 year-old Sonia’s world by depicting her imagined fantasies alongside her reality. Doing this makes it harder for the viewer to figure out which scenes are real, making Sonia a pretty unreliable narrator. However, it also paints an interesting picture of her relationship with her dad.

Her two main fantasies consist of her leading a TV game show and spending time with her dad in the U.S. Both feel upbeat and happy, deliberately contrasting with her lonely reality at home. However, they both contain her dad’s vices – vices that at her age she’s just becoming aware of, such as her father’s infidelity and life as a criminal.

Her fantasies capture her changing perception of her dad as she grows up. She still imagines him as her hero, and herself as his princess, in a way that feels like she’s trying to hold onto her happy childhood memories. However, coming to terms with his criminal character, represents the end of her childhood alongside her idyllic childhood fantasies.

For an imaginative coming of age story that leans heavily on visualizing a kid’s imagination, Papi is well worth a watch.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for more reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF.

69

Travel to Saint Lucia With These Three Short Films

Saint Lucia

The first things you think of when you hear Saint Lucia are probably pristine beaches and tropical paradise. Tourism is the #1 industry in this small island nation of approximately 200,000 people – a population smaller than any of the largest 100 cities in the U.S. Despite it’s small size, Saint Lucia has attracted Hollywood productions in the past (see Superman II and Doctor Doolittle). However, as with many similarly sized island nations, Saint Lucia has yet to form its own film industry.

What you can find, are smaller, self-financed film projects like the three short films we’ve uncovered below, each spanning a different genre. The production quality might not match what you’re used to, but they each give a brief glimpse of a Saint Lucia that differs from the country presented by Hollywood and travel guides.

Soucouyant

It helps if you’re a fan of horror films before you watch Soucuoyant. There’s so little to grasp from the limited dialogue and film shots stitched together that you will need to use your own imagination to connect the thin story.

The short is centered around the myth of the Soucouyant, an ancient vampire-like spirit that possesses her unfortunate victims to keep on living. She’s brought to life in blurry shots of her roaming through the jungle to convey her eeriness. In contrast, her aging male victim is in a bright urban area, hinting he’s normal. The footage of these two characters don’t quite fit together to tell a clear story, however, the juxtaposition of the two leads us to assume that this aging man is her target. The short staggers to a final ‘aha’ moment which obviously inspired the recent Smile Hollywood horror hit.

Too Late

Too Late features two friends that set a time to meet up early the next morning. One of them is skeptical of his friends ability to arrive on time, and sure enough, he’s on a completely different schedule to his friend. Cutting between one friend waiting at the cafe and the other silencing his alarms and taking his sweet time getting ready, hours pass and our punctual friend gives up.

Too Late is everything you might expect of an amateur film that makes fun of ‘island time.’ The joke is amusing, but it’s not pushed beyond the single scene, making this short film a bit one-note. The biggest weakness, however, is the poor sound quality which distracts viewers from fully engaging in the visual gags.

The Fruit of Life

In The Fruit of Life, multiple generations of a Saint Lucian community are connected through their knowledge of the multiple uses of the coconut. We’re shown how coconuts (the fruit of life) can heal and nourish everyone.

Like Soucouyant, The Fruit of Life jumps between different characters quickly and without much dialogue, making it difficult for us to follow the knotted narrative thread which links them. It jumps from a girl having her bruise tended to by her grandmother with coconut oil to images of a old man (her grandfather?) hunted by a group of men with machetes. The words “strength,” “wisdom,” and “perseverance” link these scenes to the future in which the same girl is leading a business pitch selling the humble benefits of the coconut to the government/corporation(?). It’s a wild leap from kids playing to trauma to a business sales pitch, but one that represents that you can achieve the Saint Lucian dream (and success) through perseverance and sharing your ancient wisdom.

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OSCAR Predictions 2018 – Who Will Win & Who Should Win

Image result for academy awards

Oscar Predictions 2018

With the Academy Awards only 2 days away, I thought I’d throw my hat into the prediction ring. So here are my predictions for who will win, as well as my thoughts on who should win.

We’ve also made a 2018 Oscars Nominee Viewing Guide which shows you where to watch each of the Oscar nominees (on Amazon, at the Cinema, and even Netflix). And scroll to the bottom to fill out your predictions for a chance to win a surprise Blu-Ray DVD from 2018.

