Ballad of a Small Player, 2025. Directed by Edward Berger. Starring Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton, Deanie Yip Tak-Han, Alex Jennings, Jason Tobin, Adrienne Lau, and Anthony Wong. SYNOPSIS: When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might […]
61st Chicago International Film Festival Review – Kontinental ’25
Kontinental ’25, 2025. Directed by Radu Jude. Starring Eszter Tompa, Gabriel Spahiou, Adonis Tanta, and Serban Pavlu. SYNOPSIS: Orsolya is a bailiff in Cluj, the capital city of Transylvania. One day she must evict a homeless man who lives in the basement of a building. An unexpected event creates a moral crisis she tries to […]
61st Chicago International Film Festival Review – The Voice of Hind Rajab
The Voice of Hind Rajab, 2025. Written and Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Starring Motaz Malhees, Saja Kilani, Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, and Nesbat Serhan. SYNOPSIS: January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 6-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to […]
61st Chicago International Film Festival Review – The Mastermind (2025)
The Mastermind, 2025. Written and Directed by Kelly Reichardt. Starring Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, John Magaro, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann, Amanda Plummer, Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, Javion Allen, Matthew Maher, Rhenzy Feliz, Juan Carlos Hernández, Jean Zarzour, D.J. Stroud, Ryan Homchick, Sterling Thompson, Jasper Thompson, Margot Anderson-Song, Katie Hubbard, Barry Mulholland, Alexis Nicole […]
61st Chicago International Film Festival Review – It Was Just an Accident
It Was Just an Accident, 2025. Written and Directed by Jafar Panahi. Starring Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, George Hashem, Zadeh Delmaz, Najafi Afsaneh, and Najm Abadi. SYNOPSIS: Vahid, an Azerbaijani auto mechanic, was once imprisoned by Iranian authorities. During his sentence, he was interrogated blindfolded. One […]
61st Chicago International Film Festival Review – A Useful Ghost (2025)
A Useful Ghost, 2025. Written and Directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke. Starring Davika Hoorne, Witsarut Himmarat, Apasiri Nitibhon, Wanlop Rungkumjad, Wisarut Homhuan, Gandhi Wasuvitchayagit, Ornanong Thaisriwong, Kritpahat Srimangkornkaew, Katanyu Swangsri, Dhyan Ho, Wachara Kanha, Krittin Thongmai, and Supravee Jantanasavedol. SYNOPSIS: A spirit possesses a vacuum cleaner, causing many consequences. While the premise of writer/director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s […]
53rd Chicago International Film Festival Review – Breathe (2017)
Breathe, 2017. Directed by Andy Serkis. Starring Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander, Ed Speleers, Diana Rigg, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Hugh Bonneville. SYNOPSIS: The inspiring true love story of Robin and Diana Cavendish, an adventurous couple who refuse to give up in the face of a devastating disease. Their heartwarming celebration of human possibility marks the […]
51st Chicago International Film Festival Review – Embers (2015)
Embers, 2015. Directed by Claire Carre. Starring Jason Ritter, Iva Gocheva, Greta Fernandez, Tucker Smallwood, Karl Glusman, Roberto Cots, Dominique Swain, Matthew Goulish, and Silvan Friedman. SYNOPSIS: After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory. Embers poses a very terrifying apocalyptic scenario; what if a […]
51st Chicago International Film Festival Review – I Smile Back (2015)
I Smile Back, 2015. Directed by Adam Salky. Starring Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Skylar Gaertner, Shayne Coleman, and Thomas Sadoski. SYNOPSIS: Laney Brooks does bad things. Married with kids, she takes the drugs she wants, sleeps with the men she wants, disappears when she wants. Now, with the destruction of her family looming, and temptation […]
53rd Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Mark Twain once wrote that “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured”, which is true and a lesson the residents of the titular town of Ebbing, Missouri will come to realize. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri isn’t like the […]
