Movies
A true benchmark for uncomfortable comedy. Solondz treads a very line between comedy and tragedy, but never trips up. The characters are terrible, intolerable people, but they all draw sympathy from the audience, even though they rarely deserve it. The cinematography and score are pretty bland, the structure a little simple, but almost every other scene is a comedy highlight and the film is filled with memorable confrontations. They sure don't make 'em like this anymore.
I would advise against making this the first Solondz film you watch, just try Happiness or Storytelling first as these films are a bit more accessible.
A typical Solondz production, but with an extra twist. The big thing about Palindromes is that the main character is played by a series of actresses. Initially, it's a little disorienting, but you get used to it quickly. That's not as great as it sounds, as it effectively means the whole setup isn't a big deal. There are plenty of awkward conversations, Solondz's dark comedy is back in full force and there are some memorable moments scattered throughout. But somewhere halfway through the film starts to flail a little and the quality isn't as consistent as I'd remembered. Still, if you like Solondz, you won't be too disappointed.Read all
A classic mix of Solondz drama and comedy. A lot of the comedy on display is uncomfortable, awkward, and cringe. And Solondz doesn't hold back at all. It's just that I'm not a big fan of the imbalance that the two separate narratives create. One story is just about 25 minutes long, the other is 60, and they have zero overlap. Yes, both are stories about high school, but that's a very loose connection. It just feels like a mid-length feature and a short thrown together in order to sell it as a regular feature. The presentation is also quite basic, but if you're a Solondz fan, you should still see it, because the painful comedy makes up for most of the film's defects.Read all
Venice 70: Future Reloaded
I'm a big fan of anthologies, and this project sounded very promising on paper. Seventy renowned directors give their vision on the future of cinema. With just one minute per short, there isn't much time to make a point, but it's disheartening to see how few of them even managed to stick to the topic. The saddest part was that many of the short didn't even deal with the future, but openly referred to or praised the medium's past. There's also a lot of doom and gloom, with some very basic visions of people not caring enough about arthouse cinema, or playing movies on their phones. Your typical old-man-yelling-at-cloud stuff. There is only a small selection of directors who seem to have understood the brief, and they struggle to make the most of their limited runtime. What remains is a complete mess, with most shorts looking like they were made on people's afternoon off, and hardly anything that stands out. A disappointment.Read all