So here we go, here are the predictions. Feel free to tear into them on Sunday night/Monday morning!

Best Actor

Is this one really as ‘easy’ as everyone thinks? Gary Oldman has already scooped up the SAG and BAFTA top prizes and his role fits exactly what the Academy Award loves: historical figures, transformations, and of course, good acting. But the Academy also loves Daniel Day Lewis (3 career wins already), and Timothee Chalamet has what is probably the best performance of the category, maybe even the whole acting category. Which is why I’m going for the upset. Although Gary Oldman deserves a career Oscar and his performance in Darkest Hour is good, Timothee Chalamet’s performance was excellent. Therefore I’m predicting he will be the deserving winner of the Best Actor award.

Should Win: Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Will Win: Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Best Actress

After the upset call in the Best Actor category, I’m playing it safe in The Best Actress category. Frances MacDormand has already won the top awards at the SAG and BAFTA ceremonies and is brilliant in her role. I can only see another candidate winning if critics are pan Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri  and all their actors are damaged as a result. Only then could the equally deserving, Saoirse Ronan sneak in for the win.

Should Win: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Will Win: Frances MacDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actor

There’s only one former winner in the Best Supporting Actor category and that’s latecomer Christopher Plummer. But if things go as expected, this will be another win for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Not for Woody Harrelson, who was also nominated, but for Sam Rockwell. His biggest challenger is Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project (which you should go watch). We marginally prefer Willem Dafoe’s role, but we’re not going to complain if Sam Rockwell wins as both acted their roles perfectly.

Should Win: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Will Win: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

Another acting category and another ‘upset’. Whilst the talk has mostly focused on Allison Janney’s mean mum, I think Laurie Metcalf’s mean mum will win this one. Allison Janney has the more memorable role, and acts well, but I think Laurie Metcalf’s performance was better. Just think of that scene in the car. And if you don’t know what scene I’m talking about you haven’t watched the film… so go watch it!

Should Win: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Will Win: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Best Director

This one is up for grabs. Whilst Guillermo Del Toro has won at the Director’s Guild, Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson are both admired in the industry. I wouldn’t even rule out first-timers Jordan Peele and Greta Gertwig. That being said, I’m backing Guillermo Del Toro to make it 4 out of 5 for Mexico in the Best Director category after Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity in 2014 and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman 2015 and The Revenant 2016).

Should Win: Guillermo Del Toro

Will Win: Guillermo Del Toro

Best Picture

Moonlight surprised La La Land last year, and Spotlight surprised The Revenant two years ago. That makes 2 surprises in the last 2 years. Which is why I’m not going for Shape of Water. It’s a great film, but it’s a too recognisable. For me it had the feel of a R-rated Disney film (if ever there was one).  Which leaves three options for me: 1. Call Me By Your Name, 2. Lady Bird, and 3. Get Out.

Whilst I would love to see Call Me By Your Name win, I think the Academy ruled it out when it didn’t nominate Luca Guadagnino for Best Director. That leaves Lady Bird and Get Out. Both have run good campaigns, generating a lot of word of mouth. However, whilst Lady Bird might be the slightly better made film, Get Out is the more unique and memorable. Therefore I’m going for Get Out to surprise everyone and become the first pseudo horror film to win since The Silence of the Lambs in 1991.

Should Win: Call Me By Your Name

Will Win: Get Out

Best of the Rest

Here’s the rest of my predictions – definitely don’t trust me on the short films!

  • Best Animated Feature: Coco
  • Beat Documentary: Faces Places
  • Best Foreign Language Film: The Insult
  • Best Cinematography: Bladerunner 2049
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name
  • Best Original Screenplay: Lady Bird
  • Best Costume Design: Phantom Thread
  • Best Film Editing: Dunkirk
  • Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour
  • Best Original Score: The Shape of Water
  • Best Original Song: “Remember Me” from Coco
  • Best Production Design: The Shape of Water
  • Best Short Film: DeKalb Elementary
  • Best Short Animation: Dear Basketball
  • Best Documentary Short: Heroin(e)
  • Best Sound Editing: Dunkirk
  • Best Sound Mixing: Dunkirk
  • Best Visual Effects: War for the Planet of the Apes

What Next?

Also while you’re here: