Drive My Car, 2021.Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada, Park Yurim, Jin Daeyeon, Sonia Yuan, Ahn Hwitae, Perry Dizon, and Satoko Abe.SYNOPSIS:Yûsuke Kafuku is a stage actor and director happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day she disappears.The prologue of Drive My Car is almost a […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, 2021.Written and Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Starring Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori, Shouma Kai, Fusako Urabe, and Aoba Kawai.SYNOPSIS:An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Antlers
Antlers, 2021.Directed by Scott Cooper. Starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan, Cody Davis, Sawyer Jones, Arlo Hajdu, Glynis Davies, Dorian Kingi, Andy Thompson, Jesse Downs, Dendrie Taylor, and Emily Delahunty.SYNOPSIS:In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her […]
Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Paris, 13th District
Paris, 13th District, 2021.Directed by Jacques Audiard. Starring Noémie Merlant, Makita Samba, Lucie Zhang, Jehnny Beth, Geneviève Doang, Pol White, Line Phé, Annabelle Milot, Lumina Wang, Camille Léon-Fucien, Stephen Manas, Rong-Ying Yang, Raphaelle Doyle, Oceane Cairaty, and Anaïde Rozam.SYNOPSIS:Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – A Hero
A Hero, 2021.Written and Directed by Asghar Farhadi. Starring Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabande, Fereshteh Sadr Orafaee, Sahar Goldust, Maryam Shahdaie, Ali Reza Jahandideh, Ehsan Goodarzi, Sarina Farhadi, Farrokh Nourbakht, Mohammad Aghebati, and Saleh Karimai.SYNOPSIS:Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Bergman Island
Bergman Island, 2021.Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. Starring Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie, Wouter Hendrickx, Joel Spira, Clara Strauch, Hampus Nordenson, Anki Larsson, Kerstin Brunnberg, Melinda Kinnaman, and Stig Björkman.SYNOPSIS:A couple retreat to the island that inspired Ingmar Bergman to write screenplays for their upcoming films when the lines between reality […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Dune
Dune. 2021Directed by Denis Villeneuve Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Babs Olusanmokun, and Benjamin ClémentineSYNOPSIS:Feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, about the son of a noble family entrusted with […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Cow
Cow, 2021.Directed by Andrea Arnold.SYNOPSIS:A close-up portrait of the daily lives of two cows.One of the first of many prolonged shots in Andrea Arnold’s Cow (making her documentary debut, most known for incredible directorial efforts such as Fish Tank and American Honey) stays on a female cow that has just given birth to a calf. […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground. 2021Directed by Todd Haynes. Featuring Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker, Nico, Andy Warhol, John Waters, Mary Woronov, Amy Taubin, Merrill Reed Weiner, and Doug Yule.SYNOPSIS:The Velvet Underground explores the multiple threads that converged to bring together one of the most influential bands in rock and roll.Celebrated director Todd Haynes’ […]
57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – The Last Duel
The Last Duel, 2021.Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck, Marton Csokas, Harriet Walter, Clare Dunne, Zeljko Ivanek, Nathaniel Parker, Michael McElhatton, Alex Lawther, Zoé Bruneau, Ian Pirie, William Houston, Sam Hazeldine, Brian F. Mulvey, Caoimhe O’Malley, Serena Kennedy, and Julian Firth.SYNOPSIS:King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de […]
