Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Directed by David Borestein
The term propaganda has been thrown around a lot over the past several years. So much so that no one can identify what actually is propaganda. So when Russian school teacher, Pasha Talankin took up the brave task to document the Russian Propaganda that Putin has been feeding into their schools since the start of his unjust invasion of Ukraine, Talankin provided an insightful look into how some of the most vulnerable in society are fed into the propaganda machine. Before the war, everything was peaceful in Talankin’s life as he loved teaching younger generations about media and film. However, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Talankin was thrown into a moral dilemma as his teaching soon became Russian indoctrination. He had a choice, either leave his job or document the propaganda and share it to the world. He chose the latter and for nearly two years, he secretly documented the propaganda that was being fed into Russian schools. Not only does he perfectly capture the tragedy of his student falling victim to the Russian propaganda machine and being forced into an unjust war, but he captures the growing resentment amongst the general public in Russia over the war and their fear to speak out against Putin. Even though I wished the documentary dived a bit more into the propaganda indoctrination, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is an incredibly insightful and important documentary.
My Rating: A-
2000 Meters to Andriivka. Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov takes us back to the war in Ukraine as we follow a group of soldiers attempt to liberate the strategic village of Andriivka from Russian forces. As with his previous film, 20 Days in Mariupol, Chernov immerses his audience into the war in Ukraine. This immersion harrowing, destressing, and show the brutal reality of war. We bear witness to men being killed before our eyes, drone strikes, and mortars blasting before our soldiers. We hear their screams of terror and mercy as bullets and bombs whips past their heads. Chernov perfectly captures the horror of war by risking his life to capture the cruel reality of it. No one else is capturing the Ukraine War like Chernov.
My Rating: A-
Bunnylovr. Directed by Katarina Zhu
Writer, director, and actor Katarina Zhu shows potential with her directorial debut, Bunnylovr. She introduces many interesting themes such as the harms of loneliness, the self-destructive behavior of isolation, and the dangers of seeking attention. However, none of these themes come into fruition as the film suffers from an identity crisis. One part of the film wants to be a drama about a young woman reconnecting with her dying estranged father, while another part wants to be thriller about the dangers of being a camgirl, and another wants to be about the self-destructive behavior of isolation. Any one of these stories would have been fascinating as a stand-alone project, and Zhu shows potential with each of these storylines. But when they are jumbled together, you get one messy film where you don’t care about anything that is happening on screen. Despite good performances from Zhu, Austin Amelio and Rachel Sennott (who is woefully underutilized), they can’t save this underbaked film.
My Rating: C
Sukkwan Island. Directed by Vladimir de Fontenay
Even though, you know the direction that Vladimir de Fontenay’s Sukkwan Island is heading, it doesn’t make it any less beautiful and tragic. 13-year-old Roy (Woody Norman) agrees to join his estranged father, Tom (Swann Arlaud), for a year in the remote Norwegian wilderness to rebuild their relationship. What starts off as a fun adventure, spending their days fishing, swimming, learning and bonding, slowly turns into a survival nightmare the moment that winter begins it ice cold bite. Many have made the connection between Sukkwan Island and Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, and it is hard not to see why. It is a deeply personal story, inspired by true events, that dives into the struggles of mental health and fatherhood, told from the point of view of this child, who is has to pick of the pieces of their life. Yes, it is a story we have seen before, but it doesn’t make it none of the less heartbreaking by the films end. With great performances from Swann Arlaud and Woody Norman, Sukkwan Island is a beautiful feature from Vladimir de Fontenay.
My Rating: B+
By Design. Directed by Amanda Kramer
If you read the synopsis for Amanda Kramer’s By Design, you should know exactly what you are getting yourself into you. A woman swapping bodies with a chair, is definitely not the most sane of concepts. By Design is set in somewhat of a hellscape that anything resembling real life are nowhere to be found. It’s absurd, dark, campy and filled with deadpan humor and acting. It is no wonder that this film is divisive. Even I struggled with the films strange humor and story. Yet, is a strange charm to this film that kept me hooked. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if I would recommend it to anyone.
My Rating: B-
Zodiac Killer Project. Directed by Charlie Shackleton
True Crime over the past decade has seen a dramatic transformation. Initially starting off a constructive analysis of some of humanities darkest tendencies, has turned into a spectacle of the worst of humanity. So Charlie Shackleton had to stand upon an edge of a knife when he decided to do a true crime documentary about the Zodiac Killer based on a novel (a title that I have sadly forgotten). However, after he lost the rights to the book, he decides to do something different. He decides to tell us what his documentary would have looked like using b-roll footage and his own narration he shows us what his documentary would have looked like. However, the Zodiac Killer Project, is not a documentary about the Zodiac Killer, but a clever deconstruction of the true crime genre. The film repeatedly show us how formulaic the genre is from the interviews, editing, and overall direction. Furthermore, he highlights how the genre sensationalizes these tragedies with his restrained approach. This approach will definitely not work for everyone, but if you want to watch a clever documentary, this will be perfect for you.
My Rating: A-
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