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Direction: Hun Jang
Country: South Korea
A Taxi Driver depicts a black page in South Korean’s history, being often melodramatic to become entirely satisfying. The historical facts are lightened up by a charismatic central character enjoyably played by Song Kang-ho (Parasite; Snowpiercer). Despite overlong and emotionally elaborate, Hun Jang’s drama film has its moments and ensures amusement.
Direction: Kitty Green
Country: USA
Kitty Green’s rigorously observant The Assistant depicts a long, exhausting work day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a fresh college graduate and producer-wannabe working as a junior assistant for a wealthy film production company in New York.
Perspicacious, she soon figures out the sordid schemes that occur in a male-dominated office; she identifies the predators and the preys, the indifferent and the ambitious, as well as the frequent sarcasm and passivity in the face of the abusive behavior of a leader, whose face we never see. We have the sense that he hides in the shadows, yet still spreading gloominess around.
Despite strong and able, Julia is about to break down with embarrassment and disappointment, and the taciturn drama poignantly expresses the miserable work environment that many people experience but haven’t the courage to denounce.
Directed by: Olivier Assayas
Country: France, other
A misstep from acclaimed French director Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper; Clouds of Sils Maria), Wasp Network tangles itself in a plot transferred to the screen with the shopworn conventions associated with the American cinema. The espionage tale, toggling between Cuba and the US, is based on a true story, but the capable cast led by Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez was powerless to make it shine.
Direction: Ramón Salazar
Country: Spain
Exhibiting a severe, intriguing mood, this film could have been much more effective if the director, Ramón Salazar, didn’t have stretched a few scenes into the limit while packing them with a lugubrious gloominess. Somewhat painful to watch in all its human suffering and ultimately redemption.
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Country: USA
A comprehensive and eye-opening documentary by Jeff Orlowski about the dependency, isolation and other serious problems caused by social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to their users. What has started with good intentions ended up in greediness, personal data manipulation, adverse political influence, and negligence. The ones who warn us are true connoisseurs of the business, people who have worked in these companies but became conscience-stricken with the direction things went. Watch the film to be both elucidated and petrified about the controversies surrounding the topic.
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Country: USA
With this new film, Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche, New York; Anomalisa) confirms his tendency for knotty, moody, suspenseful writing/storytelling crammed with references to past lives, time discontinuities, memory tricks and baffling developments. I found some scenes utterly repetitive and ultimately inconsequent. The final segment of the film touches the ridiculous and, at times, it’s inevitable not to think: ‘I’m thinking of terminating this movie session’. But I give you one good reason to watch it: David Thewlis.
Director: Julie Cohen, Betsy West
Country: USA
A so-so documentary about a key figure in the fight for gender equality and women’s right. It’s sort of bland the way co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West conduct this presentation, but if you want to know a bit more about Justice Ruth Baden Ginsbourg, maybe this is a good place to start.
Director: Maimouna Doucouré
Country: France
Most of the polemic involving Cuties, the debut feature of Maimouna Doucouré, is unjustified. It’s just painful to watch. I don’t see a bad intention from the writer/director here, rather seeing the story as an eye-opener for the perils to which susceptible youth is exposed through social media. The pursuit of fame at all cost, cultural differences, estrangement, and insertion in a new community are addressed. Yet, the film gradually loses strength and focus as it moves forward.
